Volume I, song 071, page 72 - 'Her Absence will not alter me' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)

Verse 1: 'Though distant far from Jessy's charms, I stretch in vain my longing arms, Though parted by the deeps of sea, Her absence shall not alter me. Though beauteous nymphs I see around, A Chloris, Flora, might be found, Or Phyllis with her roving eye; Her absence shall not alter me.' 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 three names mentioned in the first verse all belong to Greek mythology, which influenced eighteenth-century poetry. Flora is also the Greek word for flowers and Phyllis in Greek has connotations of foliage. Khloris or Chloris was the Greek goddess of vegetation and growth. The tune to this piece is alternatively called 'When absent from the Nymph I love' or 'O Jean I love thee' and is first recorded in 1694. It was thought that it was originally intended to be played on the flute.

Collection

Scots Musical Museum

Inventory Number

4503266

Title

Volume I, song 071, page 72 - 'Her Absence will not alter me' - 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