Volume I, song 057, page 58 - 'Here awa', There awa'' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)

Verse 1: 'Here awa', there awa' here awa' Willie; Here awa', there awa', here awa', hame. Lang have I fought thee, dear I have bought thee, Now I ha'e gotten my Willie again.' The 'Scots Musical Museum' is the most important of the numerous eighteenth- and nineteenth-century collections of Scottish song. When the engraver James Johnson started work on the second volume of his collection in 1787, he enlisted Robert Burns as contributor and editor. Burns enthusiastically collected songs from various sources, often expanding or revising them, whilst including much of his own work. The resulting combination of innovation and antiquarianism gives the work a feel of living tradition. There is no particular tune attributed to this song in any of the collected works which were available at the time. The song was first published in Oswald's 'Caledonian Pocket Companion' (1759) although Oswald did not claim to have written it. This is upheld by the fact that it was published unattributed in other song collections. There was some debate, sparked by Stenhouse, over the last four lines, which he claimed were made up by Burns and were of poor quality. This is not, however, universally accepted.

Collection

Scots Musical Museum

Inventory Number

4503252

Title

Volume I, song 057, page 58 - 'Here awa', There awa'' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)

Object Type

PhysicalObject

Measurements

- 130 x 211 mm