Volume II, song 136, page 143 - 'Why hangs that cloud' -...
Volume II, song 136, page 143 - 'Why hangs that cloud' - 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 'Hallow ev'n'): 'Why hangs that cloud upon thy brow, That beauteous heav'n e're while serene! Whence do these storms and tempests flow, Or what this gust of passion mean? And must then mankind lose that light, Which in thine eyes was wont to shine, And ly obscur'd in endless night, For each poor silly speech of mine?'
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), this 'good old melody' was originally a Scots measure. It appeared in a number of early song collections, including Allan Ramsay's 'Tea-Table Miscellany' (1724-7), Henry Playford's 'Original Scotch Tunes' (1700), Margaret Sinkler's Manuscript 'Music Book' (1710) and possibly in the Leyden Manuscript (1692).
Volume II, song 136, page 143 - 'Why hangs that cloud' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)