Burns wrote in the midst of a ballad revival that took place throughout the 1700s in Great Britain. A ballad is a poem or song that tells a story. Ballads are an integral part of British oral tradition. In the 18th century, there was a movement by various antiquarians, academics, and writers to collect ballads and preserve them in publication. According to Britannica, this movement was “not a revival but a new discovery and appreciation of the merits of popular poetry, formerly ignored or despised by scholars and sophisticated writers” (“ballad revival.” Britannica).

Britannica traces the start of this ballad revival to 1711, while the publication of Thomas Percy’s Reliques of Ancient English Poetry solidified this trend. Other ballad collections included Sir Walter Scott’s Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, which was published in 1802 (Britannica). Burns himself entered into this ballad revival when he assisted James Johnson in compiling The Scots Musical Museum, which was a collection of folk songs published in 1797. Burns also worked with George Thomson on a similar project, A Select Collection of Original Scottish Airs for the Voice published in 1793.

Specifically regarding “A Red, Red Rose,” Burns didn’t pen it himself, but rather “collected” it in 1794.