Volume III, song 287, page 297 - 'Young Jockey was the blythest lad' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)

Verse 1: 'Young Jockey was the blythest lad In a' our town or here awa: Fu' blythe he whistled at the gaud, Fu' lightly he danc'd he in the ha'. He roos'd my een sae bonie blue, He roos'd my waist sae genty sma; An ay my heart came to my mou, When ne'er a body heard or saw.' 'Blythe' means to be glad or merry, a 'gaud', in this case used as a verb, is a goad or rod, used for flattening corn before it is cut. He'roos'd' means he praised. 'Genty', in this context, means dainty. 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. It is commonly believed that Robert Burns wrote the lyrics for this song, with the exception of a few lines. Certainly the air is older than the lyrics, which were written in 1759. The tune appeared in a slightly altered form in Oswald's 'Caledonian Pocket Companion' (1759), under the title 'Jockie was the Blythist Lad in all our Town'.

Collection

Scots Musical Museum

Inventory Number

4503483

Title

Volume III, song 287, page 297 - 'Young Jockey was the blythest lad' - 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

- 132 x 211 mm