The original song upon which Burns founded his version is attributed to Isabell or Tibbie Pagan, who died in the neighbourhood of Muirkirk, Ayrshire, in 1821, aged eighty. Some account of her appears in the "Ayrshire Contemporaries of Burns," Edinburgh, 1840. The following version is the original, as revised by Burns for "Johnson's Musical Museum." The last verse is by Burns himself. GALA WATER. BURNS. THERE'S braw, braw lads on Yarrow braes, Can match the lads o' Gala water. But there is ane, a secret ane, Abune them a' I lo'e him better; Although his daddie was nae laird, And though I hae nae mickle tocher; We'll tent our flocks on Gala water. It ne'er was wealth, it ne'er was wealth, Oh, that's the chiefest warld's treasure! The old tune to which this is sung is very beautiful. Its exact date is unknown. Mr. Stenhouse, to whom the public are indebted for many valuable particulars relating to Scottish music, says it was harmonised by Haydn, for Whyte's collection. On the MS. of the music, which he (Mr. Stenhouse) had seen, Haydn expressed his opinion of the melody in the best English he was master of, in the following emphatic sentence: "This one Dr. Haydn favourite song." The words of the old song are lost, with the exception of the following stanzas :— Braw, braw lads of Gala water, Braw, braw lads of Gala water; And follow my love through the water. O'er yon bank and o'er yon brae, O'er yon moss amang the heather, I'll kilt my coats aboon my knee, And follow my love through the water. MY NANNIE'S AWA. BURNS. Air-"There'll never be peace until Jamie comes hame." Now in her green mantle blythe Nature arrays, The snaw-drap and primrose our woodlands adorn, Thou laverock that springs frae the dews of the lawn, Come, Autumn, sae pensive in yellow and grey, The germ of "Nannie's Awa" is to be found in one of Clarinda's letters (see Correspondence, &c., page 185), written thirty-five days after they became acquainted. They were about to part, and she says:-"You'll hardly write me once a month, and other objects will weaken your affection for Clarinda; yet I cannot believe so. Oh! let the scenes of nature remind you of Clarinda! In winter, remember the dark shades of her fate; in summer, the warmth, the cordial warmth of her friendship; in autumn, her glowing wishes to bestow plenty on all; and let spring animate you with hope that your poor friend may yet live to surmount the wintry blast of life, and revive to taste a spring-time of happiness!" This passage, so beautifully descriptive, in the letter of his fair correspondent, was not overlooked by Burns. He says in reply:-" There is one fine passage in your last charming letter-Thomson nor Shenstone never exceeded it, nor often came up to it. I shall certainly steal it, and set it in some future production, and get immortal fame by it. 'Tis where you bid the scenes of nature remind me of Clarinda." The poet was as good as his word. Some months after Clarinda had left this country, Burns, reverting to the passage we have quoted from her letter, made it his own by stamping it in immortal verse, bewailing the absence of Clarinda in a strain of rural imagery that has seldom or never been surpassed."-Cursory Remarks on Scottish Song, by Captain Charles Gray, R.M. WANDERING WILLIE. BURNS. Air-"Wandering Willie." HERE awa, there awa, wandering Willie, Winter-winds blew loud and cauld at our parting, Rest, ye wild storms, in the caves o' your slumbers; And waft my dear laddie ance mair to my arms. But oh, if he's faithless, and minds not his Nannie, While dying I think that my Willie's my ain! This song was altered by Mr. Erskine and Mr. George Thomson. Burns, with his usual sound judgment, adopted some of these alterations, and rejected others. MY NANNIE O. BURNS. BEHIND yon hills where Lugar flows The westlan wind blaws loud an' shrill, My Nannie's charming, sweet, an' young Her face is fair, her heart is true, A country lad is my degree, An' few there be that ken me 0; My riches a' 's my penny-fee, Our auld gudeman delights to view Come weel, come wae, I care na by, I'll take what Heaven will sen' me O; Nae ither care in life have I But live an' love my Nannie O. Burns founded this song upon a pre-existing one of a similar title. The name of the river which it celebrated was the Stinchar. · "In the printed copy of My Nannie O,'" he says, in a letter to Thomson, "the name of the river is horridly prosaic. I will alter it to Behind yon hills where Lugar flows.' Girvan is the name of the river that suits the idea of the stanza best, but Lugar is the most agreeeble modulation of syllables." The heroine of this song, written when the poet was very young, was Agnes Fleming, daughter of a small farmer in the parish of Tarbolton, Ayrshire. Allan Ramsay wrote a song to the same exquisite melody, but it is in no respect equal to the song of Burns. The air is exceedingly beautiful, and is believed to be old. It cannot, however, be traced further back than the "Orpheus Caledonians," 1725. |