J. Michael Diack

A Rosebud by My Early Walk

While Robert Burns is celebrated today for his body of poetry, the composer of Auld Lang Syne was also the composer or arranger of more than three hundred songs. A Rosebud by My Early Walk is set to the traditional tune TheShepherd's Wife and it was a favourite of drawing room musicians for many years. According to at least one researcher, the 'rosebud' was the daughter of a family with whom Burns lived while recovering from a broken leg. The girlwas just twelve years old, and, as a young musician, played Burns's songs to him on harpsichord. The sheet music includes a version in C and in D.