Volume IV, song 339, pages 348 and 349 - 'Thou art gane awa', New Sett' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)

Verse 1: 'Thou art gane awa' thou art gane awa', Thou art gane away frae me, Mary, nor friends nor I could make thee stay, Thou hast cheated them and me, Mary. Untill this hour I never thought, That ought could alter thee, Mary, Thou'rt still the Mistress of my heart, Think what you will of me Mary.' 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. There are two tunes to this piece, and one is at least a hundred years older than the words given here. This tune may have been relatively modern, if not written by Burns, at the time of the 'Museum's' publication, as song 338 has exactly the same title and lyrics but no 'New Sett' suffix. Unfortunately, Burns left no comment or explanation of this song and its two different sets of tunes, in his personal notes on the 'Museum'.

Collection

Scots Musical Museum

Inventory Number

4503535

Title

Volume IV, song 339, pages 348 and 349 - 'Thou art gane awa', New Sett' - 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