Volume VI, song 558, page 577 - 'Hey my kitten my kitten' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)

Verse 1: 'Hey! my kitten my kitten, An' hey my kitten a dearie sic a sweet pet as this is neither far nor nearie. Now we gae up up up An' here we gang down down downy, Here we gae backwards and forward And here round round a roundy.' 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 lyrics to this song are now attributed to Jonathan Swift (1667-1775), the Dean of St Patrick's in Dublin. Although perhaps better known for his political works and satires like 'Gulliver's Travels', Swift produced a prolific amount of material in his lifetime. The song is sometimes published under the title, 'The Nurse's Song'. The tune used in the 'Museum' is called 'Whip her below the Couring' and was first found in Mrs Crocket's manuscript book of 1710. It also goes by the name of 'Yellow Stockings', however.

Collection

Scots Musical Museum

Inventory Number

4503753

Title

Volume VI, song 558, page 577 - 'Hey my kitten my kitten' - 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

- 129 x 211 mm