The Other Burns

 

There are those who maintain the thought that it is ill advised to make any assumptions about Robert Burns' ideologies or opinions through his material. Christopher Whatley reinforces that suggestion, noting that "Burns as a poet and adopter of traditional songs had multiple voices...it was, and is difficult to claim him unambiguously for any particular set of values or a single political ideology, although in the the 250 years since his death, many have tried...". With that in mind, it is not the purpose of this project to make any assumptions about Robert Burns' of Hamilton's "Ode to Temperance, to Which Are Added Two Songs" and how relevant it was supposed to be to his predecessor's work. 

 

It should be noted that the "Temperance" Hamilton Burns writes of is not in the context of the major social movements of the late 19th and early 20th century in Great Britain and North America. At that time, the notion of Temperance was intended to support moderation in consumption of all forms, not just alcohol. 

While the subject matter of "Ode to Temperance" cannot be directly commented on, the music accompanyment for the two songs Hamilton Burns wrote, "The Lover Cured" and "Anna" tells us a great deal about his influences. For "The Lover Cured", Burns chooses to use "A' that, and a' that", which is widely known to be the tune base for Ayshire Burns' popular song "A Man's A Man For A' That". Published after the death of Ayshire Burns, "A Man's" became a staple song associated with popular movements, and was typically used to emphasize comments of change, whether they be social or political. Hamilton's Burns appears to wish to utilize the resonance of the tune to his advantage on his commetary of Temperance. 

The choice for "Anna" in terms of tune is noted as "Cowden Knows", which was initially a puzzling, as there was no specific song with that title. Some research and analysis of the musical structure suggets that the song referenced was "The Broom O' The Cowdenknowes". There was a trend during the 18th century that saw the combination of old traditional folk songs and new music, and "Cowden Knowes" was a song that had been used for this purpose previously by fellow Scottish poet Allan Ramsay. Burns of Hamilton merely followed the trend in Scotland of reusing popular Scottish folk material to provide familiarity for the readers/performers. 

 

 

Sources: 

 

Gaillet, Lynee Lewis. Scottish Rhetoric and Its Influences. Hermagoras Press, 1998. 

 

Gelbart, Matthew. “Allan Ramsay, The Idea of ‘Scottish Music’ and The Beginnings of ‘National Music’ in Europe”. In Eighteenth Century Music, 9, no.1 (2012): 81-108.

 

Roy, G.Ross. “Robert Burns and the Brash and Reid Chapbooks of Glasgow”. In Scottish Studies 14 (1992): 53-69.
 

Whatley, Christopher A. “It Is Said That Burns Was a Radical’: Contest, Concession, and the Political Legacy of Robert Burns, ca. 1796-1859”. In The Journal of British Studies 50, no.3 (2012): 639-666.