Volume VI, song 531, page 548 - 'Thy cheek is o' the rose's hue' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)

Verse 1: 'Thy cheek is o' the rose's hue, My only joe and dearie O, Thy neck is like the siller dew upon the bank sae brierie O; Thy teeth are o' the ivory, O sweets the twinkle o' thine e'e, Nae joy nae pleasure blinks on me, /My only joe and dearie O.' 'Joe' means sweetheart and 'brierie' probably means sprouting. 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 (1900) says that the lyrics for this song were written by Richard Gall (1776-1801). The song was written in response to an 'earnest request' by Mr. Thomas Oliver, a printer and publisher from Edinburgh, who was a close friend of the songwriter. It seems that Oliver passed on the melody for this song after hearing it in some pantomime, continues Glen. The song also appears under the title, 'My only Jo and dearie O'. Although Niel Gow claimed in 1806 that the melody could have been originally from Ireland, Glen disputes this claim. Glen concludes by saying that he has not found the melody printed in any song collection prior to the publication of the 'Museum'.

Collection

Scots Musical Museum

Inventory Number

4503725

Title

Volume VI, song 531, page 548 - 'Thy cheek is o' the rose's hue' - 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