A Red, Red Rose

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A Red, Red Rose is a famous Scots poem and song by Robert Burns, written in 1794 and based on older folk sources. It is sometimes called Oh My Love is Like a Red, Red Rose. The song’s central image compares true love to a red, red rose and promises it will last as long as life.

Burns didn’t work alone. He played a key role in collecting and revising traditional Scottish songs and helped publish them in Scots Musical Museum (six volumes, published 1787–1803) with James Johnson. He also contributed to George Thomson’s A Select Collection of Original Scottish Airs for the Voice (1793–1841). Burns meant A Red, Red Rose to appear in Thomson’s collection, but he and Thomson disagreed about its value.

The first known musical setting of the poem was by Pietro Urbani in 1794. Urbani published it in his Scots Songs anthology, presenting Burns’ words as coming from a famous Scots poet after a country girl sang them. Burns later described Urbani’s partnership with him as a falsehood, but Urbani’s tune helped the song reach a wider audience.

Burns reportedly thought of the tune Major Graham from Niel Gow’s collection, and James Johnson set A Red, Red Rose to Gow’s tune (often called Major Gordon) in the Scots Musical Museum (1797). There was also an “Old Set” version in the collection. Later, George Thomson published the melody in Original Scottish Airs (1799) with a tune borrowed from William Marshall (often called Wishaw’s Strathspey), which required changes to Burns’ text to fit.

The version widely known today uses a traditional tune called Low Down in the Broom. Burns himself said that tune deserved a place among lively songs. This pairing with Low Down in the Broom became popular after Robert Archibald Smith published it in the Scots Minstrel (1821).

Over the years, many composers and artists set Burns’ poem to music or adapted it for different styles. Notable examples include Schumann’s German setting, Amy Beach’s version, and later takes by Jimmy Van Heusen, Pat Boone, Carly Simon, Camera Obscura, Pelican, and The Mediæval Bæbes. The poem has also inspired international versions, such as a Swedish adaptation by Evert Taube and a Chinese translation by Su Manshu. Even Bob Dylan cited A Red, Red Rose as an influence in an HMV ad campaign.