Volume II, song 168, pages 175 and 176 - 'O'er Bogie' -...
Volume II, song 168, pages 175 and 176 - 'O'er Bogie' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)
Verse 1: 'I will awa' wi' my love, I will awa' wi' her; Tho' a' my kin had sworn and said, I will awa' wi' her. I'll O'er Bogie, o'er Bogie, o'er Bogie wi' her, Tho' a' my kin had sworn and said, I will awa wi' her.' 'O'er-Bogie' refers to entering into a marriage not blessed by a minister. Another song accompanied by the same tune is also given. It begins, 'Well, I agree, ye're sure of me; Next to my fa her gae;'.
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.
This melody was first printed in William Thomson's 'Orpheus Caledonius' (1725) and, according to Glen (1900), was used for one of the songs included in Allan Ramsay's 'Gentle Shepherd' (1725). It also featured in Ramsay's 'Musick for the Scots Songs in the Tea-Table Miscellany', which was published around 1726. Prior to its appearance in print, however, it did feature in written form in Mrs Crockat's Music Book of 1709.
Volume II, song 168, pages 175 and 176 - 'O'er Bogie' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)