Volume II, song 194, page 202 - 'Rattlin', roarin' 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: 'O Rattlin', roarin' Willie, O he held to the fair, An' for to sell his fiddle And buy some other ware; But parting wi' his fiddle, The saut tear blin't his e'e; And Rattlin', roarin' Willie Ye're welcome hame to me.' 'Rattlin' conveys the sense of wild rollicking behaviour and 'roarin' the idea of being noisily drunk. 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. Burns commented on this song in his personal notes, 'The last stanza of this song is mine and out of compliment to one of the worthiest fellows in the world, William Dunbar, Esq'. He continues by saying that Dunbar is not only a Writer to the Signet in Edinburgh, but also Colonel of the Crochallan Club. This was a popular, light-hearted gentleman's club based in Edinburgh of which Burns was an active member himself. The tune to this piece, however, seems to be a well known older melody which first appeared in manuscript form in 1692.

Collection

Scots Musical Museum

Inventory Number

4503390

Title

Volume II, song 194, page 202 - 'Rattlin', roarin' Willie' - 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