Volume VI, song 554, page 573 - 'My Lady's gown there's gairs upon't' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)

Chorus: 'My Lady's gown there's gairs upon't And gowden flowers sae rare upon't; But Jenny's jimps and jirkinet My Lord thinks meikle mair upon't.' Verse 1: 'My Lord a hunting he is gane, Bur hounds or hawks wi' him are nane By Colin's cottage lies his game, If Colin's Jenny be at hame.' 'Gairs' means gores, whilst 'jimps' and 'jirkinet' are stays and a bodice. 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 occasionally goes by the alternative title of 'My Lord a Hunting'. The lyrics were written by Robert Burns in 1787 and had to wait sixteen years before publication. The Earl mentioned in the song, the Earl of Cassilis, enjoyed the family name Kennedy. The Kennedys were one of the largest and most important families in Burns's home area of Carrick. The tune to the piece has no particular name but is believed to have been the work of the Ayrshire dancing teacher, James Grieg.

Collection

Scots Musical Museum

Inventory Number

4503749

Title

Volume VI, song 554, page 573 - 'My Lady's gown there's gairs upon't' - 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