Volume V, song 405, page 418 - 'A Lassie all alone' -...
Volume V, song 405, page 418 - 'A Lassie all alone' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)
Verse 1 (to the tune of 'Cumnock Psalms'): 'As I stood by yon roofless tower, Where the wa'flower scents the dewy air, Where the houlet mourns her ivy bower, And tells the midnight moon her care.' Chorus: 'A lassie all alone was making her moan, Lamenting our lads, beyond the sea; In the bluidy wars they fa' and our honor's gane and a', And broken-hearted we maun die.' 'Houlet' is Scots for 'owl' and 'bluidy' is 'bloody'.
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.
Alternatively, this song by Burns is known by the title of 'The Minstrel at Lincluden' or by the first line of the song. John Glen, in 'Early Scottish Melodies' (1900), appeared to have a rather low opinion of the accompanying melody, he wrote 'The verses of this song by Burns are exceedingly fine, but the melody to which they are adapted is a silly chant'. Whilst Burns is thought to have contributed the melody to the 'Museum', along with his song, its origins are unclear.
Volume V, song 405, page 418 - 'A Lassie all alone' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)