Volume V, song 418, page 431 - 'Comin thro' the rye' -...
Volume V, song 418, page 431 - 'Comin thro' the rye' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)
Verse 1: 'Gin a body meet a body, Comin thro' the rye. Gin a body kiss a body need a body cry; Ilka body has a body, ne'er a ane hae I; But a' the lads they loe me And what the war am I.' This is the second set of 'Comin thro' the rye'. The first set is song 417 of the 'Museum' and begins, 'Comin' thro' the rye, poor body Comin thro' the rye'.
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.
Whilst Burns is credited with the first set of 'Comin' thro' the rye' (song 417), Johnson has not attributed the second set to him. It is possible, however, he was the author of both. In 'Early Scottish Melodies' (1900), John Glen records that this particular version was issued by John Watlen in 1794. Unfortunately, Glen had little else to say on the subject.
Volume V, song 418, page 431 - 'Comin thro' the rye' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)