Volume IV, song 346, pages 356 and 357 - 'A Country Lass' -...
Volume IV, song 346, pages 356 and 357 - 'A Country Lass' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)
Verse 1: 'Altho' I be but a country lass A lofty mind I bear O, And think mysell as good as these That rich apparel wear O.' An old ballad sung to the same tune is included on the next page. The title of this ballad is 'Geordie'. Verse 1: 'There was a battle in the north, And nobles there was many, And they hae kill'd Sir Charlie Hay, And they laid the wyte on Geordie.'
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 interesting because it is one written from the female's viewpoint. The message of the song is to lend nobility to a young woman of lowly social standing. Though the song's lyrics tell that the singer is not materially rich, they contrast her lack of physical gold and jewels with the natural treasures of her simple and honest life, plus her affinity with nature. The effect of this clever conceit is to show that country lasses, in their honourable poverty, are just as worthy as upper-class women who wear fine garments and who possess money.
Volume IV, song 346, pages 356 and 357 - 'A Country Lass' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)