Volume V, song 436, page 448 - 'For the sake o' Somebody' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)

Verse 1: 'My heart is sair, I dare na tell, My heart is sair for Somebody; I could wake a winter night for the sake o' Somebody. Oh hon! for Somebody! Oh hey! for Somebody I could range the world around For the sake o' Somebody.' 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. This song is attributed to Burns under the title at the top of the page and is now believed to have been written by him in 1794. The first two lines of the song are thought to have been taken from Allan Ramsay's (1686-1758) song of the same name in his 'Tea-Table Miscellany' (1724-7). The 'Somebody' referred to in the lyrics is Bonnie Prince Charlie. Burns was born just after the Jacobite rebellion and so the topic would probably have been a familiar one for him as he was growing up. All Jacobite and therefore a lot of Scottish items, such as kilts and bagpipes, were outlawed at this time. In order to escape the authorities' attention therefore, all Jacobite references were kept oblique.

Collection

Scots Musical Museum

Inventory Number

4503630

Title

Volume V, song 436, page 448 - 'For the sake o' Somebody' - 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

- 129 x 211 mm