Below is the booklet that accompanies The Merry Muses of Caledonia LP. The booklet is by Kenneth S. Goldstein. The Ewan McCall. If you wish to very the text below, please download the PDF of the scanned pages.
Songs
from
honusus
Robert Burns'
MERRY MUSES
OF
CALEDONIA
Sung by
EWAN MacC0LL
Produced by Kenneth S. Goldstein and Harry Osler
Edited and Annotated by Kenneth S. Goldstein
DISTRIBUTED BY FOLK-LYRIC RECORDS
INTRODUCTION
PERHAPS NO DATE in the recent history of published Burnsiana is more
important than that
on which the Auk Society edition of THE MERRY MUSES OF CALEDONIA came off the
presses of M.
MacDonald of Edinburgh in 1959. Not only was this an openly published edition,
not intended
for under-the-counter sales by irresponsible vendors of pornography; not only
was this the
first modern edition of The Merry Muses which minced no words (or spelling
either, with common
Anglo-Saxon four letter monosyllabic words properly used both in verse and
editorial text);
but it was the first edition to be responsibly edited by leading Burns scholars
who, wielding
neither the poet's pen nor seeing any necessity for protecting or defending the
good name of
the Ayrshire bard, have reproduced exactly every word and letter of the bawdy
verse with which
he is associated through the pages of the best known and most frequently
published collection
of song-erotica in the English-speaking world.
Indeed, the producers of this unique recording of unexpurgated songs from The
Merry Muses
(which was inspired by the Auk Society edition of this important collection)
recommend that
every purchaser of this album first read through the volume discussed here. From
J. DeLancey
Ferguson's important essay on "Sources and Texts of the Suppressed Poems,"
through the late
James Barke1s socio-psychologically oriented statement on "Pornography and
Bawdry in Literature
and Society," to Sidney Goodsir Smith's introductory note on "Burns and the
Merry Muses," the
opening pages of this volume are in themselves worth the price of the book. But
the main course
in this fabulous repast are the texts for the slightly less than 100 pieces
which appear as
reprinted from holograph manuscripts, the original circa 1800 edition, and later
sources of
songs either composed, collected or revamped by Burns. To Burns scholars,
amateur or profess-
ional, to folklorists, sociologists, literary historians, anthropologists, and
to that special
breed of modern man sometimes referred to as 'erotica specialists', this work is
a prime source
of both erudite information...and pleasure.
Whether one agrees with the various conclusions arrived at by Messrs.
Ferguson, Barke and
Smith, or chooses to disagree with them on one point or another (as does the
editor of this
recording), the volume is certainly a source of intelligently organized and
recondite commentary
on The Merry Muses, Burns, and his interest in folk bawdry. But one must not be
lulled into
that realm of self delusion which permits most members of our society to deny
their own interest
in erotica — except (they will tell us) as material for objective, scientific
pursuit of know-
ledge. The man who does not enjoy these songs for themselves, totally removed
from their value
in supplying him with materials for further study, is a dead man.
In line with this, the editor of this album has chosen to write a set of
headnotes to each
of the 24 songs included in this recording which will supply interested parties
with a summary
of the best available information drawn from the standard sources. This will
permit listeners
to enjoy the songs for their own sakes without supplying them with built-in
excuses for listen-
ing to the songs for the alleged purpose of pursuing knowledge to its logical
end — the logical
end (pedants would have us believe) being knowledge for the sake of knowledge.
Burns himself
derived great pleasure in collecting, singing and writing these pieces — we
invite you to join
him in his pleasure. At times the editor has taken it into his head to supply
some of his own
opinions about certain problems relative to the sources of these songs. They are
meant only
to suggest alternate approaches to sometimes difficult or baffling problems.
Store them away
for future reference - never let them interfere with or detract from your first
or later pleas-
ureful listenings to this recording.
The production of this recording presented many problems, immediate and
potential. The
Auk Society edition of The Merry Muses contained little information about the
music of the
songs other than to supply the titles of the tunes to which they were sung, when
such informa-
tion was known. The present record is intended to be a musical supplement to
that volume. The
songs may read well or poorly as folk or art poetry but, almost without
exception, they sing
superbly, and certainly far better than they read. But in their performance they
may be (and
have been) so badly butchered that listening to them is like "hearing the
cadaverous ecstasy
of offal" (as Hugh MacDiarmid, Scotland's greatest living poet, has written in
another context).
The selection of a singer for this recording was not a difficult one, however.
Indeed, there
was no question of finding the proper person for the task. There was only one
singer who could
perform these songs with that knowledge, sympathy, empathy, verility and vocal
ability which
the songs demanded. That singer was EWAN MacCOLL, many of whose previous
recordings had been
produced and edited by the editor of the present recording. And the project
proved to be one
which MacColl himself had independently decided to do at some time, and which
production he
joined with fervor. The selection of the songs was the next problem to be faced.
To 'play
it safe' and avoid potential prosecution, the producers could well have selected
those songs
containing no so-called 'obscene' words and whose euphemistic and polite
references to matters
of sex would prove inoffensive to the ever pervasive censors (for this is surely
an age of
censors). To do so, however, would have been to defeat the very purpose for
which the present
[2]
recording was first conceived. It was therefor resolved that the singer was
to make his own
selection of songs and that such selection was to be both representative of the
entire collec-
tion and at the same time the best of the available material. Here, too,
MacColl's intentions
coincided with those of the producers. The songs were performed unaccompanied,
certainly as
they might have been sung by the Scots folk themselves.
After the songs had been selected and recorded, the producers found
themselves question-
ing their intelligence in the matter. Legal advice concerning the issuance of
such a recording
was sought. Some lawyers advised wholely against it, others suggested its being
utilized as a
test case. Friendly scholars and other interested and experienced people gave us
their opin-
ions. Some suggested expurgating the recording by omitting those songs
containing certain
potentially objectionable verbs and nouns. In the final analysis we decided to
issue the re-
cording as it was originally conceived — unexpurgated and representative of the
whole col-
lection. The materials are in no way compromised. The compromise which the
producers have
made was to issue the recordings in such a manner as to make them generally
unavailable to the
man in the street. The edition is strictly limited to 500 copies. The price of
the set was
raised to a point at which it became prohibitively priced for a general market.
And finally,
the set has been made available by subscription only to a selected group of
'adult, mature and
responsible' individuals — scholars and students in the fields of literature,
folklore and
related disciplines. It is a compromise which we would have preferred not having
to make; the
single restriction on the album should have been its sale to adults only. It is
a shame that
only 'responsible' selected scholars will be permitted to utilize this set for
their various
ends. May the scales show an equal balance of knowledge and pleasure.
The texts sung here do not always exactly follow the published texts, but
vary only as
to the use of unimportant prepositions and articles, dialect pronunciation, some
refrain mat-
erials, and tune variation. In learning the songs, the singer made them his own
and here pre-
sents them as part of a wholely digested musical and textual experience. The
variation that
exists is that which would be true for any natural folksinging experience. There
is, however,
no expurgation of text in such variation. The listener should refer to the Auk
Society edition
of The Merry Muses for the exact text originals.
The editor wishes to thank those individuals who have been of assistance with
this pro-
duction. They are too numerous to mention here, but they will know that lack of
mention of
their names is not a sign of discourtesy or lack of appreciation. Special
thanks, however,
must be singled out for Hamish Henderson, Research Fellow of the School of
Scottish Studies
and Scotland's leading folk song collector, and for Gershon Legman, of Valbonne,
France, the
leading scholar in the field of erotic folklore and an ever-vigilant, if
sometimes impatient,
critic of all that goes on in his chosen area of study.
Kenneth S. Goldstein
January, 1962.
A NOTE FROM THE SINGER
In selecting the songs included on this recording, I have chosen what I
consider to be
the cream of the material. There are other songs equally good in the collection,
but there are
few, if any, which are better. I have selected them with no desire to shock, but
rather because
I consider them good, some of them beautiful, songs.
Burns' collection of bawdry is not to everyone's taste. While there is in the
collection
a good deal that is witty and good naturedly bawdy, and while a surprising
number of the songs
succeed in being lusty and tender at the same time, there are also a number of
items which are
neither witty, good natured, or decently lustful. These latter are the kind of
songs which
are calculated to evoke from the listener the sly snigger, not the belly-laugh.
Love, the feeling and the act, is not a subject for the smart titter or the
snigger behind
the hand. It is an important phenomenon and needs an honest approach. It can be
laughed at,
yes, but not in falsetto. It needs to be approached with warmth and
understanding. For the
most part, Burns did just that with The Merry Muses. May I do the same?
Ewan MacColl
[3]
REFERENCE SOURCES
Aldine George A. Aitken, editor, POETICAL WORKS OF ROBERT BURNS,
Aldine Edition, London, 1839.
Cook Davidson Cook, "ANNOTATIONS OF SCOTTISH SONGS BY BURNS: AN
ESSENTIAL SUPPLEMENT TO CROMEK AND DICK", article in the
Burns Chronicle & Club Directory, No. XXXI, January, 1922,
Burns Federation, Kilmarnock, pp. 1 - 21.
Herd David Herd, THE ANCIENT AND MODERN SCOTS SONGS, HEROIC BAL-
LADS Etc., Edinburgh, 1769 and 1776.
Letters J. DeLancey Ferguson, THE LETTERS OF ROBERT BURNS, Oxford, 1931.
Centenary W. E. Henley and T. F. Henderson, THE POETRY OF ROBERT BURNS,
Centenary Edition, Edinburgh, 1896.
Hecht Hans Hecht, SONGS FROM DAVID HERD'S MANUSCRIPTS, Edinburgh, 1904.
Dick, Notes James C. Dick, NOTES ON SCOTTISH SONG BY ROBERT BURNS, WRITTEN
IN AN INTERLEAVED COPY OF THE SCOTS MUSICAL MUSEUM, London, 1908.
Dick, Songs James C. Dick, THE SONGS OF ROBERT BURNS, NOW FIRST PRINTED
WITH THE MELODIES FOR WHICH THEY WERE WRITTEN, London, 1903.
Glen John Glen, EARLY SCOTTISH MELODIES, Edinburgh, 1900.
Keith Alexander Keith, BURNS AND FOLK-SONG, Aberdeen, 1922.
Illustrations William Stenhouse, ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE LYRIC POETRY AND
MUSIC OF SCOTLAND, Edinburgh, 1853 [This is the fourth
volume of the 1853 edition of James Johnson's THE SCOTS
MUSICAL MUSEUM].
MMC 1800 MERRY MUSES OF CALEDONIA; A COLLECTION OF FAVOURITE SCOTS
SONGS, ANCIENT AND MODERN; SELECTED FOR USE OF THE CROCHALLAN
FENCIBLES, No place, no date, [circa 1800]. [The editor has
not seen this volume, and references to it are from MMC '59.]
MMC 1827 THE MERRY MUSES, A CHOICE COLLECTION OF FAVOURITE SONGS FROM
MANY SOURCES BY ROBERT BURNS, No place, [predated] 1827.
[The editor has not seen this volume, and references to it
are from MMC '59.]
MMC '11 THE MERRY MUSES OF CALEDONIA...A VINDICATION OF ROBERT BURNS
IN CONNECTION WITH THE ABOVE PUBLICATION AND THE SPURIOUS
EDITIONS WHICH SUCCEEDED IT, Printed and published under
the auspices of the Burns Federation, 1911 [Edited by
Duncan M'Naught].
MMC '59 THE MERRY MUSES OF CALEDONIA, edited by James Barke and Sidney
Goodsir Smith, with a prefatory note and some authentic Burns
texts contributed by J. DeLancey Ferguson, Edinburgh, 1959.
Sharpe Charles K. Sharpe, A BALLAD BOOK, n.p., 1823 [The edition
referred to in headnotes was edited by David Laing, and
reprinted with additional notes and ballads from the
manuscripts of C. K. Sharpe and Sir Walter Scott, Edin-
burgh, 1880].
SMM James Johnson, publisher, THE SCOTS MUSICAL MUSEUM, CONSISTING
OF SIX HUNDRED SCOTS SONGS, Edinburgh, 1787 - 1803 [The
edition referred to in headnotes was edited by David Laing
and William Stenhouse, and reprinted in four volumes,
Edinburgh, 1853. Songs are referred to by the number assigned
to them in the collection,which remained constant in all editions].
TTM Allan Ramsay, THE TEA-TABLE MISCELLANY, Edinburgh, 1724, and
numerous later editions. [The edition referred to in headnotes
was reprinted in two volumes from the fourteenth edition, in
Glasgow, 1876].
[4]
Songs from Robert Burns' THE MERRY MUSES OF CALEDONIA
Sung by EVAN MacCOLL
Edited and Annotated by KENNETH S. GOLDSTEIN
SIDE A
1. THE JOLLY GAUGER
This piece is most certainly a parody of "The Jolly Beggar" (Child #279),
authorship of
which is traditionally attributed to James V of Scotland. A single verse of the
original will
clearly show its relationship to "The Jolly Gauger":
"There was a jolly beggar, and a begging he was bound,
And he took up his quarters into a land'art town,
And we'll gang nae mair a roving sae late into the night,
And we'll gang nae mair a roving, boys, let the moon shine
ne'er sae bright,
And we'll gang nae mair a roving."
- Herd (1776), Volume II, pp. 26-28.
Scott Douglas attributed authorship of "The Jolly Gauger" to Burns; Delancey
Ferguson be-
lieves that if it was not original with Burns it was probably touched up by him.
The tune first appeared in Oswald's "Caledonian Pocket Companion," book IX,
page 16, under
the title "The Beggar's Meal Pokes". Glen questions the frequently attributed
antiquity of the
tune and comments that "...the tune has modern stamped upon it..." (Glen, p.
147.)
The present text, with slight orthographic changes consistent with Scots
pronunciation,
was learned from MMC '59, p. 78 (originally from MMC 1800). The tune was learned
from SMM, #266
("The Jolly Beggar").
THE JOLLY GAUGER
(Tune: The Jolly Beggar)
1. There was a jolly gauger, a-gaugin' he did ride,
And he has met a beggar doon by yon river side,
An' we'll gang nae mair a-rovin' wi' ladies tae the wine,
When a beggar wi' her meal-pyocks can fidge her tail sae fine,
An' we'll gang nae mair a-rovin'.
2. Amang the broom he laid her, amang the broom sae green,
And he's fa'n tae the beggar, as she had been a queen,
An' we'll gang etc.
3. My blessings on thee, laddie, thou's done my turn sae weel,
Wilt thou accept, dear laddie, my pyock and pickle meal?
An' we'll gang etc,
4. Sae blythe the beggar took the bent, like ony bird in Spring,
Sae blythe the beggar took the bent, and merrily did sing,
An' we'll gang etc.
5. My blessings on the gauger, 0' gaugers he's the chief,
Sic kail ne'er crost my kettle, nor sic a joint o' beef,^
An' we'll gang etc.
2. GIE THE LASS HER FAIR IN'
This song is attributed to Burns in MMC 1827, by Scott Douglas in a pencilled
note in
MMC 1800, and- by the editors of MMC ! 59 who supported the attribution with the
statement
"Quite likely too; the tune was one of his favourites." M'Naught does not appear
to have sup-
ported this contention, however, for in MMC '11, below the song title, he has
the remark: "An
old fragment."
Mr. Hamish Henderson, folklore collector and Research Fellow for the School
of Scottish
Studies, Edinburgh, reports that he heard this song in tradition during his
youth in Perthshire.
[5]
The tune, "Cauld Kail in Aberdeen", was popular to various sets of words
before it was
published for the first time in SMM (1788), #162, to a song of the same title,
contributed by-
Burns (see Dick, Songs, notes to #225, p. 431, and #102, p. 384.)
The present text was learned from MMC '59, p. 80 (originally from MMC 1800)
and the tune
from SMM, #162.
GIE THE LASS HER FAIRIN'
(Tune: Cauld Kail in Aberdeen)
1. 0 gie the lass her fairin', lad,
0 gie the lass her fairin',
An' something else she'll gie to you,
That's waly worth the wearin';
Syne coup her ower amang the creels,
When ye hae taen your brandy,
The mair she bangs the less she squeals,
An' hey for houchmagandie.
2. Then gie the lass a fairin', lad,
0 gie the lass her fairin',
And she'll gie you a hairy thing,
An' of it be nae sparin';
But coup her ower amang the creels,
An' bar the door wi' baith your heels,
The mair she bangs the less she squeals,
An' hey for houchmagandie.
3. SUPPER IS NA READY
The editors of MMC '59 consider this song to be one collected by Burns,
M'Naught appears
to agree with this in MMC '11, for below the title of the song he has the
remark: "This is an
old fragment." One cannot, however, agree with him as to its being a 'fragment';
no song was
ever more complete in making its point in two such short stanzas.
Mr. G-ershon Legman, in correspondence to me in April, I960, informed me that
this song is
"a translation from 16th century French," but was unable to supply me with his
bibliographical
reference for the statement at the time.
Burns was certainly familiar with the tune, "Clout the Cauldron", to which it
is supposed
to be sung. He knew it as the tune to "The Tinker" and "The Turnimspike" (see
Cook, p. 12, for
Burns' note on "Clout the Cauldron", and Dick, Songs, p. 447), and used it as
the tune to the
song beginning "My bonnie lass, I work in brass..." in the "Jolly Beggars"
cantata, as well as
for "The Fornicator" (MMC '59, p. 52).
"Supper Is Na Ready" appears to have continued in oral circulation in
Scotland (though its
ultimate source may well have been some edition of MMC), as the version sung
here by Ewan MacColl
was learned by him from the singing of his father, who had it from a fellow
iron-moulder, Jock
Smyllie. MacColl's version differs only in its refrain from the one published in
MMC '59 (orig-
inally from MMC 1800).
SUPPER IS NA READY
(Tune: Clout the Cauldron)
1. Roseberry tae his lady says,
"My hinnie and my succour,
0 shall we dae the thing ye ken,
Or shall we take oor supper?"
Wi' a riddle come a ra,
Wi' a fal come a ra,
Wi' a riddle come a randy.
2. Wi' modest face sae fu' o' grace,
Replies the bonny lady:
"My noble lord, do as you please,
But supper is nae ready."
Wi1 a riddle etc.
[6]
4. WAD YE DO THAT?
M'Naught (MMC '11) referred to this piece as "An old song before Burns's
time." It is
certainly the original of Burns1 song "Lass, When Your Mither Is Frae Hame"*
(Aldine, II, p. 156),
which Scott Douglas referred to as "a silly paraphrase" of the present song.
The tune, "John Anderson, My Jo," dates back at least to the middle of the
17th century.
It was certainly a favorite with Burns, who also knew it as the tune to a bawdy
song of that
title (MMC f59, pp. 114-115) on which he based his own song of the same name
(SMM, #260), as
well as the tune of "Our Gudewife's Sae Modest", another piece of bawdry
collected by Burns (see
MMC '59, p. 135).
The present text was learned from MMC !59, p. 122, and the tune from MacColl's father.
WAD YE DO THAT?
(Tune: John Anderson, My Jo) #
1. Gudewife, when your gudeman's frae hame,
Might I but be sae bauld,
As come to your bed-chamber
When winter nichts are cauld;
As come to your bed-chamber
When nichts are cauld and wat,
And lie in your gudeman's stead:
Wad ye do that?
2. Young man, an ye should be so kind,
When oor gudeman's frae hame,
As come to my bed-chamber
Where I am laid my lane;
And lie in oor gudeman's stead,
I will tell you what,
He fucks me five times ilka nicht,
Wad ye do that?
5. ANDREW AN' HIS CUTTY GUN
The earliest published song of this name appeared in Allan Ramsey's TTM in
1740. James
Dick referred to it as "a brilliant vernacular song" of which "many imitations
have been written,
but none equals the original..." (Dick, Songs, p. 361). The exact relationship
of that song to
the present one is in question; Dick was uncertain as to whether the
bacchanalian song in TTM
was "the original or a parody of verses in the Merry Muses."(Dick, Notes, p.
96).
Either the 'brilliant' bacchanalian piece or the present bawdy song was the
original from
which Burns fashioned his composition, "Blythe Was She" (SMM, 1788, #180). From
Burns' own re-
marks in a letter to George Thomson in 1794, in which he described the bawdy
song as "the work
of a Master" (Letters, Vol. II, p. 276), it would appear that the present song
was the original
for his own creation.
The text sung here was learned from MMC '59, p. 120 (originally from MMC
1800); the tune
was learned from MacColl's father,
ANDREW AN' HIS CUTTY GUN
1. Blythe, blythe, blythe was she,
Blythe was she but and ben,
An' weel she lo'ed it in her neive,
^ But better when it slippit in.
2. When a' the lave gaed tae their bed,
And I sat up to clean the shoon,
0 wha think ye cam jumpin' ben,
But Andrew and his cuttie gun.
Blythe, blythe, blythe was she,
Blythe was she but and ben,
An' weel she lo'ed it in her neive,
But better when it slippit in.
[7]
3. Or e'er I wist he laid me back,
And up my gamon to my chin,
And ne'er a word to me he spak,
But liltit oot his cutty gun.
Blythe, blythe, etc.
4. The bawsent bitch she left the whalps,
And hunted roond us at the fun,
As Andrew fodgel'd wi his airse,
And fir'd at me the cuttie gun.
Blythe, blythe, etc.
5. 0 some delights in cuttie stoup,
And some delights in cuttie-mun,
But my delight's an airselins coup,
Wi' Andrew an' his cuttie gun.
Blythe, blythe, etc.
6. DUNCAN GRAY
Henley and Henderson (Centenary, Volume III, p. 452) and Hans Hecht (Hecht,
p. 319) ap-
pear to be in agreement that the Merry Muse text of "Duncan Gray" was a Burns
touch-up of a
similar version appearing in David Herd's mss. (see Hecht, pp. 208-209). This
may have been
the case, but nowhere in his correspondence did Burns ever mention Herd by name,
a very un-
likely occurence if he had had access to Herd's mss. Indeed, the editors of the
Centenary
edition of Burns' works claim that Burns used twenty of Herd's unpublished songs
as source
material. Burns, however, was too scrupulous in such matters to pass over giving
credit where
it was due. A more logical answer is that given by Alexander Keith (Keith, p.
41): "...Burns
was familiar with the songs, or variants of them, independent of Herd or any
manuscript whatever.
He and Herd were tapping the same flow."
Either the present text or its original (if there was one) was the basis for
two of Burns'
Scots dialect creations of the same name (SMM, #160, and Dick, Songs, pp.
160-161), and an in-
ferior song to the same tune, in English, "Let Not Women E'er Complain" (Dick,
Songs, p. 99).
Concerning the tune itself, Stenhouse (Illustrations, p. 148) reports a tradition that
"this lively air was composed by Duncan Gray, a carter or carman in Glasgow, about the beginning
of the last [l8th] century, and that the tune was taken down from his
whistling it two or three
times to a musician in that city,"
The text sung here was learned from MMC '59, pp. 98-99 (originally from MMC
1800); the tune
was learned from MacColl!s father.
DUNCAN GRAY
1. Can ye play me Duncan Gray,
Ha, ha, the girdin' o't;
O'er the hills an' far awa,
Ha, ha, ha, the girdin' o't,
Duncan came oor Meg to woo,
Meg was nice an' wadna do,
But like an ither puff!d an' blew
At offer o' the girdin' o't.
2. Duncan, he cam here again,
Ha, ha, the girdin' o't,
A1 was oot, an' Meg her lane,
Ha, ha, ha, the girdin' o't;
He kiss'd her butt, he kiss'd her ben,
He hang'd a thing against her wame;
But, troth, I noo forget its name,
But, I trow, she gat the girdin' o't.
3. She took him tae the cellar then,
Ha, ha, the girdin1 o't,
To see gif he could do't again,
Ha, ha, ha, the girdin1 o't;
[8]
He kiss'd her ance, he kiss!d her twice,
An1 by the by he kiss'd her thrice
Till deil a mair the thing wad rise
To gie her the lang girdin1 o't.
4. But Duncan took her to his wife,
Ha, ha, the girdin' o!t,
To be the comfort o' his life,
Ha, ha, ha, the girdin1 o't;
An' noo she scauls baith night an' day,
Except when Duncan's at the play,
An' that's as seldom as he may,
He's weary o' the girdin' o't.
7. I REDE YE BEWARE 0' THE RIPPLES
In a pencilled note in MMC 1800, Scott Douglas attributed this version of an
older song
to Burns; Henley and Henderson concur with this (Centenary, Volume IV, p. 89).
The song was
the original of Burns' composition "The Bonnie Moor Hen"(Dick, Songs, p, 154)
which Burns
sent to Mrs. McLehose (Clarinda), and which she advised him not to publish.
The present song is sung to the tune of "The Taylor's faun thro the bed," the
earliest ap-
pearance of which is in a manuscript music collection of 1694, where the tune is
titled "Beware
of the Ripells"; this certainly supports the contention that the song was known
before Burns'
time (Dick, Songs, p. 409). Burns contributed the song "The Taylor Pell Thro'
the Bed" to SMM
(#212), two verses of the song coming from his own pen (Dick, Notes, p. 43), and
sung to the
same tune.
The text sung here was learned from MMC '59, p. 83 (originally from MMC
1800), and the tune
from SMM, #212.
I REDE YE BEWARE 0' THE RIPPLES
(Tune: The Taylor's faun thro the bed)
1. I rede you beware or the ripples, young man,
I rede you beware of the ripples, young man;
Tho' the saddle be saft, ye needna ride aft,
For fear that the girdin' beguile ye, young man.
2. I rede you beware o' the ripples, young man,
I rede you beware o' the ripples, young man;
Tho' music be pleasure, tak' music in measure,
Or ye may want wind in your whistle, young man.
3. I rede you beware o' the ripples, young man,
I rede you beware or the ripples, young man;
Whate'er ye bestow, do less than ye dow,
The mair will be thocht o' your kindness, young man.
4. I rede you beware o' the ripples, young man,
I rede you beware o' the ripples, young man;
Grif you wad be Strang, and wish tae live lang,
Dance less wi' your airse to the kipples, young man.
8. THE TROGGER
M'Naught (MMC '11) describes this song as "Anonymous; probably not older than
Burns's
time". However, Henley and Henderson (Centenary, Volume III, p. 415), Scott
Douglas (in a
pencilled note in MMC 1800), and James Barke and Sidney Goodsir Smith (MMC '59)
are all in
agreement that it was probably written by Burns.
The tune, "Gillicrankie", is also that given for two other Merry Muse songs,
"Ellibanks"
(MMC '59, pp. 108-109) and "Nae Hair On't" (MMC '59, p. 149), although we can
not be sure that
they were indeed sung to the same tune as there are several unrelated tunes of
this same name.
The text was learned from MMC '59, p. 75 (Originally from MMC 1800), and the
tune from
James Hogg's Jacobite Relics, Volume I, pp. 32-33.
[9]
THE TROGGER
(Tune: Gillicrankie)
1. As I cam doon by Annan side,
Intending for the border,
Amang the Scroggie banks and braes
Vha met I but a trogger.
He laid me doon upon my back,
I thocht he was but jokin',
Till he was in me tae the hilts,
0 the deevil tak sic troggin.
2. What could I say, what could I do,
1 bann'd and sair misca'd him,
But whiltie-whaltie gaed his airse,
The mair that I forbad him;
He stell'd his foot against a stane,
And doubl'd ilka stroke in,
Till I gaed daft amang his hands,
0 the deevil tak sic troggin!
3. Then up we raise, and took the road,
And in by Ecclefechan,
Where the brandy-stoup we gart it clink,
And the strang-beer ream the quech in.
Bedown the bents o' Bonshaw braes,
We took the pairtin' yokin';
But I've claw'd a sairy cunt sinsyne,
0 the deevil tak sic troggin!
9. MY AIN KIND DEARIE
Henley and Henderson consider this song to be the basis of a song of the same
name in
SMM, #49, which they attribute to Burns (Centenary, Volume III, p.497). Burns,
in the inter-
leaved copy of SMM, indicates that the text printed there (for which he makes no
claims) is less
beautiful than the old words of the song which he states "were mostly composed
by poor [Robert]
Ferguson, in one of his merry humors." He follows this with one verse of the
'old words', which
differs only slightly from the first verse of the present Merry Muses text
(Dick, Notes, pp. 17-
18). Hans Hecht, in commenting on two texts of "The Ley-Rigg" from David Herd's
mss. (Hecht,
pp. 100-101), refutes the claim made for Ferguson as its author, preferring to
believe that Fer-
guson only transmitted it (Hecht, pp. 281-282),
Whether or not Burns was indeed the author of the song of this title in SMM,
he certainly
did use its tune for one of his own compositions, "When O'er the Hill the
Evening Star" (see
Dick, Songs, pp, 124-125). Dick indicates that the tune "probably belongs to the
seventeenth
century", but is unable to supply any references to it earlier than the middle
of the 18th cen-
tury (Dick, Songs, p. 397).
The present text was learned from MMC '59, p. 102 (originally from MMC 1800),
and is sung
to a tune which MacColl's parents used with the more conventional text,
MY AIN KIND DEARIE
(Tune: The Lea Rig)
1. I'll lay thee ower the lee-rig,
Lovely Mary, deary, 0;
I'll lay thee ower the lee-rig,
My lovely Mary, deary, 0.
Altho' the nicht were ne'er sae wet,
An' I were ne'er sae weary 0;
I'd lay thee ower the lee-rig,
My lovely Mary, deary, 0.
2. Look down ye gods from yonder sky,
An' see how blest a man am I;
No envy my forfd hairt alarms,
Encircled in my Mary's arms.
Lyin' across the lee-rig,
Wi' lovely Mary, deary, 0;
Lyin' across the lee-rig
Wi' ray ain kind deary, 0.
[10]
10. THE BONNIEST LASS
This piece is certainly Burns1 own composition; the theme is different, but
it is of the
same cloth as his deservedly world famous song, "Is There for Honest Poverty".
It is Burns at
his best in a lecturing mood, ranting against cant and hypocracy in matters
concerning sex.
The tune, "For a1 that", was a favorite of Burns. In addition to writing "Is
There for
Honest Poverty" to it, he also set to it the verses beginning "I Am A Bard of No
Regard" in
the "Jolly Beggars" cantata, which he later rewrote for publication in SMM as
"Tho1 Women's
Minds Like Winter Winds" (see Dick, Songs. pp. 290-291, 228, and 69,
respectively, for the thre
songs mentioned here.) James Dick reports that the tune "has been continuously
popular since
the middle of the eighteenth century," and gives several references to its
publication (Dick,
Songs, p. 475). It is also the tune for another Merry Muses song, "Put Butter In
My Donald's
Brose" (MMC '59, p. 76), which is sometimes attributed to Burns.
The text sung here was learned from MMC '59, p. 69 (originally from MMC
1827); the tune
was learned from SMM, #290.
THE BONNIEST LASS
(Tune: For a1 that)
1. The bonniest lass that ye meet neist,
Gie her a kiss an' a' that,
In spite o' ilka parish priest,
Repentin' stool, an' a' that.
For a' that an' a' that,
Their mim-mou'd sangs an' a' that,
In time and place convenient,
They'll do't themselves for a' that.
2. Your patriarchs in days o' yore,
Had their handmaids an' a' that;
0' bastard gets, some had a score
An' some had mair than a' that.
For a' that an' a' that,
Your langsyne saunts, an' a' that,
Were fonder o' a bonnie lass
Than you or I, for a' that.
3. King David, when he waxed auld,
An's bluid ran thin, an' a' that,
An' fand his cods were growin' cauld,
Could not refrain, for a' that.
For a' that an' a' that,
To keep him warm an' a' that,
The dochters o' Jerusalem
Were waled for him, an' a' that.
4. Wha wadna pity thae sweet dames
He fumbled at, an' a' that,
An' raised their bluid up tae the flames
He couldna drown, for a' that.
For a' that an' a' that,
He wanted pith, an' a' that;
For, as to what we shall not name, -
What could he do but claw that.
5. King Solomon, prince o' divines,
Wha proverbs made, an' a' that,
Baith mistresses an' concubines
In hundreds had, for a' that.
For a' that an' a' that,
Tho1 a preacher wise an' a' that,
The smuttiest sang that e'er was sung
His Sang o1 Sangs is a' that.
[ii]
6. Then still I swear, a clever chiel
Should kiss a lass, an1 a1 that,
Tho1 priests consign him to the deil
As reprobate, an1 a! that.
For a' that an' a' that,
Their canting stuff, an1 a1 that,
They ken nae mair wha's reprobate
Than you or I, for a' that.
11. THE MODIEWARK
This delightful piece of erotic symbolism was collected by Burns, and though
the text it-
self was never used as the basis for any of his own compositions he apparently
thought sufficient-
ly of its tune to set his own verses to it. The song, "0, For Ane and Twenty
Tam", was written
by Burns specifically for SMM (#355), for which publication he directed it to be
set to the tune
"The Moudiewart" (Dick, Songs, p. 415).
The text sung here was learned from MMC '59, p. 144 (originally from MMC
1800), and the
tune from SMM, #355.
THE MODIEWARK
(Tune: 0 for ane an' twenty)
1. An1 0 the wanton modiewark,
The weary wanton modiewark;
I maun consult some learned clark
Aboot this wanton modiewark.
2. The modiewark has done me ill,
And below my apron has biggit a hill;
I maun consult some learned clark
Aboot this wanton modiewark.
An1 0 the wanton modiewark,
The weary wanton modiewark;
I maun consult some learned clark
Aboot this wanton modiewark.
3. 0 first it gat between my taes,
Oot o'er my garter niest it gaes;
At length it crap below my sark,
The weary wanton modiewark.
An' 0 the wanton etc.
4. This modiewark, tho' it be blin'
If ance its nose you lat it in,
Then tae the hilts, within a crack
It's oot o' sicht, the modiewark.
An' 0 the wanton etc.
5. When Marjorie was made a bride,
An' Willy lay doon by her side,
Syne nocht was hard, when a' was dark,
But kickin' at the modiewark.
An' 0 the wanton etc.
12. TODLEN HAME
The text of this song did not appear in any edition of the Merry Muses prior
to its inclu-
sion in MMC '59. In 1795 Burns sent it to his friend Robert Cleghorn, a fellow
member of the
Crochallan Fencibles, with the information that it was written by David
McCulloch of Ardwell,
Galloway (Letters. Volume II, p. 309).
Of the original song, "Todlen Hame", Burns wrote: "This is perhaps the first
bottle song
that ever was composed. "(Dick, Notes, p. 51). It is the kind of song Burns
would have admired,
but he does not appear to have utilized either the text or tune for any of his
own creations.
[12]
The song was first published in TTM in 1725 (see TTM, Volume I, p. 161), in
Thomson's Orpheus
Caledonius (1733), with a tune, and in SMM, #275, to a different tune. Both text
and tune have
appeared rather frequently in popular anthologies since that time.
The text sung here was learned from MMC '59, p. 61, and the tune from SMM, #275.
TODLEN HAME
1. "When wise Solomon was a young man o' micht,
He was canty and liked a lass ilka nicht;
But when he grew auld that he was nae in trim,
He cried oot, "In faith, Sirs! I doobt it's a sin!"
Todlen hame, todlen hame,
Sae roond as a neep we gang todlen hame.
2. But we're no come to that time o' life yet, ye ken;
The bottle's half-oot, but we'll fill it again.
As for Solomon's doobts, wha the devil cares for't!
He's a damn'd churlish fellow that likes to spill sport.
Todlen hame etc,
3. A bicker that's gizzen'd, it's nae worth a doit;
Keep it wat, it will haud in - it winna let oot.
A chiel that's ay sober is damned ill tae ken;
Keep him wat wi' gude drink and ye'11 find him oot then.
Todlen hame etc.
4. May oor house be weel theekit, our pantry ay fu',
Wi' rowth in oor cellar for weetin' oor mou',
Wi' a ticht, caller hizzie, as keen as oorsels,
Ay ready to souple the whistle and bells!
Todlen hame etc.
SIDE B
1. DAINTY DAVIE
Hans Hecht, James Barke and Sidney Goodsir Smith are of the opinion that this
text is
Burns' own version of an old song published by David Herd (for their arguments
in defense of
this position see footnote in MMC '59, p. 74). I am inclined to disagree with
these learned
scholars about the matter of Burns' improving on Herd's published text. Herd
(1776), Vol-
ume II, p. 215, prints a three verse text in a section called "Fragments of
Comic and Humorous
Songs". In his only known reference to Herd (see Cook, p. 12), Burns wrote: "A
mutilated
stanza or two are to be found in Herd's Collection, but the song consists of
five or six
stanzas, and has merit in its way." He then quotes a first stanza differing only
in its
last line from the Merry Muses text. When reworking some older song Burns
usually gave proper
credits, sometimes even indicating which lines or stanzas were his own. Having
made reference
to Herd's fragmentary text, why should he have found it necessary to invent- the
story of there
being a longer version? Hecht's arguments are based on the fact that the Merry
Muses text is
more precise in telling its story and in making clear the allusion to the proper
name Cherrytrees.
He then states that "comparison makes it clear that the version of Dainty Davie
in MMC was de-
rived from the version given by Herd with express artistic intentions. There is
no doubt what-
ever that Burns himself was the author of these changes." I am not convinced.
Anyone familiar
with the ways of traditional songs in Scotland would be aware of the fact that
^imprecise frag-
mentary versions of a song exist side by side with more exact, fuller texts in a
folk-singing
community. Tradition in a well established folk community is rather
conservative, with the more
literate and literary folksingers in the community tending to correct and
reestablish the more
degenerate and fragmentary texts into a more perfect whole. The "express
artistic intentions"
which had reshaped a fragmentary text could well have been those of any
intelligent folk-poet
(of which Scotland, with the most literate peasantry in the English-speaking
world, has had
thousands in past days), and need not necessarily have been the handiwork of
Burns himself. The
text which Burns knew could well have come to him from some folk source. To
again quote Keith:
"He and Herd were tapping the same flow." Burns may indeed have touched up any
traditional song
which came his way in order to "heighten the artistic effect," but the version
which he knew
could have come from a traditional singer of his acquaintance, and could have
been a more "perfect"
text than that published by Herd, in which case Burns' enroachments on the text
would have been
of a far lesser order than that in which he had to indulge if he was repairing
Herd's fragment-
ary text to arrive at the Merry Muse text.
[13]
Burns thought highly of the song and of the anecdote which gave rise to it
(see Dick, Songs.
p. 474) and stated: "...were their delicacy equal to their humor, they would
merit a place in
any collection" (Dick, Notes, p. 12). He utilized its chorus and tune in his
song "Now Rosy
May Comes in Wi1 Flowers" (Dick, Songs, p. 123). To its tune he also wrote
"There Was A Lad
Was Born in Kyle", which has, however, come down to us usually sung to the tune
"0 Anf Ye Were
Dead, Gudeman" (see Dick, Songs, p. 289 for the latter song to the "Dainty
Davie" tune). The
tune has been traced to the end of the 17th century, and was published rather
frequently there-
after in both English and Scottish collections (see Glen, p. 68, and Dick,
Songs, p, 474).
The text sung here was learned from MMC f59, p. 74 (originally from MMC
1800), and the
tune from SMM, #34.
DAINTY DAVIE
1. Being pursu'd by the dragoons,
Within my bed he was laid doon,
And weel I wat he was worth his room,
My ain dear dainty Davie.
0 leeze me on his curly pow,
Bonnie Davie, dainty Davie;
Leeze me on his curly pow,
He was my dainty Davie.
2. My minnie laid him at my back,
I trow he lay nae lang at that,
But turn'd, and in a verry crack
Produc'd a dainty Davie.
0 leeze me on etc.
3. Then in the field amang the pease,
Benin' the hoose o' Cherrytrees.
Again he wan atweesh my thies,
And, splash! gaed oot his gravy.
0 leeze me on etc.
4. But had I gowd, or had I land,
It should be a' at his command;
I'll ne'er forget what he put in my hand,
It was a dainty Davie,
0 leeze me on etc.
2. WILL YE NA, CAN YE NA, LET ME BE
The editors of MMC '59 have included this song under the section of "Old
Songs Used by
Burns for Polite Versions" on the basis that its first line was paraphrased by
Burns in his
song "Scroggam" (SMM, #539). The first line of the latter song reads:
"There was a wife wonn'd in Cockpen, Scroggam..."
Otherwise the two songs bear no relationship to each other. Nor does
Burnstappear to have used
any other part of the song for his own creations.
The present song is such a perfect lyric in every way that I am led. to
believe that it may
well be Burns' own composition, in one of his more playful moods. Until some
variant text is
reported from tradition or print this should be considered a definite
possibility.
The tune, "I Ha'e Laid A Herrin' in Sa't", was certainly familiar to Burns,
as it appeared
in SMM, Volume III (1790) , under the title "Lass, Gin Ye Lo' e Me, Tell Me
Now," the tune's title
being taken from the first line of the song. The song itself appeared in Herd
(1776), Volume II,
pp. 225-226, and, according to Hecht, Herd's text was 'recast' by James Tytler
for SMM (see
Hecht, p. 283). For the history of earlier related texts printed in England, see
Win. Chappel's
introductory note to the broadside "The Countryman's Delight" in the Roxburghe
Ballads, Vol-
ume III, pp 590-592.
The text sung here was learned from MMC '59, p. 107 (originally from MMC
1800); the tune
was learned from SMM, #244.
[14]
WILL YE NA, CAN YE NA, LET ME BE
(Tune: I Ha1e Laid A Herrin1 in Sa!t)
1. There liv'd a wife in Whistle-cockpen,
Will ye nae, can ye nae, let me be,
She brews gude yill for gentleman,
And ay she waggit it wantonlie.
2. The nicht blew sair wi' wind and weet,
Will ye nae, can ye nae, let me be,
She shaw'd the traveller ben to sleep,
And ay she waggit it wantonlie.
3. She saw a sicht below his sark,
Will ye nae, can ye nae, let me be,
She wadna wanted it for a mark,
And ay she waggit it wantonlie.
4. She saw a sicht aboon his knee,
Will ye nae, can ye nae, let me be,
She wadna wanted it, for three,
And ay she waggit it wantonlie.
5. 0 whaur live ye, and what's your trade?
Will ye nae, can ye nae, let me be,
I am a thresher gude, he said,
And ay she waggit it wantonlie.
6. And that's my flail and workin' graith,
Will ye nae, can ye nae, let me be,
And noble tools, quo' she, by my faith!
And ay she waggit it wantonlie.
7. I wad gie a browst, the best I hae,
Will ye nae, can ye nae, let me be,
For a gude darge o' graith like thae,
And ay she waggit it wantonlie.
8. I wad sell the hair frae aff my tail,
Will ye nae, can ye nae, let me be,
To buy oor Andrew siccan a flail,
And ay she waggit it wantonlie.
3. LOGAN WATER
Sidney Goodsir Smith, in comparing this text with a variant published by
Herd, indicates
his belief that "..variations here are most probably improvements made by Burns
in transcrib-
ing" (MMC '59, p. 100). This need not have been the case. The same arguments
which I put forward
in the notes to "Dainty Davie" apply to this song as well. And, in addition, the
text is so
short and of the kind which strongly impresses itself on the memory, that the
very slight var-
iations between the Herd and Merry Muses text would be a common thing in oral
tradition. In-
deed, I found the first verse in living tradition in Scotland in 1959:
"It's Logan wids an' Logan braes,
Whaur I helped a bonnie lassie on wi' her claes;
First her hose an' then her sheen -
She gied me the slip fen a' wis deen."
-Collected in Fetterangus, Aberdeenshire,
December 30, 1959.
The variations between the Merry Muse text and the traditional text are
relatively minute
when one considers that the former text is over 150 years older than the verse
given above.
Henley and Henderson (Centenary, Volume III, p. 485) consider the present
song to be the
origin of Burns' song of the same name (Dick, Songs, pp. 252-253). However,
aside from its
tune, there is no apparent relationship between the two songs. Burns wrote to
Thomson that
he knew "a good many different" songs of "Logan Water", and he apparently
fashioned his own
song after one by John Mayne (see Dick, Songs, p. 458). There is also another
song, "The
Bower of Bliss", to this tune in MMC '59, p. 160.
[15]
The tune may trace back to the 17th century, as various English broadsides of
that period
were instructed to be sung to the tune "Logan Water", The tune appeared
frequently in Scot-
tish collections during the 18th century and has been printed often since that
time (Dick,
Songs, p. 458).
The text sung here was learned from MMC !59, p. 100 (originally from MMC
1800), and the
tune from SMM, #42.
LOGAN WATER
1. The Logan burn, the Logan braes,
I helped a bonnie lassie on wi1 her claes;
First wi1 her stockings an' syne wi1 her shoon,
But she gied me the glaiks when a' was done.
2. But an I had ken!d, what I ken noo,
I wad a bang'd her belly fu!;
Her belly fu' and her apron up,
An' show'd her the road to the Logan kirk.
4, HAD I THE WYTE SHE BADE ME
Henley and Henderson (Centenary, Volume III, p. 411) write: "The inference is
irresist-
able that the fragment in the Herd ms [Hecht, p. 117] suggested two songs to
Burns: one for
publication, the other - not," Hecht is in agreement with this (Hecht, p. 288)
and James
Barke and Sidney Goodsir Smith indicate their approval of this evaluation. But
until it
can be proven that Burns actually saw the Herd mss., the claim is pure
conjecture. Again,
as in the case of "Dainty Davie" and "Logan Water", Burns could have gotten hold
of another
and more complete version from tradition. Sir Walter Scott appears to have known
another
version, for in a marginal note to Herd's text he wrote: "For the last two lines
read
And when I could na do't again:
Silly loon she ca'd me."
-Hecht, p. 117 [repeated in MMC '59, p. 9l]
Note that these two lines are a variant of lines 5 and 6 in the first verse
of the Merry Muses
text, but are nowhere present in the Herd text. Are we to assume that Scott also
was rework-
ing Herd's text? If so, isn't it strange that he should arrive at two lines
which are closely
related to two lines which are supposed to be the handiwork of Burns? More than
likely, both
Burns and Scott had heard other traditional versions which may have been
related, but which
were certainly different from the Herd ms, text.
There is no question that the Merry Muses song did suggest Burns' own
composition of the
same name, which was published in SMM, #415. According to Dick, the tune can be
traced to
the beginning of the 18th century and was known by various other titles in
addition to "High-
land Hills" (to which the Merry Muses text is instructed to be sung). The tune
was printed
frequently in the 18th century, and its popularity has come down to this century
(see Dick,
Songs, p. 418)c I heard the tune played on the harmonica in northeastern
Scotland in I960.
The text sung here was learned from MMC '59, p. 73 (originally from MMC
1800), and the
tune from SMM, #415.
HAD I THE WYTE SHE BADE ME
(Tune: Highland Hills)
1. Had I the wyte, had I the wyte,
Had I the wyte she bad me;
For she was steward in the house,
And I was fit-man laddie;
And when I wadna do't again,
A silly coo she ca'd me;
She straik't my heid, and clap't my cheeks,
And lous'd my breeks and bad me.
2. Could I for shame, could I for shame,
Could I for shame deny her;
Or in the bed was I to blame,
She bad me lie beside her.
[16]
I put six inches in her wame,
A quarter wadna fly'd her;
For ay the mair I ca!d it hame,
Her ports they grew the wider.
3. My tartan plaid, when it was dark,
Could I refuse to share it;
She lifted up her holland-sark,
And bad me fin1 the gair o!t;
Or how could I amang the garse,
But gie her hilt and hair o't;
She clasped her houchs about my airse,
And ay she glowr'd for mair o!t.
5. MUIRLAND MEG-
Only a handful of Merry Muses texts have come down to us in Burns1 own
handwriting.
"Muirland Meg" is one of these, and the present text is probably one collected
by Burns1
from tradition.
"Muirland Meg" is instructed to be sung to the tune "Saw Te My Eppie McNab",
the title
song of which is also to be found in MMC '59, p. 97. This latter song was
undoubtedly the
origin of Burns1 song of the same title (Dick, Songs, p. 114). The tune has been
traced
back to 1742, but Dick believes that "From its construction it is much older
than the ear-
liest date named" (Dick, Songs, p. 394).
The present text was learned from MMC !59, p. 60 (originally from a holograph
text in
Burns' handwriting, but incorporating the chorus with which it appeared in MMC
1800). The
tune was learned from SMM, #336.
MUIRLAND MEG
(Tune: Saw Ye My Eppie McNab)
1. Amang oor young lassies there's Muirland Meg,
She'll beg or she work, and she'll play or she beg,
At threteen her maidenheid flew to the gate,
And the door o' her cage stands open yet.
And for a sheep-cloot she'll do't, she'll do't,
And for a sheep-cloot she'll do't;
And for a toop-horn she'll do't tae the morn,
And merrily turn and do't, and do't.
2. Her kittle black een they wad thirl ye through,
Her rose-bud lips cry, kiss me noo;
The curls and links o' her bonnie black hair,
Wad put ye in mind that the lassie has mair.
And for a sheep-cloot etc.
3. An armfu' o' love is her bosom sae plump,
A span o' delight is her middle sae jimp;
A taper, white leg, and a thumpin* thie,
And a fiddle near by, an' ye play a wee!
And for a sheep-cloot etc.
4. Love's her delight, and kissin's her treasure;
She'll stick at nae price, and ye gie her gude measure,
As lang's a sheep-fit, and as girt's a goose-egg,
And that's the measure o' Muirland Meg.
6. 0 SAW YE MY MAGGIE?
This song is an old form of "Saw Ye Nae My Peggie" which Johnson published in
SMM, #11
(borrowed from Herd (1769), p. 175, or Herd (1776), Vol. I, pp. 288-289). In the
interleaved
SMM, Burns says of "Saw Ye Nae My Peggie": "There is another set of the words,
much older
still, and which I take to be the original one, but though it has a great deal
of merit it is
not quite ladies reading" (Dick, Notes, p. 4). In another set of comments, he
specifically
[17]
identifies this 'older1 version, referring to it as "a song familiar from the
cradle to every
Scotish ear:-", and then follows three verses of the present song (Cook, pp.
9-10). Dick
attempts to establish the age of the song by reporting that it is named in an
account of
witchcraft trials in the year 1659 (Dick, Notes. p. 83).
The tune, "Saw Te Nae My Peggy", has been traced by Dick to a manuscript of
1694, and
then appears in Orpheus Caledonius. 1725 and 1733, from which the SMM tune was
borrowed (Dick,
Notes, p. 83). There is another song, "0 Gin I Had Her", sung to the same tune,
which appears
in MMC '59, p. 155.
The text sung here was learned from MMC '59, pp. 48-50 (originally from a
holograph ms.
which omitted stanza 3; the missing stanza and the order in which the stanzas
are sung here
are as they appeared in MMC 1800). The tune was learned from SMM, #11.
0 SAV YE MY MAGGIE?
(Tune: Saw Ye Nae My Peggie)
1. Saw ye my Maggie?
Saw ye my Maggie?
Saw ye my Maggie
Comin' ower the lea?
My Maggie has a treasure,
A hidden mine o' pleasure,
I'll howk it at my leisure,
It's alane for me.
2. What mark has your Maggie?
What mark has your Maggie?
What mark has your Maggie,
That ane may ken her be?
3. Wry-cunted is she,
Wry-cunted is she,
Wry-cunted is she,
And pishes gain' her thie.
4. My Maggie has a mark,
Ye'11 find it in the dark,
It's in below her sark,
A little aboon her knee.
5. What wealth has your Maggie,
What wealth has your Maggie,
What wealth has your Maggie
In tocher, gear, or fee?
7. How meet you your Maggie?
How meet you your Maggie?
How meet you your Maggie,
When nane's to hear or see?
8. Een that tell oor wishes,
Eager glowing kisses,
Then diviner blisses
In holy ecstacy!
9. How lo'e ye your Maggie,
How lo'e ye your Maggie,
How lo'e ye your Maggie,
An' lo'e nane but she?
10, Heavenly joys before me,
Rapture trembling o'er me,
Maggie I adore thee,
On my bended knee!
7. THE COOPER 0' DUNDEE
The editors of MMC '59 include this song under section three, "Old Songs Used
by Burns
for Polite Versions", and indicate it as being "an olcj. version of "Whare gat
ye that happed
meal-bannock,"" I see absolutely no relation between this song and the one
named, except in
their common use of the same tune, and Dundee as the place of action. Burns'
song, " 0 Whar
Got Ye That Hauver-Meal Bannock" (SMM, #99, entitled "Bonnie Dundee") was his
own rewrite of
some old song which was perhaps related to an old broadside with the same
opening lines (for
a version of this broadside see A Collection of Old Ballads, Volume I, pp.
275-277) and con-
cerning the affairs of a soldier and a parson's daughter. Neither Burns' song or
the old
broadside from which it may have been derived are in any way related to %he
present song from
the Merry Muses.
"The Cooper o' Dundee" is one of a large group of bawdy songs in printed and
oral trad-
ition which make use of euphemistic references to sexual intercourse, utilizing
industrial or
trade terminology for the various actions and organs.
The tune, "Bonny Dundee" (or "Adieu Dundee"), has been traced back to the
beginning of
the 17th century, and was popular both in England and Scotland from at least the
end of the
17th century, appearing as the tune to numerous broadside and drollery songs, as
well as
for use as a dance tune (Dick, Songs. p. 389). A second song in the Merry Muses,
"Cuddie
the Cooper" (MMC '59, p. 148), utilizes both the same tune and trade euphemisms.
The text sung here was learned from MMC '59, p. 105, and the tune from SMM, #99.
[18]
THE COOPER O1 DUNDEE
(Tune: Bonny Dundee)
1. Ye coopers and hoopers attend tae my ditty,
I sing o' a cooper wha dwelt in Dundee;
This young man he was baith am'rous and witty,
He pleas'd the fair maids wi1 the blink o' his e'e,
2. He was nae a cooper, a common tub-hooper,
The maist o' his trade lay in pleasin' the fair;
He hoop't them, he coop't them, he bor't them, he plug't them,
An1 a' sent for Sandie when oot o' repair.
3. For a twelvemonths or sae this youth was respected,
An' he was as busy, as weel he could be;
But bisfness increasfd so, that some were neglected,
Which ruin'd trade in the town o' Dundee.
4. A baillie's fair dochter had wanted a coopin',
An' Sandie was sent for, as oft times was he,
He yerk't her sae hard that she sprung an end-hoopin',
Which banish1d poor Sandie frae bonny Dundee.
8. 0 GAT YE ME ¥1' NAE THING-
This song may be the original of "The Lass of Ecclefechan" (SMM, #430), from
which it
differs in only the last five lines of the first stanza. Though not marked as
such in SMM,
Stenhouse (Illustrations, p. 381) indicates that the latter song is the work of
Burns, and
most modern editors have agreed with this. If such is the case then the present
song from
the Merry Muses is probably Burns' composition, as well. Henley and Henderson
(Centenary.
Volume III, p. 156) and Scott Douglas (in a pencilled note in MMC 1800) are of
this opinion.
The possibility exists that the present text is substantially as Burns collected
it from
tradition, and that he found it necessary to amend only five lines for
publication in SMM.
Sidney Goodsir Smith suggests that it "might well be by Burns on the basis of an
old frag-
ment, probably the first two lines" (MMC '59, p. 79).
Dick traces the tune, "Jacky Latin", from the middle of the 18th century, and
prints the
first stanza and chorus of a song "of uncertain age" whose hero is "Bonie Jockie
Latin" (Dick,
Songs, pp. 418-419).
The text sung here was learned from MMC '59, p. 79 (originally from MMC
1800); the tune
is from SMM, #430.
0 GAT YE ME WI1 NAE THING
(Tune: Jacky Latin)
1. Gat ye me, 0 gat ye me,
An1 gat ye me wif naething?
A rock an' reel, a spinning wheel,
A gude black cunt was ae thing,
A tocher fine, o'er muckle far,
When sic a scullion gat it;
Indeed, o'er muckle far, gudewife,
For that was ay the fau't o't.
2. But haud your tongue noo, Luckie Lang,
0 haud your tongue and jander,
1 held the gate till you I met,
Syne I began to wander;
I tint my whistle an' my sang,
I tint my peace an' pleasure,
But your green grave noo, Luckie Lang,
Wad airt me to my treasure.
[19]
9. YE HAE LIEN WRANG, LASSIE
This song was probably collected from tradition by Burns. It is certainly the
origin
of his fragmentary song of the same title (Aldine. Volume II, p. 155), which
contains the
chorus and third verse, considerably altered, of the present song.
The tune, "Up and Waur Them a1, Willie", is that of a song of the 1715
Rebellion which
Burns rewrote in part for inclusion in SMM, #188. Dick traces the tune from the
middle of
the 18th century (Dick, Songs, p. 465).
The text sung here was learned from MMC '59, p. 106 (originally from MMC
1800), and the
tune from SMM, #188.
YE HAE LIEN WRANG, LASSIE
(Tune: Up and Waur Them af, Willie)
1. Ye hae lien wrang, lassie,
Ye've lien a' wrang,
Ye've lien in some unco bed
And wi1 some unco man.
2. Your rosy cheeks are turn'd sae wan,
Ye're greener than the grass, lassie,
Your coatie's shorter by a span,
Yet deil an inch the less, lassie.
Ye hae lien wrang, lassie,
Ye've lien af wrang,
Ye've lien in some unco bed
And wi' some unco man.
3. Ye've loot the pounie o'er the dyke,
And he's been in the corn, lassie;
For ay the brose ye sup at e'en,
Ye bock them or the morn, lassie.
Ye hae lien wrang etc.
4. Fu' lichtly lap ye ower the knowe,
And through the wood ye sang, lassie;
But herryin' o' the foggie byke,
I fear ye've got a stang, lassie.
Ye hae lien wrang etc.
10. HOP CAN I KEEP MY MAIDENHEID
The editors of MMC '59 consider this song to be the original of Burns' song
"0 Wat Ye
What My Minnie Did" (Aldine, Volume II, p. 157), but I am inclined to view that
as an unre-
lated song sharing only its tune and metrics, and which may not have been
written by Burns at
all; it appears in a manuscript in Burns' handwriting which contains his notes
on various songs
together with texts which are not of his own composition (Cook, p. 7). It would
appear, in
any case, that the present song was one of the bawdy songs which Burns collected
from tradition.
Another version of this song was published by C K. Sharpe in 1823 (Sharpe,
pp. 54-55),
and may date back to Burns' time. In his notes to the song, Sharpe indicates
that "Nancy
Anderson, our nursery-maid in old times, used to sing this very well. It was a
prodigious
favourite among the nymphs of Annandale" (Sharpe, p. 130).
Hamish Henderson informed me that the song was in oral circulation during his
childhood
days in Perthshire. The song continues to live in oral tradition; I collected
two fragmentary
texts in northeastern Scotland in December 1959 containing substantially the
lines of the first
two verse's of the Merry Muses text.
The tune, "The Birks o' Abergeldie", was utilized by Burns for a song of the
same name
which he wrote for SMM, #113. Dick traces the tune back to the end of the 17th
century, after
which it was printed rather frequently in the 18th century (Dick, Songs, p.
389).
The text sung here was learned from MMC '59, p. 119 (originally from MMC
1800); the tune
is from SMM, #113.
[20]
HOO CAN I KEEP Ml MAIDENHEID
(Tune: The Birks of Abergeldie)
1. Hoo can I keep my maidenheid,
My maidenheid, my maidenheid;
Hoo can I keep my maidenheid
Amang sae mony men, 0#
2. The captain bad a guinea for't,
A guinea forft, a guinea for't;
The captain bad a guinea for't,
An' the colonel he bad ten, 0.
3. But I'll do as my minnie did,
My minnie did, my minnie did;
I'll do as my minnie did,
For siller I'll hae nane, 0.
4. I'll gie it tae a bonnie lad,
A bonnie lad, a bonnie lad;
I'll gie it tae a bonnie lad,
For just as gude again, 0.
5. An auld moulie maidenheid,
A maidenheid, a maidenheid,
An auld moulie maidenheid,
The weary wark I ken, 0,
6. The stretchin1 o't, the strivin' o't,
The borin' o't, the rivin' o't,
And ay the double drivin' o't,
The farther ye gang ben, 0.
7. Hoo can I keep my maidenheid,
My maidenheid, my maidenheid;
Hoo can I keep my maidenheid
Amang sae mony men, 0#
11. THE LASSIE GATH'RING- NITS
This tender bit of bawdry was probably collected by Burns from tradition. He
does not
appear to have used it as the basis for any of his own compositions.
A chanted street rhyme from my childhood in Brooklyn, New York, told a similar story:
I saw a girl who fell asleep,
Eerie, eerie, orie,
When up to her four boys did creep,
Eerie, orie, aye.
The first he touched her on the breast,
I leave it to you to guess the rest.
The second he touched her on the thigh,
I leave it to you to guess how high.
The third he touchecL her on the hair,
I leave it to you to guess just where.
The fourth he touched her not at all,
But what he did I will not tell,
- circa 1936.
Mr. Hamish Henderson, in correspondence to me in December, 1960, informed me
that "The
Lassie Gath'ring Nits" corresponds, stanza by stanza to a modern French bawdy
song, "Jeannet
prend sa faucille":
Ce que fit le dernier
N'est pas dit dans la chanson.
[21]
The present song is instructed to be sung to the tune, "0 the Broom". I take
this to be
the tune commonly associated with "The Brook of Cowdenknowes", the chorus of
which begins:
"0 the broom, the bonnie, bonnie broom,/ The broom of Cowdenknowes...". Dick
traces the tune
back to the middle of the 17th century and reports its inclusion in "numerous
Scottish col-
lections of the eighteenth century" (Dick, Notes. p. 89). It is also given as
the tune to
another Merry Muses song, "Johnie Scott" (MMC '59, p. 153).
The text sung here was learned from MMC !59, p. 151 (originally from MMC
1800); the tune
was learned by MacColl from his father's singing of "The Broom of Cowdenknowes".
THE LASSIE OATH'RING NITS
(Tune: 0 the Broom)
1. There was a lass, and a bonnie'lass,
A-gath'ring nits did gang;
She pu'd them heich, she pu'd them laich,
She pu'd them whaur they hang.
2. Till tired at length, she laid her doon,
An' sleep't the wood amang;
Whan by there cam three lusty lads,
Three lusty lads an' Strang,
Three lusty lads and Strang.
3. The first did kiss her rosy lips,
He thocht it was nae wrang;
The second lous'd her bodice fair,
Pac'd up wi' London whang,
Fac'd up wi' London whang.
4. An' what the third did tae the lass
Is no put in this sang;
But the lassie wauken'd in a fright
An' says, I hae sleep't lang,
An' says, I hae sleep't lang.
12. BLYTH WILL AN' BESSIE'S WEDDING
This song was probably collected from tradition by Burns. At least part of
the song
has continued into modern tradition. I collected a close variant of the last
verse in Aber-
deenshire in 1959, and in a letter from Hamish Henderson in December, 1960, the
following
stanza was enclose.d which Mr. Henderson informed me as occurring by itself or
with other
verses in the bawdy song "Tail Toddle" (for a version of which see MMC '59, p.
82):
"Twa and twa made the bed,
Twa and twa lay doon thegither;
Fin the bed begin tae heat,
The teen lay on abeen the tither."
In a letter from Gershon Legman in April, 1960, he indicated that he
considered "Blyth
Will as still in tradition, under the title The Ball o' Kirriemuir..!.". The
connection is not
as tenuous as it may seem on first glance, for certainly both songs are in the
same spirit,
and several of the verses given here would find themselves quite at home in "The
Ball of
Kirriemuir".
The tune, "Roy's Wife" is also known as "Ruffian's Rant" and under that title
is suggested
as the tune for "Corain' o'er the Hills o' Coupar" (see MMC '59, pp. 110-111)
which contains
stanzas very much in the same spirit as the present song. In MMC 1800, three
stanzas which
originally belonged to the latter song were included in the text with "Blyth
Will"; the ed-
itors of MMC '59 have set the matter straight.
Dick traces this song back to about 1740 (Dick, Songs, p. 442); Glen informs
us that "the
air is considerably older" without citing any earlier collections or mss. in
which it ap-
peared (Glen, p. 168).
[22]
The text sung here was learned from MMC '59, p. 131 (originally from MMC
1800); the tune
was learned from the singing of MacColl's father to the usual "Roy's Wife of
Aldivaloch" text.
BLYTH WILL AN' BESSIE'S WEDDING
(Tune: Roy's Wife)
1. Blyth Will an' Bessie's weddin',
Blyth Will an' Bessie's weddin1,
Had I been Will, Bess had been mine,
An' Bess an' I had made the weddin'.
2. There was a weddin' o'er in Fife,
An' mony yin frae Lothian at it;
Jean Vernor there maist lost her life,
For love o' Jamie Howden at it.
Blyth Will an' Bessie's weddin',
Blyth Will an' Bessie's weddin',
Had I been Will, Bess had been mine,
An' Bess an' I had made the weddin'.
3. Richt sair she grat, an' wet her cheeks,
An' naithing pleas'd that we could gie her;
She tint her hairt in Jamie's breeks,
It cam nae back tae Lothian wi' her.
Blyth Will an' etc.
4. Tammie Tarnson too was there,
Maggie Birnie was his dearie,
He pat it in amang the hair,
An' puddl'd there till he was weary.
Blyth Will an' etc.
5. When e'enin' cam the toon was ttfrang,
An' beds were no to get for siller;
When e'er they fand a want o' room,
They lay in pairs like bread an' butter.
Blyth Will an* etc.
6. Twa an' twa they made the bed,
An' twa an' twa they lay thegither;
When they had nae room enough,
Ilk ane lay on aboon the tither.
Blyth Will an' etc. '
[23]