Burns revised the words from an old song.
The music is in Caledonian Pocket Companion, Bk. VII, 1754, under the name ‘Low Down in the Broom.’
Shivery Shakey, Ain't It Cold (Dr. M.)
See p. [94].
Since Laws Were Made for Every Degree (O.C.S. 66, L.D. ii. 12)
Tyburn Tree.
Since laws were made for ev'ry degree
To curb vice in others as well as me,
I wonder we han't better company
Upon Tyburn Tree.
From Beggar's Opera. Words by Gay.
Set to the tune of ‘Greensleeves,’ which dates from 1580. This tune is twice mentioned by Shakespeare in The Merry Wives of Windsor. An earlier ‘Tyburn’ version is a song entitled ‘A Warning to False Traitors,’ which refers to the execution of six people at ‘Tyborne’ on August 30, 1588.
Since the First Dawn of Reason
J. Davy.