Volume V, song 491, pages 506 and 507 - 'There was a wee bit Wiffikie' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)

Verse 1: 'There was a wee bit wiffikie, And she held to the fair; She got a little drappikie, that cost her meikle care; It gaed about the wiffie's heart, and she began to speu; O quo' the wee bit wiffikie I wish I be na fu'.' Chorus: 'I wish I be na fu' quo' she, I wish I be na fu' Oh! quo' the wee bit wiffikie I wish I be na Fou'.' The term 'wiffikie' refers to a little wife or woman and 'drappikie', in this instance, is a small amount of alcohol. 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. William Stenhouse, editor of the 'Museum' following Johnson's death, claimed this song to be the work of the Catholic priest and linguist, Dr Alexander Geddes (1737-1802). Although Geddes was responsible for a number of songs, including 'Lewis Gordon' (song 86), Glen (1900) disputes Stenhouse's claim, citing an article from the Scotsman (22 January 1831) which stated that the author of 'The Wee Wifikie' and 'The Kail Brose o' Auld Scotland' was in fact Deacon Alexander Watson of Aberdeen. Glen also noted that the accompanying melody was 'a compound of the old air 'Over young to marry yet', and 'Cameron's got his wife again''.

Collection

Scots Musical Museum

Inventory Number

4503685

Title

Volume V, song 491, pages 506 and 507 - 'There was a wee bit Wiffikie' - 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

- 258 x 211 mm