Volume IV, song 369, pages 380 and 381 - 'Muirland Willie'...
Volume IV, song 369, pages 380 and 381 - 'Muirland Willie' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)
Verse 1: 'Harken and I will tell you how, Young Muirland Willie came here to woo, Tho' he could neither say nor do, The truth I tell to you. But ay he cries whate'er betide, Maggie I'se hae to be my bride, With a fall da dall la lall la la lall la ta lall la ta lall lall.'
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.
Although 'Muirland Willie' is a famous Scottish country-dance jig, there is hardly any information about the origins of the tune or the song lyrics. Furthermore, Scotland and England have both claimed ownership of the song. Most of the information to be found on the song concerns the proper choreography when couples are dancing the jig. The ballad light-heartedly tells the story of a rural courtship, concluding with the wedding day.
Volume IV, song 369, pages 380 and 381 - 'Muirland Willie' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)