Volume VI, song 587, pages 606 and 607 - 'No Churchman am I' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)

Verse 1: 'No Churchman am I for to rail and to write, No statesman nor soldier to plot or to fight, No sly man of business contriving a snare, For a big belly'd bottle's the whole of my care. The Peer I don't envy I give him his bow I scorn not the peasant tho' ever so low, But a club of good fellows like those that are here And a bottle like this, are my glory and care.' 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. It is believed this light-hearted and humorous song was written by Burns in 1782. It was most likely intended as a drinking song for those who frequented the inns and taverns of the time. Johnson has included a note before the last verse, informing the reader that Burns wrote the final verse whilst visiting a Mason's Lodge. The accompanying tune is called 'The Lazy Mist' and, according to Glen (1900), is of Irish origin. It appeared in book twelve of James Oswald's 'Caledonian Pocket Companion' (1759).

Collection

Scots Musical Museum

Inventory Number

4503782

Title

Volume VI, song 587, pages 606 and 607 - 'No Churchman am I' - 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

- 258 x 211 mm