Volume I, song 056, page 57 - 'Pinky-House' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)

Verse 1: 'By Pinkie-House oft let me walk, While circled in my arms, I hear my Nelly sweetly talk, And gaze o'er all her charms. O let me, ever fond, behold Those graces void of art, Those chearful smiles that sweetly hold In willing chains my heart.' 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 tune to this song is called the 'The air of Pinky House' and was included in both Allan Ramsay's 'The Tea-Table Miscellany' (1724-7) and most of the other song collections of the period, except that published by Craig. There is some debate over the origin of the tune, although it has been suggested that this and 'Rothes Lament' are one and the same. This, however, has proved to be contentious.

Collection

Scots Musical Museum

Inventory Number

4503251

Title

Volume I, song 056, page 57 - 'Pinky-House' - 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