Volume III, song 227, page 236 - 'Cauld frosty morning' -...
Volume III, song 227, page 236 - 'Cauld frosty morning' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)
Verse 1: 'Twas past ane o'clock in a cauld frosty morning, When cankert November blaws over the plain, I heard the kirk bell repeat the loud warning, As, restless, I sought for sweet slumber in vain: Then up I arose, the silver moon shining bright; Mountains and vallies appearing all hoary white, Forth I would go amid the pale, silent night, To seek the fair one, the cause of my pain.'
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.
Although not officially attributed to Burns, either in the 'Museum' or in his personal notes, this song is now thought to have been written by him. Its chronological place in Burns's work is thought to be 1790 and so the piece may have been written for the 'Museum', as it was composed in time for the publication of volume three. There is a question mark over the origin of the tune, as it is undecided whether it is of Irish or Highland origin. There are prevalent features of both, and both communities have laid claim to its history.
Volume III, song 227, page 236 - 'Cauld frosty morning' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)