Volume V, song 467, page 480 - 'As I came o'er the Cairney...
Volume V, song 467, page 480 - 'As I came o'er the Cairney mount' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)
Verse 1: 'As I came o'er the Cairney mount, And down amang the blooming heather, Kindly stood the milking-shiel, To shelter frae the stormy weather. O my bonie Highland lad, My winsome, weel far'd Highland laddie; Wha' wad mind the wind and rain, Sae weel row'd in his tartan plaidie.'
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 also goes by the name of 'Hieland Laddie', 'Hielnlad' and 'The Highland Lassie'. This last title was in publication by Oswald when he dedicated the song to the Duke of Perth in his 'Curious Collection of Scots Tunes' (1740). The tune to the piece is also entitled 'The Highland Laddie' and is very similar to the song, 'The German Lardy', also collected by Burns for the 'Museum'. The song has now been adopted by the Clan Marcie as part of their oral history.
Volume V, song 467, page 480 - 'As I came o'er the Cairney mount' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)