Volume II, song 125, page 131 - 'Braw, braw lads of...
Volume II, song 125, page 131 - 'Braw, braw lads of Galla-water' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)
Verse 1: 'Braw, braw lads of Galla water; O! braw lads of Galla water: I'll kilt my coats aboon my knee, And follow my love thro' the water.' 'Kilt' in this instance means to elevate or tuck up the skirts or folds. The words to another song, accompanied by the same tune, are given. They begin, 'No repose can I discover Nor find joy without my lover'.
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.
According to Glen, in 'Early Scottish Melodies' (1900), a version of this tune was included in book eight of James Oswald's 'Caledonian Pocket Companion' (1759). Whilst Oswald's version is 'not so vocal as that in the Museum', Glen claims that the two are 'not so very different'. It is also known to have featured in Neil Stewart's 'Thirty Scots Songs' (1772) under the title 'Coming thro' the Broom', which according to Glen is 'nearly note for note with the Museum'.
Volume II, song 125, page 131 - 'Braw, braw lads of Galla-water' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)