Volume V, song 414, page 427 - 'Louis what reck I by thee'...
Volume V, song 414, page 427 - 'Louis what reck I by thee' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)
Verse 1: 'Louis what reck I by thee, or Geordie on his ocean: Dyvor, beggar louns to me, I reign in Jeanie's bosom.' 'Reck' is 'to reckon' or 'take heed of', 'dyvor' is a bankrupt or broken man and 'loun' is 'rascal'.
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.
Johnson has included a note under the title identifying Robert Burns as the author of this song. Whilst this is possibly true, the distinction between songs written by Burns and those merely revised by him has become somewhat hazy. Johnson's notes have, at times, proved to inaccurate, only adding to the general confusion. During his research for 'Early Scottish Melodies' (1900), John Glen was unable to find the accompanying melody in any of the major song collections published prior to the 'Museum'. He further noted that 'Although the melody is good, it cannot be said that it is original. The first four bars of the tune appear to have been derived from 'The British Grenadiers', written in a minor key.'
Volume V, song 414, page 427 - 'Louis what reck I by thee' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)