Songs by the Ettrick Shepherd

Hogg’s involvement with song collecting and writing spans the whole of his career, from the early 1800s until the early 1830s, and examples are found across all genres of his work – fiction, drama, poetry and in a number of important musical publications. His 1831 collection entitled Songs by the Ettrick Shepherd came about as an attempt to better his difficult financial situation, and is of particular interest and significance. It was published towards the end of his career, and it provides his own retrospective presentation of his lifetime achievement as a song-writer. This critical edition of Hogg’s volume makes his songs accessible for the first time. The layout mirrors the original volume which contained ‘head notes’ by Hogg himself. These notes provide a great deal of factual, biographical and anecdotal information which proves vitally important to our understanding of the development of his role as a song writer and collector. Alongside the text of Songs from 1831, this edition will contain an introduction discussing Hogg’s role as a song writer and collector and a detailed account of the creation of the original manuscript.