Volume III, song 221, page 230 - 'Bonny Barbara Allan' -...
Volume III, song 221, page 230 - 'Bonny Barbara Allan' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)
Verse 1: 'It was in and about the Martinmas time, When the green leaves were a falling, That Sir John Graham in the west countrie Fell in love with Barbara Allan.'
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.
'Barbara Allen' is perhaps one of the most famous romantic ballads. As with many ballads and folksongs, little or nothing is known of its origins. As part of the oral traditon, it was passed from generation to generation and underwent numerous changes with the telling. According to John Glen, in 'Early Scottish Melodies' (1900), 'there are three distinct tunes of that name (Barbara Allan) claimed by Scotland, England and Ireland'. Whilst the English melody is entirely different from the other two, the Scottish and Irish melodies have similarities before progressing into entirely different tunes.
Volume III, song 221, page 230 - 'Bonny Barbara Allan' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)