Volume II, song 134, page 141 - 'The Carle he came o'er the Craft' - 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 carle he came o'er the craft, And his beard new shaven, Glowr'd at me as he'd been daft, The carle trows that I'll hae him. Howt awa', I winna hae him, No forsooth, I'll no hae him, New hose and new shoon And his beard new shaven.' 'Carle' is Scots for an old man or one who is boorish or churlish in nature. 'Craft' is croft and 'trow', in this instance, means to feel sure. 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. During Glen's researches for 'Early Scottish Melodies (1900), the earliest printed version of this tune he could find was in William Thomson's 'Orpheus Caledonius' of 1725. He further comments that 'it appears to be an old dance tune of the Strathspey class, and probably was a Bagpipe composition, as it is entirely of that character.'

Collection

Scots Musical Museum

Inventory Number

4503330

Title

Volume II, song 134, page 141 - 'The Carle he came o'er the Craft' - 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