Volume VI, song 560, pages 578 and 579 - 'Argyll is my name' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)

Verse 1: 'Argyll is my name, and you may think it strange, To live at a court, and never to change all falsehood and flattery I do disdain In my secret thoughts nae guile does remain. My King and my country's foes I have fac'd in city or battle I ne'er was disgrac'd I do ev'ry thing for my country's weel an I'll feast upon bannocks o' barley meal.' 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. Unfortunately there is not a lot of information available on this song. It first appeared in Herd's 'Collection' (1776) under the title of its first line 'My name is Argyll'. It can occasionally now be found under the alternative title of 'The Fisherman's Frolic'. It is believed to be of Celtic origin but there is some debate over whether it has Irish or Highland characteristics, despite the subject area being Argyll. It has now been adopted by the Canadian Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders as one of their signature tunes.

Collection

Scots Musical Museum

Inventory Number

4503755

Title

Volume VI, song 560, pages 578 and 579 - 'Argyll is my name' - 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