Volume VI, song 532, page 549 - 'O ay my wife she dang me' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)

Verse 1: 'O ay my wife she dang me, An' aft my wife she bang'd me, If ye gie a' woman a' her will Gude faith she'll soon o'er gang ye. On peace and rest my mind was bent, And fool I was I marry'd; But never honest man's intent, As cursedly miscarry'd.' 'Dang' means to beat. 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. According to James Johnson, the publisher of 'The Scots Musical Museum', this humorous song was written by Robert Burns. However, as the song is not generally attributed to Burns, there is some doubt as to whether it is in fact an original work by Burns, or whether it is the poet embellishing an existing song. According to John Glen (1900), the lively tune is called 'My wife she dang me', and is included in book six of James Oswald's 'Caledonian Pocket Companion' (1759). Though William Stenhouse (1853) claims that the melody was an old air which Oswald made two variations from, Glen points out that Stenhouse produces no evidence to back up this claim.

Collection

Scots Musical Museum

Inventory Number

4503726

Title

Volume VI, song 532, page 549 - 'O ay my wife she dang me' - 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