Volume IV, song 354, page 365 - 'O fare ye weel my auld...
Volume IV, song 354, page 365 - 'O fare ye weel my auld wife' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)
Verse 1: 'O Fare ye weel, my auld wife! Sing bum bi bery bum O fare ye weel my auld wife sing bum. O fare ye weel my auld wife! The steerer up o' sturt and strife, The maut's aboon the meel the night wi' some.' The word 'bum' has a number of meanings, including a term of contempt for a woman. 'Steerer' means 'stirrer', while 'sturt' means 'trouble' and 'maut' could be a shorthand version of malt whisky.
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 an openly contemptuous and gruff song sung by a celebrating husband who has just managed to split up with his wife, and now wants to drink some whisky in a toast to his success. According to Stenhouse (1853), the song is a 'fragment of a humorous old Scottish ballad'. Stenhouse points out that the song's lyrics and original melody are included in the second volume of Herd's 'Ancient and Modern Scottish Songs'. Glen (1900) is not sure about Sternhouse's claim regarding the tune's originality, and says the tune is either 'Alister' from Walsh's book of 'Caledonian Country Dances' or 'Sir John Malcolm' from Bremner's books of 'Scots Reels or Country Dances'. The song acts as a satirical counterpoint to the more romantic songs about parting lovers.
Volume IV, song 354, page 365 - 'O fare ye weel my auld wife' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)