Annotation:Stu mo run
X:1 T:Stu mo run M:C L:1/8 R:”Gaelic air” Q:"Slow with pathos." B:Manson – Hamilton’s Universal Tune Book, vol. 2 (1846, p. 16) Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion K:Amin A>B c>d e3c{de}|d3c B2G2|A>B c>d e3e|g2a2e4| g2a2e3c|{Bc}d3c B2G2|A>B c>d e3c|(ed)(cB) A4|| |:A2 AG E4|G2 GA {c}B2G2|A2 AG E4|G2B2 A2z2:|]
STU MO RUN (Joy of My Heart). AKA – "Red, red is the path to glory." Scottish, Air (4/4 time). A Minor (Manson): D Minor (Martin). Standard tuning (fiddle). ABB. Various sets of words have been set to the tune, including hymns. The first two stanzas of the much anthologized song written in 1799 by Dr. Robert Couper (1750–1818) of Fochabers, set to an "Old Highland Melody," go:
Red, red is the path to glory,
Thick yon banners meet the sky,
O my Geordie, death's before ye,
Turn and hear my boding cry.
Joy of my heart, Geordie agam,
Joy of my heart, 'stu mo run.
Turn and see thy tartan plaidie
Rising o'er my broken heart,
O my bonnie Highland laddie
Sad am I with thee to part.
Joy of my heart, Geordie agam,
Joy of my heart, 'stu mo run.
According to Alexander Campbell (1818), Couper's words were written "while his friend, the Marquis of Huntly, was lying wounded in Holland in 1799." The "very fine and characteristic Highland" air was obtained by Lady G. Gordon, and, at her request, Dr. Couper wrote the words.
