Volume VI, song 564, pages 582 and 583 - 'The poor Pedlar' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)

Verse 1: 'There was a noble lady so fair looking out of her window so high And there she spy'd a poor Pedlar coming singing out o'er the lee lee lee coming singing out o'er the lee.' 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. Unusually for a song in the 'Museum' absolutely nothing is known about this piece. As Burns was collecting the songs, he usually left some comment somewhere in his personal correspondence, in his notes or in his professional correspondence with Johnson. This is simply not the case for this song. This makes it a typical example of a popular ballad of its day. Often there was substantiated information known on a piece because it stemmed from the oral tradition and had no printer's name attached. The topic, partly moral, partly class orientated and partly triumph over adversity, was also typical of the most popular entertainments of the day.

Collection

Scots Musical Museum

Inventory Number

4503759

Title

Volume VI, song 564, pages 582 and 583 - 'The poor Pedlar' - 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

- 258 x 211 mm