Volume II, song 159, page 167 - 'The Shepherd Adonis' - 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 Shepherd Adonis Being weary'd with sport, He, for a retirement, To the woods did resort; He threw by his club, And he laid himself down; He envy'd no monarch, Nor wish'd for a crown.' 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. In Greek mythology, the shepherd Adonis was killed whilst hunting wild boar one day - the anemone is said to have grown from the drops of his blood. He was so loved by Aphrodite for his beauty, that Zeus restored his life for part of each year. As such, he represents nature's seasonal death and rebirth. Although there is little known about the origins of this song or melody, Glen (1900) believed both to be 'Anglo-Scottish'.

Collection

Scots Musical Museum

Inventory Number

4503355

Title

Volume II, song 159, page 167 - 'The Shepherd Adonis' - 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