DEDICATION. To ilka lovely BRITISH Lafs, DEAR LASSES, Yo OUR moft humble flave, Wha ne'er to ferve youshall decline, Kneeling, wad your acceptance crave, When he presents this fma' propine. Then take it kindly to your care, Revive it with your tunefu' notes: Its beauties will look fweet and fair, Arifing faftly through your throats. A 3 The The wanton wee thing will rejoice, While kettles dringe on ingles dour, E'en while the tea's fill'd recking round, May happiness had up your hearts, And warm you lang with loving fires: May pow'rs propitious play their parts, In matching you to your defires. EDINBURGH, January 1, 1724. A. RAMSAY. PREFACE. LTHO' it be acknowledged, that our Scots tunes have not lengthened variety of mufick, yet they bave an agreeable gaiety and natural fweetness, that make them acceptable wherever they are known, not only among ourselves, but in other countries. They are for the most part fo chearful, that on bearing them well play'd or fung, we find a difficulty to keep ourselves from dancing. What further adds to the esteem we have for them, is, their antiquity, and their being univerfally known. Mankind's love for novelty would appear to contradict this reafon; but will not, when we confider, that for one that can tolerably entertain with vocal or inftrumental mufick, there are fifty that content themselves with the pleasure of bearing, and finging without the trouble of being taught: Now, fuch are not judges of the fine flourishes of new mufick imported from Italy and elsewhere, yet will A 4 liften liften with pleasure to tunes that they know, and can join with in the chorus. Say that our way is only an harmonious fpeaking of merry, witty, or foft thoughts, after the poet bas dress'd them in four or five ftanzas; yet undoubtedly these must relish best with people, who have not bestowed much of their time in acquiring a taste for that downright perfect musick, which requires none, or very little of the poet's affiftance. MY being well affured, how acceptable new words to known good tunes would prove, en gaged me to the making verses for above fixty of them, in this and the fecond volume: about thirty more were done by fome ingenious young gentlemen, who were so well pleased with my undertaking, that they generously lent me their affiftance; and to them the lovers of sense and mufuk are obliged for fome of the best fongs in the collection. The reft are fuch old verfes as bave been done time out of mind, and only wanted to be cleared from the drofs of blundering tranfcribers and printers; fuch as, The Gaberlunzie man, Muirland Willy, &c. that claim their place in our collection, for their merry images of the low character. THIS eleventh edition in a few years, and · the general demand for the book by perfons of all ranks, wherever our language is understood, is a fure evidence of its being acceptable. My worthy |