Volume III, song 293, pages 302 and 303 - 'The Ewie wi' the Crooked Horn' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)

Verse 1: 'O were I able to rehearse, My ewie's praisein proper verse, I'd found it out as loud and fierce, As ever piper's drone cou'd blaw.' Chorus: 'The ewie wi' the crooked horn, Well deserv'd baith garse and corn; Sic a ewie ne'er was born, Hereabout or far awa'' 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. These lyrics were written by the Reverend John Skinner (1721-1807). Glen (1900) believes the tune to date from around 1780. It was published that year in Angus Cumming's 'Collection of Strathspeys, or Old Highland Reels' and was called 'Carron's Reel' or 'U Choira Chruim'. In a letter to Burns dated 14 November 1787, Skinner says, 'my daughters. .. plagued me for words to some of their favourite tunes', which this may well have been. Some commentators believe, however, that it refers to the curved tubing of a whisky still, which is possible, but an unlikely subject for a man of the cloth!

Collection

Scots Musical Museum

Inventory Number

4503489

Title

Volume III, song 293, pages 302 and 303 - 'The Ewie wi' the Crooked Horn' - 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

- 263 x 211 mm