Robert Tannahill
He kept up his interest in poetry however, and travelled
to Alloway Kirk in 1794 and spent several days visiting other
places in the south west associated with Burns.
After the death of his father in 1802 he wrote more than ever and
developed his style and talent both with poetry and composing new
lyrics for existing airs. He also established one of the first
Burns' Clubs in Paisley. His work soon came to the attention of a
wider audience and his first publication 'Poems and Songs (1807)'
proved very popular with the public.
Perhaps his most famous works were "The Braes O'Gleniffer",
"O are ye Sleepin, Maggie", "Jessie the Flower O' Dunblane" , "The
Flower O' Levern", "Loudoun's Bonnie Woods and Braes"and "The
Soldiers Return". His poems were often about local people or
landmarks, but due to the threat from France during this period and
the drive to recruit increasingly large numbers of men into
local Scottish Militia regiments many are
also about soldiers and military life.
Tannahill was prone to bouts of depression and after his
second volume of works was rejected by publishers, first in
Greenock, and then in Edinburgh in 1810, he burned almost all of
his own manuscripts before drowning himself in the Glasgow, Paisley
and Johnstone Canal.
