G&u* . iai f\ </, J THE GLEN COLLECTION OF SCOTTISH MUSIC Presented by Lady Dorothea Ruggles- Brise to the National Library of Scotland, in memory of her brother, Major Lord George Stewart Murray, Black Watch, killed in action in France in 1914. 28th January 1927. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2011 with funding from National Library of Scotland http://www.archive.org/details/ancientmodernscoOOrugg mm, L //i V ^&Wt ANCIENT and MODERN f/g^M SCOTTISH SONGS, HEROIC BALLADS, ETC. IN TWO VOLUMES. VOLUME the FIRS T. The garb our Mufes wore in former years. Hamilton. ^ EDINBURGH;- printed by John \¥otherspoo^. FOR AMES Dickson and Charles Elljo 3BS D C C LXXV 2 = D ANCIENT and IvrODEKN SCOTTISH SONGS, HEROIC BALLADS, ETC. COLLECTED FROM II E M O R Y, T R A D I T ION) anil Ancient authors. THE SECOND EDITION. IN TWO VOLUMES. VOLU M E the FIRS T. E INBURGH: Printed by John "Wotherspoon, for JAME.S- Dickson and Charles Elliot, MD C C L X X V I, P R E F A C E, Hp H E common popular fongs and national •* mufiG, as they form a favourite entertain- ment of the Gay and the Chearful, feem like- wife to merit fome regard from the Speculative- and' Refined, in (a far as they exhibit natural and: ftr iking traits of the character, genius, tafte and purfuits of the people. And trivial as his idea of a fong may be> the ftatefman has often felt this paultry engine affecting- the machine of go- in hiflory vernment ; and thofe who are verfant can produce inftances of popular fongs and bal- lads having- been rendered fubfervient to: great pevalutions both in church and ftate.. Every nation, at? Ieaft- every ancient and un- mixed- nation, hath< its peculiar ftyle of mufical expre(non> its peculiar mode of melody ; modu- lated by the joint 5 influence of climate and govern- ment character and {ituation, as well as by the* formation- of the. organs. Thus each of -the* ftates cf ancient Greece bad its characteriftic ftyle- of mufic, the Doric, the Phrygian^ the Lydian mood, <6r. and thus the moderns have their di- ftmct nation aFfiyles, the Italian, die Spaniih; the Iriih, and the Scottifh. That predilection fo na- ? tural" foe every production > of one s.own country./ a 3 Vi PREFACE. together with the force of habit, a certain enthu- iiafm attendant on miific, and perhaps fometimes the principle of afibciation, v/hereby other agree- able ideas are mingled and always called up to the mind together with the mufical air, has ever in- duced people to prefer their own national mufic to that of all others : and we are feldom at a Iofs for arguments in fupport of this real or fancied pre- eminence. Strongly biaffed, however, as our judgments muft be by the powerful prejudices mentioned above, it would feem that the queftion concerning the comparative merit of the refpec- tive ftyles of national melody is a queftion of much difficulty and little importance. The Scots yield to none of their neighbours in a pafhonate attachment to their native mufic ; in which, to fay the truth, they feem to be juftified by the unbiaffed fmfrage of foreigners of the bed •tafte, who have often candidly allowed it a pre- ference to their own. Many ingenious reafons have been alligned for a distinction fo agreeable, chiefly drawn from the romantic face of the coun- try, and the vacant, paftoral life of a great part highly cf its inhabitants ; circumliances, no doubt, -favourable to poetry and fong. But the editor of thefe little volumes will not hazard a difquifition on this delicate fubjeft, fatif- it jnflice fied that it is not iii his power to do / and PREFACE. vH confcious of flrong prepoflemons. In general, it may be permitted him to obferve, that the merit both of. the poetry and the mufic of the Scots fongs is undoubtedly great j and that the peculiar fpirit and genius of each is fo admirably adapted to each other, as to. produce, when conjoined, the molt enchanting effect on every lover of nature and unaffected fimplicity. For the characteiifti- cal excellence of both, he apprehends, is nearly the fame, to wit, a forcible and pathetic fimpli. city, which at once lays ftrong hold on the affec- tions ; fo that the heart itfelf may be confidered as an inurnment, which the bard or minftrel har- monizes, touching all its firings in the mofi deli- cate and mafterly manner ! Such is the character of the pathetic and fentimental fongs of Scotland, which may with truth be termed, the poetry and the mtific of the heart. There is another fpecies, to wit, the humorous and comic, no iefs admirable for genuine humour, fprightly naivete, pifturefque language, and ftriking paintings of low life and comic characters ; the muiic whereof is fo well adapted to the fentiment, that any perfon of a tolerable ear upon- hearing it, feels a difficulty in retraining a flrong propensity to dance. But perhaps too much has been already faid on the fubject of thefe volumes. 1 he Editor liiall anticipate the cenfure of the fevere, by confeiimg them a work of. flight importance, which hath no Vlli PREFACE. higher aim than mere amufement. To magnify,. therefore, the importance of the publication by pompous encomiums would juftly iubject him to* ridicule., It feems proper, however, in this place, to give: feme account of the conduct and arrangement of; this collection. It is divided into three parts*. The firfr. is compofed of all the Scottifh ancient, and modern Heroic Ballads or Epic Tales, together with fome beautiful fragments of this kind. Ma- ny of thefe are- recovered from tradition or old MSS. and- never before appeared in print. The: fecond.part coniifts of alLthe Sentimental, Pafto- ral and Love Songs ; and the third is a. collection* of Comic, Humorous, and Jovial fongs* In thefe: two lafr, as in the firft part, will be found a num- ber of fongs to, favourite Scottilh airs, not hither- to published, and many flanzas and paiTages re- ftored and corrected by collating various vet- fions.. The Editor hath not attempted' to reduce tha language to the orthography of the times in which the feveral pieces may be fuppofed to hava been written. This was a talk for which he found himfelf unqualified y and- which appeared the lefs neceflary, as the collection- was not in* tended to be confined to the critical antiquarian^ but devoted to the amufement of ths public at PREFACE. k large. Of many of the fongs in thefe volumes the chief merit will be found to confifl in the mufical air, while the poetry may appear much below mediocrity. For this the Editor has no other apology to offer, than that thefe were the only words exifting to the tunes in queftion, the original words which gave rife to thefe tunes be- ing irrecoverably loft. There are, however, many of thefe adopted words to ancient tunes which are by no means liable to this cenfure, be- ing compofed by eminent modern Scots poets 5 and the claflical reader may eafily fubftitute more. The favourable reception of the firft edition of this collection, and the frequent demands for it fmce it has become fcarce, encouraged the Editor to extend and arrange it in the form which it now wears. The reader will find here all the fongs contained in the former edition, with the addition of nearly an equal number. In fine, the Edi- tor hath attempted to compile a more compleat and better arranged collection of Scottiih fongs than any hitherto publiihed : with what fuccefs, the candid public will determine, SCOTS SONGS. PART FIRST. HE R I C BALLADS AND FRAGMENTS. ; ; : S C G T S SONG S. PART FIRST. HEROIC BALLADS, AND FRAGMENTS, Gil Morrice *. IL MORRICE was an erle's fon, His name it waxed wide It was nae for his great riches^ Nor zet his meikle pride j Bot it was for a lady gay, That livd on Carron fide. Quhair fall I get a bonny boy, That will win hoes and fnoen That will gae to Lord BarnArds ha"*, And bid his lady cum ? ze : And maun rin errand, Willie, And ze maun rin wi' pride Quhen other boys gae on their foot3 On horfe-back ze fail ride. Oh no ! oh no ! my mafter dear ! I dar for life nae my 5 I'll no gae to the bauld barons, For to trieft furth his wife. * this On ballad the Tragedy of DouGLis is founded Vol. I, A ;:: ; i SCOTS -SONGS. My bird Willie, my boy W i l l i e \ My dear Willie, he fayd : How can ze drive againft the fire am? For I mall be obey'd. Bot, O my matter dear ! he cry'd, In grene wod ze're zour lain; Gi owre fie thochts, I wald ze rede, For fear ze fhould be tain. Hafte, hafte, I fay, gae to the ha*, Bid hir cum here wi' fpeid If ze refufe my high command, I'll gar zour body bleid. G ae bid hir tak this gay mantel, 'Tis a' gowd but the hem; Bid hir cum to the gude grene wode, And bring nane bot hir lain And there it is, a filken farke, Hir, ain hand fewd the flieve And bid hir come to Gil Morrice, Speir nae bauld barons leave. Yes, I will gae zour black errand, Though it be to zour coft Sen ze by me will nae be warn'd.