Volume II, song 156, page 164 - 'Theniel Menzies bonie...
Volume II, song 156, page 164 - 'Theniel Menzies bonie Mary' - 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 the 'Ruffians Rant'): 'In coming by the brig o' Dye, At Darlet we a blink did tarry; As day was dawin' in the sky, We drank a health to bonie Mary. Theniel Menzies' bonie Mary, Theniel Menzies' bonie Mary, Charlie Grigor tint his plaidie, Kissin' Theniel's bonie Mary.' The words to another song, sung to the same tune, are also given. It begins 'A' the lads o' Thornie-bank'.
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.
Both songs were either written or revised for the 'Museum' by Robert Burns. The tune, meanwhile, featured in many early song collections under a variety of different names, including 'Cog na Scalan' and 'Lady Frances Weemys' Reel'. William Stenhouse, editor of the 'Museum' following Johnson's death, noted that 'Ruffian's Rant' was 'likewise the melody of Roy's wife of Aldivalloch'.
Volume II, song 156, page 164 - 'Theniel Menzies bonie Mary' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)