Volume III, song 220, page 229 - 'The Gardener wi' his...
Volume III, song 220, page 229 - 'The Gardener wi' his Paidle' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)
Verse 1: 'When rosy May comes in wi' flowers, To deck her gay, green spreading bowers; Then busy, busy are his hours, The Gardner wi' his paidle. The chrystal waters gently fa'; The merry birds are lovers a'; The scented breezes round him blaw, The Gardener wi' his paidle.' A 'paidle' is a hoe.
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.
Burns commented on this particular song and melody in his notes on the 'Museum': 'This air is the gardiner's march. The title of the song only is old, the rest is mine'. Burns is known to have written songs and revised many old songs for inclusion in the 'Museum'. In many cases, his revisions were so extensive that he could often be said to have written the song. In this instance, only the original title remains. Glen (1900) confirms that the tune is 'styled the 'Gardener's March'' and believes that its first appearance in print was in James Aird's 'Selection of Scotch, English, Irish, and Foreign Airs' (1782).
Volume III, song 220, page 229 - 'The Gardener wi' his Paidle' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)