Volume VI, song 581, page 601 - 'As I lay on my bed on a night' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)

Verse 1: 'As I lay on my bed on a night, I thought upon her beauty bright, But the moon by night did give no light Which did perplex me sure, yet away to my love I did go.' 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. Whilst William Stenhouse, editor of the 'Museum' (1853) following Johnson's death, believed this song to be part of an ancient ballad discovered by Burns, John Glen was rather less convinced. In his book, 'Early Scottish Melodies' (1900), Glen mercilessly highlights the countless inaccuracies found in Stenhouse's commentary on the 'Museum'. In this instance, he believed Stenhouse's statement to be one of his many inventions. Unfortunately, little is actually known about the origins of either the song or the title, although Glen did believe the melody to be ancient.

Collection

Scots Musical Museum

Inventory Number

4503776

Title

Volume VI, song 581, page 601 - 'As I lay on my bed on a night' - 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