Volume I, song 079, page 80 - 'The Bonny grey-ey'd morn' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)

Verse 1: 'The bonny grey-ey'd morning begins to peep, And darkness flies before the rising ray, The hearty hynd starts from his lazy sleep, To follow healthful labours of the day; Without a guilty sting to wrinkle his brow, The lark and the linnet tend his levee, And joins their concert driving his plow, From toil of grimace and pageantry free.' This song was sung by Sir William, according to the note in the top right corner. 'Levee' translates from Old Scots as to live. 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 origin of this tune has proved remarkably contentious with claims being made stating Jeremiah Clarke's (1674-1702) authorship as well as suggestions that the tune was originally English. This first volume of tunes contains a variety of song origins as it was supposed to cover English and Irish folksongs also. After this though Burns was determined to collect only Scottish songs, which he managed with some success.

Collection

Scots Musical Museum

Inventory Number

4503274

Title

Volume I, song 079, page 80 - 'The Bonny grey-ey'd morn' - 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