Volume IV, song 351, page 363 - 'Now westlin winds' -...
Volume IV, song 351, page 363 - 'Now westlin winds' - 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 'Come kiss wi' me, come clap wi' me'): 'Now westlin winds, and slaughtering guns Bring Autumn's pleasant weather; The gorcock springs, on whirring wings Amang the blooming heather: Now waving grain, wide o'er the plain Delights the weary Farmer, The moon shines bright, as I rove by night, To muse upon my charmer.' A 'gorcock' is a moorcock, or a red or black male grouse.
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.
There appears to be some confusion as to which melody these song lyrics are meant to accompany. According to Glen (1900), this confusion arose because James Johnson wrote down the song title of a completely different melody. The correct tune for these verses of Burns is 'I had a horse, I had nae mair'. Written in 1775 when Burns was just 17, this is one of his earliest songs. With the words 'Peggy dear' placed at the start of verse four, it is highly likely that the song lyrics are dedicated to Peggy Thomson of Kirkoswald, whom Burns was then infatuated with. However, it is claimed that Burns later tried to modify this song in tribute to Jean Armour.
Volume IV, song 351, page 363 - 'Now westlin winds' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)