Volume VI, song 595, pages 614 and 615 - 'Nae luck about the house when our goodwife's awa' - Scanned from the 1853 edition of the 'Scots Musical Museum', James Johnson and Robert Burns (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1853)

Verse 1: 'You sing of your goodman frae hame, But whiles they're best awa', For tho' the goodwife stay at hame, John does not toil for a' There was nae luck about my house An' little for my wame, There was nae luck about my house, When Maggy gade frae hame.' 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. The reader is referred to page 44 of volume one along the bottom of the page. On page 44 is song 44, entitled 'There's nae luck about the house'. This song was written by either Jean Adams or William Julius Mickle and is based on the melody 'Up an' waur them a''. Song 44, however, has nothing to do with this song upon comparison. Not much is known about this song. Stenhouse, the later editor of the 'Museum', commented that 'Johnson inserted this sprightly modern tune for the sake of variety'.

Collection

Scots Musical Museum

Inventory Number

4503790

Title

Volume VI, song 595, pages 614 and 615 - 'Nae luck about the house when our goodwife's awa' - 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