Volume I, song 055, page 56 - 'O'er the Moor to Maggy' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)

Verse 1: 'And I'll o'er the moor to Maggy; her wit and sweetness call me; then to my fair I'll show my mind, Whatever may befal me. If she love mirth, I'll learn to sing; Or like the Nine to follow, I'll lay my lugs in Pindus' Spring, And invocate Apollo.' 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. The last three lines of this first verse make reference to Greek mythology. The 'Nine' possibly refers to the nine Muses who were often depicted as companions to the Greek God, Apollo. Son of Zeus and Leto, Apollo is associated with the sun, male beauty and the arts. He is thought to have created universal order through music. The Pindus are a Greek mountain range.

Collection

Scots Musical Museum

Inventory Number

4503250

Title

Volume I, song 055, page 56 - 'O'er the Moor to Maggy' - 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