Volume IV, song 358, pages 368 and 369, - 'Logie o' Buchan' - 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 Logie o' Buchan, O Logie the laird, They've ta'en awa Jamie that wrought in the yard, Wha play'd on the pipe an the Viol sae sma' They've taen awa' Jamie the flower o' them a'. 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 is some debate concerning who in fact composed this cryptic Jacobite song. Stenhouse (1853) claims that Lady Ann Lindsay wrote the song's earlier verses. However, others believe that George Halket, the schoolmaster at Rathan, composed the song in 1736-7. Certainly, Halket was considered to be a staunch Jacobite. The song is really an allegory and so operates on two levels. From a political viewpoint, the 'Jamie' being sung about is James, 'The Old Pretender', who is going into exile to become 'the King o'er the water'. On top of this clever disguise, however, the song also works as a simple love song about parting lovers. The song's minor key emphasises the lament's sense of loss.

Collection

Scots Musical Museum

Inventory Number

4503554

Title

Volume IV, song 358, pages 368 and 369, - 'Logie o' Buchan' - 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