Volume I, song 016, page 17 - 'Fy gar rub her o'er wi' Strae' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)

The title of this rather sexist song means, roughly, 'quick, go and rub her over with straw'. Verse 1: 'And gin ye meet a bonny lassie, gie 'er a kiss, and let her gae, But if ye meet a dirty hussy, Fy gar rub her o'er wi' Strae. Before ye dinna quit the grip Of ilka joy, when ye are young, Before auld age your vitals rip, And lay ye twafauld o'er a rung.'. 'Ilka' means every. There are also another set of lyrics given, to be sung to the same tune. These begin, 'Dear Roger, if your Jenny geck'. 'Geck' means to mock. 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. The lyrics to 'Fy gar rub her o'er wi' Strae' were written by Allan Ramsay (1686-1758), although Burns believed that the first four lines were older. In his notes to the 'Museum' Burns comments on the fact that many folk songs contain lines which have survived through time, but have been modified later. The tune was first published in 1725, in William Thomson's 'Orpheus Caledonius'.

Collection

Scots Musical Museum

Inventory Number

4503213

Title

Volume I, song 016, page 17 - 'Fy gar rub her o'er wi' Strae' - 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

- 130 x 211 mm