Volume VI, song 589, page 609 - 'There's news lasses news' - 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's news lasses news, Gud news I've to tell, There's a boat fu' o' lads Come to our town to sell.' Chorus: 'The wean wants a cradle, An' the cradle wants a cod, An' I'll no gang to my bed Until I get a nod.' 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. Although Johnson has attributed this song to Burns, it is possible he was merely responsible for retouching what was actually a very old song. Burns revised a large number of existing songs for inclusion in the 'Museum', and managed to achieve amazing results despite, in many cases, having very little to go on apart from a few lines of verse or a chorus.

Collection

Scots Musical Museum

Inventory Number

4503784

Title

Volume VI, song 589, page 609 - 'There's news lasses news' - 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