Volume VI, song 508, page 524 - 'Row saftly, thou stream' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)

Verse 1: 'Row saftly, thou stream, thro' the wild spangl'd valley, O green be thy banks ever bonny an' fair! Sing sweetly ye birds as ye wanton fu' gaily yet strangers to sorrow an' strangers to care. The weary day lang I lift to your sang, An' waste ilka moment sad cheerless alane; Each sweet little treasure o' heart cheering pleasure, Far fled frae my bosom wi' Captain O' Kaine.' 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. John Glen devoted chapter six of his book, 'Early Scottish Melodies' (1900), to detailing the history of the melodies included in the 'Museum'. Although the amount of information Glen was able to provide varied from melody to melody, there is at least one brief entry for each. He noted that this melody is known by the title of 'Captain O'Kaine' and 'is certainly Irish'. The words provided here are purported to be by Richard Gall (1776-1801), who originally entitled his song 'Captain O'Kaine' in recognition of 'the beautiful melody' that inspired him. It is unclear whether any words to accompany the melody existed prior to Gall's.

Collection

Scots Musical Museum

Inventory Number

4503702

Title

Volume VI, song 508, page 524 - 'Row saftly, thou stream' - 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