Volume IV, song 323, page 334 - 'The Soger Laddie' - 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 sodger laddie is over the sea, And he'll bring gold and money to me; And when he comes hame, he'll make me a Lady, My blessings gang wi' my soger laddie. My doughty laddie is handsome and brave, And can as a soger and lover behave: He's true to his country; to love he is steady, There's few to compare wi' my soger laddie.' 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 was asked by his close friend Robert Riddell, to write a few notes on the interleaving pages of his copy of the 'Museum'. Burns left a short note on this song which reads, 'the first verse of the this is old: the rest is by Ramsay. The tune seems to be the same with a slow air called 'Jacky Hume's Lament'; or, 'The hollin buss'; or 'Ken ye what Meg o' the Mill has gotten'''. Ramsay refers to the Allan Ramsay (1686-1758), a well-known author who enjoyed a successful career writing in the pastoral style.

Collection

Scots Musical Museum

Inventory Number

4503519

Title

Volume IV, song 323, page 334 - 'The Soger Laddie' - 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