Instead, Burns gave the song to Scots singer Pietro Urbani who published it in his "Scots Songs". In his book, Urbani claimed "the words of The Red Red Rose were obligingly given to him by a celebrated Scots poet, who was so struck by them when sung by a country girl that he wrote them down and, not being pleased with the air, begged the author to set them to music in the style of a Scots tune, which he has done accordingly." In other correspondence, Burns referred to it as a "simple old Scots song which I had picked up in the country".