Volume VI, song 566, page 585 - 'O ken ye what Meg o' the mill has gotten' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)

Verse 1: 'O ken ye what Meg o' the mill has gotten, An ken ye what Meg o' the mill has gotten; A braw new naig wi' the tail o' a rottan, And that's what Meg o' the mill has gotten.' Verse 2: 'O ken ye what Meg o' the mill loes dearly, An ken ye what Meg o' the mill loes dearly, A dram o' gude strunt in a morning early and that's what Meg o' the mill lo'es dearly.' 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 were written by Burns in 1793. Burns wrote another alternative set of lyrics to this piece with the same title but to be sung to the tune of 'O bonnie lass, will ye lie in a barrack'. Oddly enough this has not been included in the 'Museum'. The melody to these lyrics is entitled 'O ken ye what Meg'.

Collection

Scots Musical Museum

Inventory Number

4503761

Title

Volume VI, song 566, page 585 - 'O ken ye what Meg o' the mill has gotten' - 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