Volume II, song 104, page 107 - 'Strephon and Lydia' -...
Volume II, song 104, page 107 - 'Strephon and Lydia' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)
Verse 1 (to the tune of 'The Gordons has the guiding o't'): 'All lovely on the sultry beach, Expiring Strephon lay, No hand the cordial draught to reach, Nor chear the gloomy way, Ill fated youth! no parent nigh, To catch thy fleeting breath, No bride, to fix thy swimming eye, Or smooth the face of Death.'
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.
Strephon was a doomed lover who was often used as a pastoral motif in seventeenth and eighteenth century poetry. Lydia was not only associated with the country in ancient Asia-Minor, but was also one of the first proselyte's in the New Testament. Burns believed this song to have been written by William Wallace of Cairnhill, Ayrshire. He was also told a story by Dr Blacklock, which revealed Strephon and Lydia to be two real lovers - Beau Gibson and Gentle Jean.
Volume II, song 104, page 107 - 'Strephon and Lydia' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)