Volume I, song 062, pages 62 and 63 - 'O'er the hills, and far away' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)

Verse 1: 'Jocky met with Jenny fair, Aft by the dawning of the day; But Jocky now is fu' of care, Since Jenny staw his heart away. Although she promised to be true, She proven has, alake unkind; Which gars poor Jocky often rue, That e'er he lov'd a fickle mind. And it's over the hills, and far away, Over the hills, and far away, Over the hills, and far away, The wind has blawn my plaid away.' 'Stole', 'alas' and 'makes' all have separate Old Scots words, respectively, 'staw', 'alake' and 'gars'. 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 was debate at the time of this song's publication as to whether it was an English song composed about 1700 or whether it was an earlier Scots song which was adopted in England. Unfortunately, there is still no conclusive evidence to answer this question although Burns was very specific about only including Scots songs. There is an alternative melody for these verses which is called, 'My plaid away', composed about 1710.

Collection

Scots Musical Museum

Inventory Number

4503257

Title

Volume I, song 062, pages 62 and 63 - 'O'er the hills, and far away' - 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