Hi, Murray. No, actually. I hadn't looked in MM yet. I had the "parlor" Burns version (Dick #356, from Scots Mus. Museum) which he says he collected. I'm impressed you have two (or more) copies. I only have the Legman MM 65 with the obscure (ie, unindexed) note you cite but not the song text at all. He does gloss 'blether' as blader, however. It's a much better text than the parlor one (which is very close to the second Bodley one nutty cites), I think.   I also think I'll learn that MM one, too.

But yes, nutty, the first Bodley one, the Walker, does give me a lot of sense to the piece. There "I" 'brush the dew from the blooming heather.' That's just what I wanted to know.

MCP: Thanks for the Greig-Duncan ref. I never would have found it there otherwise. There must be something demonic about a song with 49 versions and 49 separate titles. :-) BTW, I didn't mean your spelling, both 'loath' & 'loathe' are correct. Two different words. I think this usage is loath.

Good. Thank you all.