Join

Letter from Robert Burns to John McMurdo

Key details

Archive number
NTS/02/25/BRN/01/39
Alt. number
3.6066
Date
1793
On display
No
Creator
Burns, Robert (Author)

Description

Letter from Robert Burns to John McMurdo.

This undated two page letter from Burns to his friend John McMurdo is mostly concerned with the two, eight-line verses of the song 'Wandering Willie'.

In the letter, Burns apologises to his friend and neighbour from Drumlanrig for getting 'a little turbulent' through 'the potency of Port'. He presents McMurdo with a poem which he has 'hammered out this morning'. Later titled 'Wandering Willie', this poem was later reworked by Burns.

'Wandering Willie' is the result of Burns refashioning an old song which describes a mother's desire for the homecoming of her wandering son. Burns's later version differs little from this first effort.

John McMurdo was Chamberlain to the Duke of Queensberry at Drumlanrig Castle near Dumfries from 1780 to 1797. Burns wrote several letters to him and his family, often enclosing songs or poems. McMurdo was one of his friends to whom he lent his special notebook of bawdy folk songs.

Archive information


Hierarchy

  1. Letters from and to Robert Burns ( )
  2. Letter from Robert Burns to John McMurdo