Robert Burns’s songs were written in the Scottish dialect which can be quite hard to understand for the typical American English speaker. The unfamiliar words were translated using a variety of sources that are listed below. Some of the words are spelled differently between the sources. The spellings used in this booklet are what Stanley Smith provided to Margaret Macleod.
Introductory comments to each song are also provided to enhance the understanding of the songs. The comments were also taken from a variety of source, with most coming from notes and introductions from Stanley Smith and the book entitled “The Complete Poetical Works of Robert Burns: With Explanatory and Glossarial Notes; and a Life of the Author”. The source of the comments are noted with the abbreviation assigned to each source below.
The music for Robert Burn’s songs were taken mostly from existing music. The music or ‘tune’ the song is set to is provided after each song title.
Sources of Information
The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia, in ten volumes, published by The Century Co., New York (1903). A source of definitions of many archaic words. Indicated by “CD&C”.
Burns, Robert. The Complete Poetical Works of Robert Burns: With Explanatory and Glossarial Notes; and a Life of the Author, by James Currie, M.D. New York: D. Appleton & Co., 200 Broadway, MDCCCLIII. A source of definitions, alternate and extra verses and background on some of the songs. Indicated by “PWRB”.
The Vocabulary of Robert Burns web site
[http://members.shaw.ca/micheil/burns/burns.htm], indicated by “RMG”.
The Oxford English Dictionary Compact Edition, The Oxford University Press, 1971, indicated by “OED”.
The notes on the songs by Dr. Smith will be indicated by “DS”.
Additional comments on the song were also found on-line at Robert Burns, the Stories behind the Songs [http://www.robertburns.plus.com/Stories3.htm], indicated by “RBP.COM”.
Other good sources of information can be found on-line at: The official Robert Burns Site [http://www.robertburns.org/]