Handsome Nell

Handsome Nell
by Robert Burns
Purclewan Mill, home to Nelly Kilpatrick
WrittenAutumn 1774[1]
First published in1803
CountryScotland
LanguageScots
FormSong
PublisherJames Johnson
Full text
The Book of Scottish Song/Handsome Nell at Wikisource

Handsome Nell was the first song written by Robert Burns,[2] often treated as a poem, that was first published in the last volume of James Johnson's Scots Musical Museum in 1803 (No.551) with an untitled tune. Burns recorded in holograph on page three of his first Commonplace Book that he wrote the song or Rhyme at the age of only fifteen whilst living at Mount Oliphant Farm,[3] it is regarded as his earliest production, inspired by a farm servant aged fourteen, named either Nelly Kilpatrick or Nelly Blair. Some confusion exists as he also gave his age as 16 in his autobiographical letter to Dr. Moore; the autumn of 1774 is generally accepted.[1]

  1. ^ a b Mackay, James (2004). Burns. A Biography of Robert Burns. Alloway Publishing. p. 50.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference ml was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Hogg, Patrick (2008). Robert Burns. The Patriotic Bard. Mainstream Publishing. p. 45. ISBN 9781845964122.