DEDICATION.

To ilka lovely British lafs,

Frae ladies Charlotte, Anne and Jean, Down to ilk bony finging Befs, Wha dances barefoot on the green.

DEAR LASSES,

OUR most humble flave,

YOU

Wha ne'er to serve you fhall 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.

The wanton wee thing will rejoice,
When tented by a sparkling eye,
The spinnet tinkling with her voice,
It lying on her lovely knee.

A 2

While

While kettles dringe on ingles dour,
Or clashes stay the lazy lafs;

Thir fangs may ward you frae the sowr,
And gayly vacant minutes pafs.

E'en while the tea's fill'd reeking round,
Rather than plot a tender tongue,
Treat a' the circling lugs wi' found,
Syne fafely fip when ye have fung.

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.

Edinb. January

1. 1724.

A. RAMSAY.

PRE

PREFAC E.

Ltho' it be acknowledged, that our Scots tunes have not lengthened variety of mufick, yet they have an agreeable gaiety and natural fweetnefs, that make them acceptable wherever they are known, not only among our felves, but in other countries. They are for the most part fo chearful, that on hearing them well play'd or fung, we find a difficulty to keep our felves 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 hearing, and finging without the trouble of being taught now, fuch are not judges of the fine flowrishes of new mufick imported from Italy and elsewhere, yet will liften with pleasure to tunes that they know, and can join with in the chorus. Say that our A 3

way

way is only an harmonious fpeaking of merry, witty, or foft thoughts, after the poet has drefs'd them in four or five ftanzas; yet undoubtedly thefe must relish beft with people, who have not beftowed much of their time in acquiring a tafte for that downright perfect mufick, which requires none, or very little of the poet's affift

ance:

My being well affured, how acceptable new words to known good tunes would prove, engaged me to the making verfes for above fixty of them, in this and the fecond volume: about thirty more were done by fome ingenious young gentlemen, who were fo well pleafed with my undertaking, that they generously lent me their affiftance; and to them the lovers of fenfe and mufick are obliged for fome of the best fongs in the collection. The reft are fuch old verfes as have 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 ninth edition in eight 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 friend Dr. Bannerman tells me from America,

Nor