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Kinda last minute for folks to order their Haggis, the 'Burns Supper' is January 25th!
Robert Burns - the famous Scottish poet/lyricist's birthday is celebrated with his poetry, songs/music, traditional Scottish food & Scotch Whiskey.
Poems and Songs of Robert Burns
Ron Gonnella's Burns Night Album Playlist
- fabulous fiddling!
One of my favorite tracks - O' A' The Airts The Wind Can Blaw/Saw Ye Bonnie Lesley? & First, When Maggie Was My Care - Ron Gonnella! O' A' The Airts The Wind Can Blaw - aka, Miss Admiral Gordon's strathspey (notation).
Robert Burns Songs by Eddi Reader (playlist)
- nice album! Notation for the tunes can be found at thesession.org, or tunearch.org!
One of my favorites - Brose and Butter (aka, Peacock Follows The Hen)! I've really grown to love slip jigs this past year!
I LOVE Eddi Reader's version of Charlie is My Darling (aka, Charlie He's My Darling), but here's an easy play-along version.
We have a Scottish bakery, not so local now but still in Michigan, that still sells Haggis at this time of year - and have a wonderful 'Haggis pie' available the rest of the year, which includes 'Neeps & Tatties' (potato, rutabaga & onion). If anyone is interested in some traditional Scottish food & grocery products, Ackroyd's Scottish Bakery ships nationwide! Btw, their Haggis tastes like lamb meatloaf (no lungs) - anyone who enjoys a traditional turkey stuffing at Thanksgiving (using giblets) will enjoy haggis.
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Still a couple days before Robert Burns' birthday - time to try some tunes!
My Love She's But a Lassie Yet - tutorial by Eva Alexandrian! Several notation versions & a ton of history on this tune at thesession.org (aka, 'Tripping on The Mountain') & tunearch.org!
A Man's a Man for A' That (history, lyrics & notation) - poem/song about social equality. Tutorial from Bradon Smith!
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I didn't want to offer up the most famous Burns tunes everyone's heard, like Auld Lang Syne, Tam Lin, Comin‘ Thro’ The Rye, Red is The Rose, etc... please play them, but there's so much more to enjoy!
Ca' the Ewes - played by Natalie Hass & Alasdair Fraser! Robert Burns used this tune for several of his songs!
A few more Robert Burns songs/tunes I love... PLAY-ALONG!
To A Mouse - (Easy Sheet Music Play-along). Alan Reid composed this tune for the Robert Burns Poem and first recorded it with the Battlefield Band in 2006 (The Road of Tears album)!
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The Songs of Robert Burns: now first printed with the melodies for which they were written
The Internet Archive has the full (536 page) book - a study in tone-poetry with bibliography, historical notes and glossary - (pub 1903)! Got this book recommendation from the 'Celtic Tune Options for Burns Night' discussion on The Session. Tune titles don't usually match the Song/Poem name - there's a tune list index, plus a '1st line of a song's lyrics' index, but there are still some songs listed as 'tune unknown'.
Pretty interesting... so many little melodies - a lot I recognize! I see one of my favorite holiday tunes to play, 'Lumps of Pudding' (link to info, crazy amount of history on this), not only a Playford tune, Robert Burns also chose the tune for one of his own songs - #244 Contented wi' little and cantie wi' mair
Meaning of unusual words in this song (from rampantscotland.com):
cantie=jolly
skelp=smack
cog o' gude swats= pot of good new ale
whyles=sometimes
claw=clasp
sodger=soldier
faught=fight
towmond=twelvemonth
fa'=lot
sowthers=puts to rights
snapper and stoyte=stumble and stagger
gae=go
#84 Ae fond kiss, and then we sever! is set to Ae Fond Kiss (notation on The Session), along with info on the original tune set to the poem ('Rory Dall's Port'). Here's a little extra harmony from S. Clarke.
A Winter's Night 🤔 guess A.I. generated music is here to stay... not bad.
...seems like ages ago I recorded myself learning, #358 The Auld Man's Meer's Deid (in It's Time For a CRITTER Party!) 😳 - it's another Robert Burns song!
Scottish Early Music Consort play Robert Burns Songs (Playlist)
Nigel Gatherer's Robert Burns Collection
- 17 songs/airs with support info!
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Robert Burns played an important part by collecting & contributing to the Scottish lowland music tradition. I think it's been felt all over the World.
I've picked up a couple more tunes, but I'd be surprised if there was anyone who couldn't find a few Burns tunes they already recognize. I'm finding quite a few of of these songs are sung to different tunes over time, than originally described by Burns - but that seems to be the fate of Folk Music.
I was caught off guard this morning, while searching for something completely unrelated, I ran across Tennessee Ernie Ford... singing "Flow Gently Sweet Afton" (yep, Robert Burns)! This uses the 'Sweet Afton' 1837 melody by Jonathon Spillman (also used by the University of South Carolina), which became popular. ...but, with a bit of a twist!
Here's the Spilman melody version of 'Flow Gently Sweet Afton' played on fiddle, by Carl Coleman-Pollock. Jonathan Spilman was from Kentucky, the melody he composed for this Burns song feels more like a 'hymn' (to me), and I think it's also used as such - anyone know? 🤔... just found it in the book: "Twenty Hymn Introductions for Organ", by Robert A. Hobby!
Now, THIS melody set to the song (sung by Kate Makarova) feels much more befitting to Burns (IMO). I think it's in Dmix (I just quickly picked out the notes & 'home' feels like D). It's only slightly different than the 'Afton Water' in the Burns tone-poem book for his #58 Flow gently, sweet Afton & the notation at The Session (Afton Water).
No one HAS to play anything a certain way. I LOVE finding new ways to play tunes, but 'original intent' also means something to me. 'I' (personally) like Robert Burns songs because they come from Lowland Scottish music.
...just want to mention that a quick little 'analysis' lets me identify what 'I' hear & would like to feel when 'I' play it. So, even though the Tennesee Ernie Ford version sounds like a lot of fun to get into, and the 'hymn' version is beautiful, I'm off to go work on the Kate Makarova one! 🥰
Anyone remember Tennessee Ernie Ford? Most here are probably too young, but I heard him on radio & some holiday specials, saw him on 'I Love Lucy' & 'Hee Haw'... and my Dad would point out, that like himself, he served in the Army Air Corp on B29's. Jeez, now I'm thinking of when I was stationed in Witchita, Kansas. The closest lake for us during the hot, dry, Summer was manmade - Lake Afton!
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I can't afford much more time on this, but besides playing some of these tunes, I've been having a riot matching them up with their lyrics. Don't think I would've ever found reason to happen upon these without this occasion... wanted to learn more about Robert Burns songs/poems for some time now. Love how Burns was a storyteller and obviously moved by Scottish music!
...I still believe music is remembered better with lyrics to sing, but kinda late in life for me to learn 'Scots' and 'Scottish Gaelic'. At least getting to know what they are about helps.
Glossary of Scottish Words used by Robert Burns
Legacy of The Scottish Fiddle Volume 2 Album Playlist
- Tunes From The Life & Land of Robert Burns. Quite a few tunes I haven't heard before in this fabulous playlist with Alasdair Fraser, Natalie Haas & Muriel Johnstone! Even a great 'Afton Water'!
...soooo many to choose from.
My Nannie O - Burns set these lyrics, #13 Behind yon hills where Lugar flows (poem & notation), to it. It's a love song. Alasdair Fraser, Natalie Haas & Muriel Johnstone
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#289 My Harry Was a Gallant Gay - Robert Burns set his lyrics to 'Highlander's Lament' (aka, 'Highlander's Farewell to Ireland', 'Highland Harry').
Liz Faiella teaches this strathspey.
Here's the strathspey along with the Burns lyrics (Highland Harry) - from Barbara Dickson, Archie Fisher & John MacKinnon!
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Well, tomorrow is Robert Burns Day - so winding this up.
There's a tune I fell in love with & learned a year ago, Macgregor of Ruara - posted (#60) in the Scottish Piper Tunes Played on The Fiddle Thread. I had NO idea (at the time) that Robert Burns set lyrics to it! #314 Raving winds around her blowing
Another tune I've always liked, Roslyn Castle - Burns set #313 The Gloomy night is gath'ring fast to it.
Sung here by Corrina Hewat.
...seems he was either in love, or complaining about the bad weather (sounds like me 🥴) - some songs show the ribald sense of humor, common for the times. I see more songs about the cold, windy & gloomy, but they'll have to wait, unless... anyone want to add some favorite Burns songs?
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I skimmed over a video of what was the 'Global Burns Night' at St. Andrews University (was broadcast live on the 23rd) & I was pretty disappointed. Not much pipe music, not a single fiddle, Scotch Whiskey info (but I don't drink anymore), & a little traditional dancing put to modern music... I can read the poetry myself, thank you.
My little music adventure in this thread has been MUCH more fun for me!
Think I've discovered a VERY warm & cosy spot here... where I'm feeling like Baroque, lowland Scottish, Playford/English Border (maybe Northumbrian), and Morris Dance sounds ALL MINGLE, or at least rub shoulders!
Feels like this is where I want to STAY, playing the fiddle! ...well, most of the time. There's just too much other wonderful music - Nordic, French/Canadian, Latin Jazz, etc... to ignore for very long! 🤗
I spent all day trying out some 'Scots/Scotch Measures' & gathering info on these tunes/dances - all because I saw one in the 'Robert Burns Song Book' that sparked my interest (there are more). Fun & not too fast to play, but some folks get fired up! You might've played one & not even know it... needs it's own thread.
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I had to update info in post #3.
Realizing most tunes are played on the pipes for the Burns Super, don't they sound BETTER played on the fiddle (viola & cello)?
Ca' the Yowes (aka, Ca' the Ewes) - was used for this Robert Burns song (among several others), #118 Hark the mavis' e'ening sang. Performed/sung here by Fiddlesticks.
Ca' the Ewes/Yowes has been buggin' me because it reminded me of another song I love, but couldn't remember the name until the other day! An Innis Aigh (The Happy Island) - this has to be the least 'happy' tune I know! Lyrics Translation in the video description - played by the Rankin Family & The Chieftains. Scottish Gaelic, no ties to Burns, just a little similarity between tunes (had to learn it). There's a bit of interesting history & link to notation: An Innis Aigh - Beaton Institute Music.
...makes me think of murmurations.
I'm really drawn to the linguistic prosody I feel in the music, too - how I can shape my notes to match... and I don't even understand the spoken language.
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Forgot I meant to share some interesting connections...
No. 132 - I do confess thou art sae fair - pg 120 in The Songs of Robert Burns. The notation is stated as 'The Cuckoo'.
This SAME tune is listed in a different key in the Traditional Tune Archive as the 2nd setting of Jacky Tar!!!
Notes: The old name of this tune is the "Cuckoo's Nest". Sir Robert Ayton's song, as altered by [Robert] Burns, "I do confess thou art fair", is set to this tune in Johnson's Musical Museum.
I first got interested by some comments on The Session as 'Cuckoo's Nest' & 'Jacky Tar' being alternate names. The only settings I see there (similar to Burns) - is listed as 'The Cuckoo's Nest (barndance)'.
This is also similar to 'The Cuckoo's Nest' I hear used for Morris music (thread)!
BUT... it gets stranger!
It's also attributed to Franz Josef Haydn!
Haydn, Franz Josef - I do confess thou art sae fair, Hob.XXXIa:110 - the score & lyrics. Compare the center line to Burns & check the info here (8Notes). So, NOW IT'S CLASSICAL MUSIC! 🤣 ...a 'Classical' folk song arrangement.
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Linking an older thread I just found: Burns Night 2015 Thread - it was "An open members party for celebrating Rabbie Burns!" started by BillyG!
Fun to look back when folks leave their videos up. 🤗
@BillyG -
You contributed for years after that party & I know you still visit once in a great while. Hope you are still having fun fiddling! 🥰
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If you enjoy pushing trad to evolve - something to consider adding to next year's 'Robbie Burns Night' celebration!
...have ye had a wee bit O' your vitamins, today?
'Vitamin T' - from DLÙ, at the Edinburgh Tradfest this May 2025 - Moilidh NicGriogair (Fiddle). Trad fusion from Glasgow!
I haven't communed with these types of 'spirits' for many years, but here's suggestions of the 'higher spirits' - from Scotland (of course).
What to Drink on Burns Night - from 'On The Sauce Again'.
I seem to have missed these tidbits.
Historic Beer Birthday: Robert Burns - some examples in poems & lyrics where Robert Burns mentions Beer (Jay Brooks).
A Marvellous and Stirring Long-lost (but found!) Scots Ode to Ale From the 18th Century
“Gude Stout Ale” may not be by Burns, I’m sure he read it, and approved, and it’s most certainly in his spirit.
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Thanks, I had never heard of Burns Night. lol
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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@Fiddlerman -
Hard to pass up another good reason to celebrate with some great fiddle music!
Wow, I see you folks in sunny SE Florida had your Highland Games & pre-festival Ceildhi back on Feb 28th & March 1st! ...we have to wait until August.
Hope you have smooth sailing this Summer!
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You're teaching me stuff here Emily. I didn't know. August is right around the corner though. 🙂
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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Another couple Burns songs to join the family...
'There's Three True Gude Fellows' (aka, Three Guid Fellows Doon in Yon Glen). It's a minor SLIP JIG (9/8 time)... what more could I ask for? 🤗 'Johnie Blunt' is a major tune in 6/8 time - sounds pretty much a jig, but being a song I noticed the Traditional Tune Archive annotations calls it an 'Air'.
Lyrics are in the video description.
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