Title: O Logan, Sweetly Didst thou Glide
First line: O Logan! sweetly didst thou glide,
Air: Logan Water
Performer: Davidona Pittock
Source: Thomson, SCOSA Vol 3 1802, 16
Burns informed Thomson in April 1793 that he felt ‘Logan burns & Logan braes’ to be ‘sweetly susceptible of rural imagery’, before in June of the same year sending this song. Giving an insight into his working method, the poet claimed that the piece was ‘composed in three-quarter’s of an hour’s lucubrations in my elbow-chair’ and explained its mood and inspiration thus: ‘Have you ever, my dear Sir, felt your bosom ready to burst with indignation, on reading of, or seeing, how these mighty villains who divide kingdom against kingdom, desolate provinces & lay Nations waste out of the wantonness of Ambition, or often from still more ignoble passions?’ Some further editorial back-and-forth subsequently took place, with Thomson publishing the version recorded here in 1802. The piece was set for Thomson by Haydn.
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O Logan, Sweetly Didst thou Glide (324 downloads)Recorded at The Green Door studio in Glasgow, 2016 (engineer: Sam Smith).