Volume IV, song 319, page 330 - 'O as I was kist yestreen' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)

Verse 1: 'O, as I was kist yestreen, O, as I was kist yestreen! I'll never forget till the day that I die, Sae mony braw kisses his Grace gae me.' Verse 2: 'My father was sleeping, my mither was out, And I was my lane, and in came the Duke; I'll never forget 'till the day that I die, Sae mony braw kisses his Grace gae me.' 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 little ditty poses more questions than can be answered. It is thought that the tune was originally called 'Lumps of Pudding' and was first recorded in 1659 in the 'Dancing Master'. More modern commentators, however, have questioned the relationship between these two melodies. The words would seem to support the modern assumption that the gentry used to indulge in dalliances with the more 'common' orders. It possibly even appealed to Burns, who was notorious for the romantic affairs he conducted.

Collection

Scots Musical Museum

Inventory Number

4503515

Title

Volume IV, song 319, page 330 - 'O as I was kist yestreen' - 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

- 132 x 211 mm