Volume III, song 217, page 226 - 'My Wife's a wanton, wee...
Volume III, song 217, page 226 - 'My Wife's a wanton, wee thing' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)
Verse 1: 'My Wife's a wanton, wee thing, My wife's a wanton wee thing, My wife's a wanton wee thing, She winna be guided by me. She play'd the loon or she was married, She play'd the loon or she was married, She play'd the loon or she was married, She'll do it again or she die.' In this instance 'loon' probably means 'loose woman' or adulteress. It can also, however, refer to boy, servant, peasant, tradesman, rascal or stupid lad.
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.
Many of the songs in the 'Museum' have a similarly risquǸ and bawdy subject matter, with many indiscretions and misdemeanours revealed in the songs. There are often dark undertones, such as physical abuse and murder, in these seemingly light-hearted and humorous songs. In the final verse of this particular song the husband claims 'I took a rung and I claw'd her', meaning he took a short stick and struck her. This jars next to the endearing use of 'wee thing' to describe his wife.
Volume III, song 217, page 226 - 'My Wife's a wanton, wee thing' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)