Volume II, song 122, pages 127 and 128 - 'The Yellow-hair'd Laddie' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)

Verse 1: 'In April when primroses paint the sweet plain, And summer approaching rejoiceth the swain, joiceth the swain. The yellow-hair'd laddie wou'd often times go, To wilds and deep glens, where the hawthorn trees grow, hawthorn trees grow.' Three different songs are provided here, each accompanied by the same tune. The first lines of the second two are as follows; 'When first my dear laddie gade to the green hill,' and 'The yellow-hair'd laddie sat on yon burn brae,'. 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. During his researches for 'Early Scottish Melodies' (1900), Glen was unable to find this tune in any song collections prior to its appearance in William Thomson's 'Orpheus Caledonius' (1725). Following its inclusion in Thomson's book, the tune was to feature in most subsequent song collections. Whilst the identity of the composer is not known, it is believed to be a late seventeenth century composition.

Collection

Scots Musical Museum

Inventory Number

4503319

Title

Volume II, song 122, pages 127 and 128 - 'The Yellow-hair'd Laddie' - 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

- 260 x 211 mm