Volume V, song 479, page 493 - 'We'll put the sheep head in the Pat' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)

Verse 1: 'We'll put the sheep head in the Pat, Horns an' a' the gither, And that will mak dainty fine broth and we'll a' sup the gither. We'll a' sup the gither We'll a' lye the gither We'll hae nae mae beds but ane Until it be warmer weather.' 'Pat' is the Scots word for 'pot'. 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. The melody given to this song in the 'Museum' is a bit of an oddity, as it does not appear in this form anywhere else. Two other versions of it are known, one entitled 'Miss Cuddy' and the other 'Poor Sawney had marry'd a wife', both of which were contained in 'The Pills to Purge Melancholy'. It is thought that Johnson had much improved the tune for his publication.

Collection

Scots Musical Museum

Inventory Number

4503673

Title

Volume V, song 479, page 493 - 'We'll put the sheep head in the Pat' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)

Object Type

PhysicalObject

Measurements

- 129 x 211 mm