Volume I, song 064, page 65 - 'Busk ye, Busk ye' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)

Verse 1: 'Busk ye, busk ye, my bonny bride; Busk ye, busk ye, my winsome marrow, Busk ye, busk ye, my bonny bride, And let us to the braes of Yarrow. There will we sport, and gather dew, Dancing while lav'rocks sing in the morning: There learn frae turtles to prove true; O Bell, ne'er vex me with thy scorning.' 'Busk' in old Scots meant to get ready or dress oneself while 'laverocks' are larks. 'Marrow' is an old Scots term for a lover or a spouse. 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 'Braes of Yarrow' and may be a more complex version of the much older melody, 'The lady's Goune' (gown). There has also been some debate over which of the lines were original, possibly the first four, and which of them were rewritten, possibly none of it. There is as yet no particular consensus.

Collection

Scots Musical Museum

Inventory Number

4503259

Title

Volume I, song 064, page 65 - 'Busk ye, Busk ye' - 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