ARCHIBALD MACDONALD OF KEPPOCH. Scottish, Slow Air (6/8 time). D Minor. Standard. AAB. See "Keppoch A Wilderness" for related history of the MacDonalds of Keppoch. The tune was first published by the Scots fiddler, collector and composer Captain Simon Fraser (1773-1852) of Ardachie, near Fort Augustus. Fraser's work The Airs and Melodies Peculiar to the Highlands of Scotland and the Isles contained many works collected from vaious sources during the period 1715-1745. The MacDonalds of Keppoch were a distinguished branch of Clan MacDonald, who supported the Stewart monarchs in the 17th century, culminating with their participation in the Jacobite risings of the 18th century. They fought entry on the side of Bonnie Prince Charlie in the Jacobit Archibald MacDonald lived from 1678 to 1745, dying just prior to the entrance of the MacDonald's of Keppoch on the side of Bonnie Prince Charlie in his ill-fated attempt to gain the crown of Scotland and England. The MacDonalds of Keppoch are a very distinguished branch of the Clan Macdonald who played vital roles in providing support for the Stewart monarchs in the 17th century and then wholeheartedly supported the Jacobite risings in the 18th century. As a result of their support for the Jacobite cause they lost their lands in Lochaber/ Roy Bridge and they are currently without an officially recognised clan chief.
Lerwick (Kilted Fiddler), 1985; pg. 71. Martin (Ceol na Fidhle), Vol. 2, 1988; pg. 20 (includes a harmony part). Matthiesen (Waltz Book II), 1995; pg. 2. Green Linnet SIF 1047, Johnny Cunningham - "Fair Warning" (1985). Elke Baker & Liz Donaldson - "Terpsichore."
BARNERS OF FALKIRK, THE. English, Reel. England, Northumberland. D Dorian. Standard. AABB. The title refers perhaps to the famous Falkirk Tryst, or cattle market at Falkirk, Scotland, which drew Highlanders from all over the Highlands. As a focal point of Highland culture during the period of the Tryst, a bagpipe competition developed, first held in 1781 and won in that year by one Patrick MacGregor, with second place honors going to a MacArthur. The third place finisher was old John MacGregor, once personal piper and attendant to Bonnie Prince Charlie Stuart. Although the old man had been wounded at the Battle of Culloden in 1745, his piping skills remained intact and he became the piper to Campbell of Glenlyon. The next year, at age 74, he tried again and won second prize (Collinson, 1975). Seattle (William Vickers), 1987, Part 3; No. 451.
BLAIR ATHOLL [2]. Scottish, Reel. A Minor/Dorian. Standard. AB (Kerr): AABB (Lerwick, Songer). Blair Castle is the seat of the Duke of Athole, and lies just northwest of the village of Blair Athole, in the parish of Blair Athole, district of Athole, Perthshire. Still a functional residence, some of its buildings are open to the public. The castle dates to the 13th century when its oldest part, Comyn's Tower, was constructed. It was occupied by the Marquess of Montrose in 1644, and again garrisoned by Claverhouse in 1689 (Claverhouse was killed in the battle of Killiecrankie, and his body brought to Blair Castle where his cuirass can be seen today). Bonnie Prince Charlie and his troops rested at the Castle on their journey south during the Jacobite rebellion of 1745, and the castle was damaged the next year in a bombardment. It was restored as a manor house at the end of the century, minus all fortress-like vestiges, but these were restored in the Victorian era.
***
In the autumn of 1787 the poet Robert Burns, at that time on a tour in the Highlands, came to Blair Athole with a letter of introduction to the Duke. His Grace was not a home when Burns arrived, but he was cordially welcomed by the Duchess of Athole and stayed a few days at the castle, with the Duke returning before the poet left. He found staying at the same time the Duchess sister, Mrs. Graham along with their youngest sibling, Miss Cathcart, then in her seventeenth year. Burns declared later that the two days he spent there were among the happiest days of his life. He wrote from Inverness soon after to Mr. Walker (later a Professor of Humanity) of Glasgow, who was then residing at Blair Athole, and enclosed his composition "Humble Petition of Bruar Water." In the letter he says:
***
The "little-angel band"-I declare I prayed for them very sincerely
today at the Fall of Fyers. I shall never forget the fine family-piece
I saw at Blair: the amiable, the truly noble Duchess, with her smiling
little seraph in her lap, at the head of the table; the lovely "olive-plants,"
as the Hebrew bard finely says, round the happy mother; the beautiful
Mrs. Graham; the lovely sweet Miss Cathcart, &c. I wish I had the
power of Guido to do them justice.'
***
As fate would have it, the three sisters, known for their beauty all passed away when relatively young. The Duchess survived Burns's visit only three years, and Mrs. Graham five. Miss Cathcart, who was singularly amiable as well as beautiful, was cut off at twenty-four.
***
Kerr (Merry Melodies), Vol. 3; No. 146, pg. 17. Lerwick (The Kilted Fiddler), 1985; pg. 25. Songer (Portland Collection), 1997; pg. 32. Green Linnet SIF 1047, John Cunningham - "Fair Warning" (1983).
BLUE BONNETS OVER THE BORDER [1]. AKA and see "All the Blue Bonnets are Over the Border," "Over the Border," "Blue Bonnets Jig," "Blue Bonnets," "Scotch Come Over the Border" (Pa.). Scottish, Slow Air (6/8 time), Jig, Country Dance Tune or March. B Flat Major (Athole, Skye): D Major (Neil). Standard. AAB. Samuel Bayard thinks this tune was fashioned in the 1740's into a quick dance piece in 6/8 from a slow 3/4 time song tune from about 1710 or earlier called "O Dear Mother (Minnie) What Shall I Do?" This "Blue Bonnets Over the Border" was in turn the basis for a 4/4 version called "Braes of Auchtertyre/Auchentyre," "Belles of Tipperary" and "Beaus of Albany;" out of this group of tunes came "Billy in the Lowground/Low Land." Michael Diack's, on the other hand, has written in his Scottish Country Dances that "Blue Bonnets" is derived from a 17th-century
Scottish tune called "Lesley's March to Scotland." If this is the "Leslie's March" printed by Oswald (1755) and Watts' Musical Miscellany (1731), then the resemblance seems obscure and based on a few motifs. The tune, correctly classified a jig, often appears under the label 'country dance tune' because of its long association with the dance. Neil's (1991) version is an adaptation of one appearing in Uilleam Ross's Collection of Pipe Music (1869), and the piece is said to be a quickstep march of the Black Watch. 'Blue bonnets' is a euphemism for the Scots, stemming from the custom of Jacobite troops to identify themselves with a white cockade worn on a blue bonnet. The white cockade emblem is said to have originated when Bonnie Prince Charlie plucked a wild rose and pinned it to his hat. Lyrics to the tune were written by Sir Walter Scott, who based them on an old Cavalier song (Scott also mentions the song in his novel The Monastery).
***
March! march! Ettrick and Leviotdale,
Why, my lads dinna ye march forward in order?
March! march! Eskdale and Liddesdale,
All the blue bonnets are over the Border.
Come from the hills where your hirsels (i.e. sheep) are grazing,
Come from the glen of the buck and the roe,
Come with the buckler, the lance and the bow
Trumpets are sounding, war-steeds are bounding
Stand to your arms and march in good order
England shall many a day tell of the bloody frey
When the blue bonnets come over the Border.
***
MacDonald (The Skye Collection), 1887; pg. 162. Neil (The Scots Fiddle), 1991; No. 25, pg. 34. Stewart-Robertson (The Athole Collection), 1884; pg. 145. A & M Records 79602 2000-2, Ashley MacIsaac - "Close to the Floor" (1992). Culbernie Records CUL 102, Alasdair Fraser & Jody Stecher - "The Driven Bow" (1988). Rounder RO 7023, Natalie MacMaster - "No Boundaries" (1996. A jig setting learned from her uncle, fiddler Buddy MacMaster).
T:Blue Bonnets Ow'r the Border
L:1/8
M:6/8
R:Country Dance
B:The Athole Collection
K:B_
B,3 B,>CD|B>cd B2F|BGG G2g|g>fd c2B|B,3 B,>CD|B>(3c/d/c/) BGF|
G3 FDF|FBD C2B:|
|:Bdf fdB|gfd c2B|Bdf g>ab|B>(3c/d/e/) c2B|Bdf fdB|gfd cBc|G3 FDF|
FBD C2B:|
BONNIE BANKS O' LOCH LOMOND. Scottish, March or Air (4/4 time). G Major. Standard. AB (Neil): ABC (Kerr). The tune is one of the most famous of Scots airs and appears to be based melodically on "Kind Robin." It is thought to date from the year 1746, and the lyrics are supposed to refer to one of Bonnie Prince Charlie's ill-fated followers who was about to be executed for rebellion. His sweetheart had come to Carlisle, perhaps to seek his release, but he told her he would be taking the 'low road', or grave, back to Loch Lomond, where they had spent their happiest hours.
***
O, ye'll tak' the high road
And I'll tak' the low road,
And I'll be in Scotland afore ye;
But I and my true love will never meet again,
On the bonnie, bonnie, banks o' Loch Lomond.
***
Kerr (Merry Melodies), Vol. 3; No. 407, pg. 45. Neil (The Scots Fiddle), 1991; No. 113, pg. 151.
T:The Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond
B:Allan's Violin Gems
Z:Nigel Gatherer
M:4/4
L:1/8
K:G
D2|G2 GA B2 AG|A2 AG E2 D2|G2 G2 G2 Bd|e4 d2 d2|e2 ed B2 Bd|
cBAG E2 DE|G2 Bd e2 dB|A4 g2 D2|G2 GA B2 AG|ABAG E2 DE|
G2 G2 G2 Bd|e4 d2 d2|e2 ge d2 Bd|cBAG E2 DE|GGBd e2 dB|A4 G2|]
BONNIE CHARLIE [1]. Scottish, Scottish Measure (4/4 time, "Slowish"). D Minor. Standard. AAB (Gatherer, Gow, Songer): AABB (Harding). Gatherer credits the tune to the famous Scots fiddler and composer Niel Gow (1727-1807), born in Inver. Source for notated version: Eileen Witler via Lanny Martin [Songer]. Carlin (Gow Collection), 1986; No. 13. Gatherer (Gatherer's Musical Museum), 1987; pg. 30. Gow (Complete Repository), Part 3, 1806; pg. 5. Hardings All Round Collection, 1905; No. 151, pg. 48 {Reel}. Songer (Portland Collection), 1997; pg. 34. Philo 1031, Boys of the Lough - "Lochaber No More."
T:Bonny Charlie [1]
L:1/8
M:C
S:Gow - 3rd Repository
K:D Minor
A,2|D2 (DE) F2FG|(AB) (GA) F2 (3GAB|A2D2 D3F|(EF) (GE) C2 F>E|D2 (DE) F2 (FG)|
(AB) (GA) F2 (3GAB|A2D2 (FE) (D^C)|(D4d2):|
A2|d>edc A2A2|d>edc A3f|(ef) ge c2c2|(efg)e c2 f>g|(a2 f>)a (g2 e>)g|
{g}(f2 d>)f (fe) (d^c)|~d3e (fe) (d=c)|(A2 d2) d3A|d>edc A2A2|f2f2A3c|
(BA) (GF) (GF) (ED)|(EFG)E C2 F>G|A2 F>A c2 A>c|(de) fg (fe) (d^c)|
(d>=c) (BA) (AG) (FE)|(D4 d2)||
BONNIE CHARLIE [2]. Scottish, March (2/4 time). D Major. Standard. AB. "James Hogg, 'The Ettrick Shepherd', poet, collector, singer, and contemporary of Sir Walter Scott, set the words of his Jacobite song, 'Cam Ye by Atholl' to this tune," though he slowed it down for that purpose. Boys of the Lough, 1977, pg. 15. Transatlantic TRA 311, Boys of the Lough, "Lochaber No More."
BONNIE CHARLIE [3]. Scottish, Strathspey. A Major (Kerr, Vol. 3): G Major (Kerr, Vol. 4). Standard. AAB. Kerr (Merry Melodies), Vol. 3; No. 87, pg. 11. Kerr (Merry Melodies), Vol. 4; No. 127, pg. 16.
BONNIE CHARLIE'S GONE AWA'. AKA and see "Will Ye No' Come Back Again." Scottish, New England; March (4/4 time). A Major. Standard. One part. The tune is not related to "Bonnie Charlie" [1] or [2]. Laufman (Okay, Let's Try a Contra, Men on the Right, Ladies on the Left, Up and Down the Hall), 1973; pg. 11.
BURNING OF THE PIPER'S HUT, THE. Scottish, Reel; New England, Polka. B Minor. Standard. AABB. Williamson (1976) remarks that the English general Cumberland received the sobriquet 'Butcher' after the defeat of the Jacobite forces of Bonnie Prince Charlie at Culloden in 1746, such was the savagery of his reprisals and cruelty toward prisoners of the engagement. In the aftermath of the rising a series of laws were passed which aimed to suppress the Highland culture and break forever the power of the ancient clans in order to prevent any such rebellion from again happening. Thus, highland dress and the wearing of clan tartan was prohibited on pain of death, arms were banned, and, attesting to the power of traditional music to evoke emotion, pipers were outlawed (there is some dispute however, regarding whether the pipes were actually included in these bans). In fact, reports Williamson, the kilt continued to be prohibited until 1782, forcing the Highlanders to wear trews. "Any clergyman who did not pray in church expressly for George of Hanover could be transported for life, and those who attended such services were liable to fine and imprisonment. This was in force till 1792. The ("Burning of the Piper's Hut") probably refers to these times." Source for notated version: Bobby McLeod [Williamson]. Miller & Perron (Irish Traditional Fiddle Music), 1978; No. 35 (polka). Williamson (English, Welsh, Scottish and Irish Fiddle Tunes), 1976; pg. 50. Beltona BL 2610 (78 RPM), Bobby McLeod.
CARLISLE LASSES. AKA and see "Lass o' Corrie Mill." Scottish, Strathspey. F Major. Standard. AA'B (Athole): AA'BB' (Perlman). The name Carlisle was originally Caer Leul, caer being Welsh for castle while Leul is a contraction of the Latin form of the name of a Celtic deity known by the Irish as Lug, all processed by Norman clerks who knew nothing of the spelling of either (Matthews, 1972). Carlisle, in Cumbria, was a Celtic settlement since prehistoric times. The Romans garrisoned and fortified it and made it the anchor of the western end of Hadrian's Wall, although as their power waned it was sacked by the Picts in 181 and 367, and then by the Danes in 875. At the end of the first millenium it formed part of the kingdom of Strathclyde, but was conqoured by the Normans in 1092. Carlisle Castle was the first place of imprisonment for Mary, Queen of Scots. Royalist Carlisle fell the Scots in 1645 and it was captured again by Bonnie Prince Charlie in the rebellion of 1745. Source for notated version: Dennis Pitre (b. 1941, St. Felix, West Prince County, Prince Edward Island) [Perlman]. Stewart-Robertson (The Athole Collection), 1884; pg. 238.
T:Carlisle Lasses
L:1/8
M:C
R:Strathspey
B:The Athole Collection
K:F
C|:~F>GA>F E>G F2|A>Bc>B A<c ~c2|d>fc>f B>gA>f|1 (3agf (3edc (3edB (3ABG:|2
(3agf (3def A<F ~F2||
B|A<c ~c>B A<f ~f2|e>g ~g>e f<a a2|b>ga>f g>ef>g|(3agf (3edc (3dcB (3ABG|
A<c ~c>B A<f ~f2|e<g ~g>e f<a a2|b>ga>f g>ef>g|(3agf (3efg af ~f||
CARLISLE RACES. English, Country Dance Tune or Jig. G Major. Standard. AABB. The name Carlisle was originally Caer Leul, caer being Welsh for castle while Leul is a contraction of the Latin form of the name of a Celtic deity known by the Irish as Lug, all processed by Norman clerks who knew nothing of the spelling of either (Matthews, 1972). Carlisle, in Cumbria, was a Celtic settlement since prehistoric times. The Romans garrisoned and fortified it and made it the anchor of the western end of Hadrian's Wall, although as their power waned it was sacked by the Picts in 181 and 367, and then by the Danes in 875. At the end of the first millenium it formed part of the kingdom of Strathclyde, but was conqoured by the Normans in 1092. Carlisle Castle was the first place of imprisonment for Mary, Queen of Scots. Royalist Carlisle fell the Scots in 1645 and it was captured again by Bonnie Prince Charlie in the rebellion of 1745. Knowles (A Northern Lass), 1995; pg. 41.
CAM' YE BY ATHOL? Scottish, Air (6/8 time). D Major. Standard. One part (Neil): AB (Kerr). The words to the tune were by James Hogg, while the music was by Nathaniel Gow's son Neil Jr. (Niel Gow's grandson), born about 1795. Neil remained with his father in Edinburgh and was reported to have been a musician of excellent talent (another famous composition is his "Flora MacDonald's Lament"). He entered the medical profession, but unfortunately died quite young, at age 28.
**
"Cam' Ye by Athol?" was selected by Queen Victoria for John Wilson's (who was the most widely acclaimed singer of Scottish songs in his day) recital during her visit to Taymouth Castle in 1842; this shows how much wounds had healed in 100 years of Scottish/English relations, for the tune is a 'gathering song', written about recruiting Highlanders for the 1745 Jacobite rebellion in the cause of Bonnie Prince Charlie against the united Hanoverian throne of England and Scotland. Neil (1991) states that the song "belongs to the Atholl district of Perthshire and in particular the Murrays, who played a leading role in the insurrection," though he remarks that althought the tune was inspired by Highlands sentiments, the song's origin was in the Lowlands of Scotland. Kerr (Merry Melodies), Vol. 3; No. 408, pg. 45. Neil (The Scots Fiddle), 1991; No. 114, pg. 152.
EIGHT MEN OF MUDART. Scottish. Glen (1891) finds the earliest printings of the tune in Robert Bremner's 1757 collection (pg. 88) and Neil Stewart's 1761 collection. As "Eight Men of Madaat", it is one of the "missing tunes" from William Vickers' 1770 Northumbrian dance manuscript. According to Flett & Flett (1964) the Eight Men of Moidart (Mudart) is also the title of a Scottish reel for eight, and that the name stems from a legend regarding Bonnie Prince Charlie. It seems that the Prince landed at Moidart to begin the rising of 1745 and that the spot is today marked by seven great oak trees, the 'Seven Men of Moidart'. When the famous royal rebel disembarked there happened to be seven fishermen 'hooking for bait' along the shoreline, and that upon seeing the prince their joy was overwhelming, causing them to dance on the sands. They performed a dance for eight, but being one diminished, they stuck a spade in the sand to represent the missing dancer, and their unknown dance became known as 'The Eight Men of Moidart'.
FAIRHAIRED BOY, THE [1] ("Bouchaleen Bawn" or "An Buac{h}aillín Bán"). AKA and see "The Boys from Carrickroe," "Fair Headed Lad, The," "The Freheen Jig," "Giolla na Gruaige Baine," "The Last of the Lot," "Miss Casey." Irish, Double Jig. A Mixolydian (O'Neill/Krassen): A Dorian (Breathnach, Roche, Taylor): A Major (O'Neill/1850): A Minor (O'Neill/1915, Roche/Vol.1). Standard. AAB (Breathnach): AABB (Roche/Vol.1): AABB' (O'Neill, Taylor). "An Buachall Bán" (The Fair Lad) is an allegorical name for the Young Pretender, Bonnie Prince Charlie Stuart. The tune appears in the O'Rourke manuscripts as "The Kerryman's Rambles." Sources for notated versions: piper Pat Broohy/Padhraic Ó Broithe (Ireland) [Breathnach]; Source for notated version: Abram Sweetman Beamish, a native of the adjoining parish to that of Caheragh, County Cork, where Francis O'Neill was born-although O'Neill got seven tunes from Beamish, only the "Fairhaired Boy" and "Tie the Bonnet" were previously known to him despite their common place of origin [O'Neill].. Breathnach (CRE I), 1963; No. 20, pg. 9. O'Neill (1915 ed.), 1987; No. 140, pg. 81. O'Neill (Krassen), 1976; pg. 42. O'Neill (1001 Gems), 1907/1986; No. 158, pg. 41. Roche Collection, Vol. 1, No. 120, pg. 50. Roche Collection, 1982, Vol. 3; No. 110, pg. 34 (appears as "Giolla na Gruaige Baine"). Taylor, 1989; pg. 21. Gael-Linn CEF 176, Jackie Daly - "Many's a Wild Night" (learned from the playing of Kiskeam fiddle player Maurice O'Keeffe).
T:An Buachaillín Bán (The Fair-haired Boy)
D:Jackie Daly, "Many's a Wild Night"
M:6/8
L:1/8
R:jig
Z:Paul de Grae
K:Ador
EAA AGE | GAB c2 d | e/f/ge ded | BAB GED |
EAA AGE | GAB c2 d | e/f/ge ded | BAG A3 :||
||: eaa aga | bab ged | eag e2 A | BAB GED |
EAA AGE | GAB c2 d | e/f/ge ded | BAG A3 :||
FLEE OVER THE WATER. Scottish, Reel ("Slowish"). A Major. Standard. AAB. A reference undoubtedly to Bonnie Prince Charlie and Scotland's Wild Geese (expatriots). Carlin (The Gow Collection), 1986; No. 255.
FLORA MACDONALD'S ADIEU TO THE PRINCE (Tha mi fodh ghruaim). Scottish, Slow Air (6/8 time). F Sharp Minor. Standard. AAB. This air "is attributed, the editor knows not with what truth, to the celebrated Miss Flora MacDonald, on bidding adieu to Prince Charles. There is a degree of virtue, highly honorable to the national character for sincerity and integrity, perceptible in the universal disregard of the high rewards offered for delivering up the Prince" (Fraser). In fact, Flora Macdonald (b. c. 1721) was a celebrated heroine of the 1745 Jacobite rebellion, instrumental in saving Bonnie Prince Charlie after the battle of Culloden. Flora was born on the Hebridean side of South Uist, to which isle Charlie fled to, hotly pursued by the English forces who had offered a reward of the staggering sum of 30,000 pounds for his capture. The island was patrolled by warships and 2,000 Hanoverian troops were combing the countryside looking for him. Flora was persuaded to his cause and helped him elude his pursuers by dressing him as her Irish maidservent under the alias 'Betty Burke'. For three days she travelled with him under the constant fear of capture until he was able to make his way to Skye and then Inverness, where he was eventually rescued by a French ship which transported him to safety in Brittany. "Before leaving Portee, Flora and the Prince said their goodbyes. He was most grateful to her for risking her life for him during the three eventful days, and for looking after him with great tenderness and affection during the many dangers that had beset them. He presented her with his own portrait in miniature and after thanking her, expressed the hope that they might meet again" (Neil, 1991). They apparently never did, for Flora returned to Skye and five years later married Macdonald of Kingsburgh, with whom she had five sons and two daughters. The family soon found themselves in North Carolina, where Macdonald served with the Royal Highland Emigrant Regiment in the years prior to the American Revolutionary War. They returned to Scotland in the early 1770's and were visited by Dr. Johnson and Boswell on Skye in 1773. Flora was aged 51 at the time and was described by Johnson as "a woman of middle statue, soft features, gentle manners and elegant presence", and by Boswell as "a little woman of genteel appearance and uncommonly mild and well-bred." Flora died in 1790. Fraser (The Airs and Melodies Peculiar to the Highlands of Scotland and the Isles), 1874; No. 219, pg. 98 & No. 219, pg. 90. Neil (The Scots Fiddle), 1991; No. 162, pg. 209.
T:Flora Macdonald's Adieu to the Prince
T:Tha mi fo ghruaim
L:1/8
M:6/8
S:Fraser Collection
K:A
F|AFF F>ED|d>ed c<e z/ c|Bce f>ea|f>ed (c<B) z/F|AFF F>ED|
d>ed c<ez/||c|Bce f>aa|fed e>dc|d>ed c>ea|f>ed (c<B)z/||
FYE TO THE COALS IN THE MORNING. AKA and see "Johnnie Cope". Scottish. The tune was set to a couple of songs about the route of the English (who were commanded by Sir John Cope) by the Scots (under Bonnie Prince Charlie) at Prestonpans (1745).
GLENBUCKET CASTLE. Scottish, Strathspey. C Minor. Standard. AB. Composed by Alexander Walker. Glenbucket Castle, or Glenbucket, was built in 1590 by John Gordone and Helen Carnagie on land between the Water of Bucket and the Don rivers. It was confiscated by the crown in 1745 due to Brigadier General Gordon's involvement in the Jacobite uprising of Bonnie Prince Charlie.
***
GRANT OF SHEUGLIE'S CONTEST BETWEEN HIS VIOLIN, PIPE AND HARP. AKA - "Mairi nighean Dheorsa." Scottish, Slow Air (2/4 time). A Major. Standard. AB. "Grant of Sheugly, in Glen Urquhart, supposed composer of the verses to this beautiful ancient air, was himself a performer on the violin, pipe, and harp, and, it would appear, a poet, in the like manner. In appreciating the qualities of each instrument, he supposes they had quarrelled, and that he was called upon to decide the contest. In addressing a verse to his pipe, he observes 'how it would delight him, on hearing the sound of war, to listen to her notes, in striking up the gathering, to rally round the chief, on a frsoty spring morning, whilst the hard earth reverberated all lher notes, so as to be heard by the most distant person interested.' To the harp he says, --'The pleasure which thy tones afford are doubled, whilst accompanying a sweet female voice, or round the festive board, inspired by love or wine, I reach beyond my ordinary capacity, and feel the pleasure of pleasing.' But to his violin, which he calls by the literal name of the air, 'Mary, George's Daughter,' and seems to have been his favourite, though held cheap by the other combatants, he says,--'I love thee, for the sake of those who do,--the sprightly youth and bonny lasses.--all of whom declare, that, at a wedding, dance, or ball, thou, with thy bass in attendance, can have no competitor,--thy music having the effect of electricity on those who listen to it,'--and on thus receiving their due share of praise, their reconciliation is convivially celebrated. The editor's grandfather acquired this air from a successor of the composer, who was his contemporary" (Fraser).
***
Sanger & Kinnaird (Tree of Strings, 1992) report that Sheuglie, or Shewglie as they give his name, was Alexander Grant of Shewglie, born around 1675 who died in captivity in London in July, 1746. Shewglie's branch of the family were supporters of Bonnie Prince Charlie, and though he did not take part in the battle of Culloden, Shewglie did write verses in support of the rebellion. Denounced by loyal members of the Grant clan, Shewglie was arrested along with his eldest son and the Rev. Mr. John Grant. Although the son and the minister were later released to return to their homes, the reprieve came too late for Shewglie, who, being elderly and having undergone great hardship in prison, contracted a fever and died. In addition to being a poet, Alexander was a skilled musician on some combination of the harp, bagpipe and fiddle; when he could find time, that is, as he reputedly fathered 14 sons and six daughters! The original Gaelic words to the song have been lost. Fraser (The Airs and Melodies Peculiar to the Highlands of Scotland and the Isles), 1814; No. 3, pg. 2.
T:Grant of Sheuglie's contest betwixt his Violin, Pipe and Harp
T:Mairi nighean Dheorsa
L:1/8
M:2/4
S:Fraser Collection
K:A
A>B c2|c>d e2|f>d e2|B2 AF|A2 a2|(e2 e/)d/c/B/|A2 A>B|A2 FE|
c>c c2|c>c e2|f>c e2|B2 AF|A2 a2|(e2 e/)d/c/B/|A2 A>B|A2 FE||
f>f a2|f>f a2|a>g a2|f>e e2|c>d e2|fe e2|A/B/c/d/ e/f/g/a/|f2 e2|
a>g f2|e<c e2|f<c a2|B2 AF|A2 a2|(e2 e/)d/c/B/|A2 AB|A2 FE||
HAWTHORNE TREE OF CAWDOR (Freumh a's Craobh Taigh Challadair). AKA and see "Cawdor Fair," "Cock a Bendie," "Go on Lads and Give a Tune." Scottish, Strathspey or Slow Air. A Minor. Standard. AABB. "This popular air is mentioned as old, by Mr. Gow. The editor discovering it under the mane now given in MS. of Mr. Campbell of Budyet, formerly mentioned, corroborates that truth. This gentleman was a cadet of the family of Lord Cawdor, and a celebrated composer and modeller of our best strathspeys. The hawthorne tree is still visible in Cawdor Castle, and is so venerated as the roof-tree of the family, that, on an annual meeting of his lordship's tenants and other friends, usually held on the day of Cawdor Fair, to drink 'the hawthorne tree',-- hence the probability of its having been composed by Mr. Campbell for the occasion" (Fraser).
***
Although Cawdor is known as the seat of the powerful Campbell clan, it was not originally built by them, and has a long history. The first Thane of Cawdor was appointed by the Scottish king Alexander II in 1236; the third Thane was murdered by a neighbor, Sir Alexander Rait of Rait Castle. Cawdor Castle itself started as a 14th century tower, to which were added parapets, an upper story and a massive iron yett in 1454-1455. The ranges were added in the 16th and 17th centuries. The Campbells obtained control of the fortification by capturing the twelve-year-old heiress in 1511 and marrying her to the Earl of Argyll's son, at which time the clan retained the castle. During Bonnie Prince Charlie's Jacobite Rising of 1746, the Campbells gave refuge to Lord Lovet there. Legend has it that Cawdor Castle is inhabited by, not one but two ghosts; one is a lady in blue velvet and the other is John Campbell, the first Lord of Cawdor
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HIGH ROAD TO FORT AUGUSTUS, THE (Coir'-a-Ghearraig). Scottish, Reel. B Minor. Standard. AB (Fraser, Neil): AAB (Athole). Captain Simon Fraser, compiler of the famous collection of Highland melodies, writes in his note to this tune: "The words associated with this air give annecdotes regarding that stupendous work, the road cut in traverses, by General Wade, down the face of a mountain, in forming a communication betwixt Fort Augustus and Garvamore. By this road old Lord Lovat was carried, when on his last journey to London, on a litter,--and here he was met by the late Governor Trapaud, of Fort Augustus, then in the Duke's army, who requested to have Lovat's face uncovered, that he might have a look of 'the old fox.' Lovat heard all this, but pretended to be sound asleep. Whenever he found Trapaud examining his phiz, he started up, and with the vigour of youth, made a snappish bark at him, like that of a terrier, which so thunderstruck the governor, that he fell backwards with terror, to the no small amusement of the party. Another anecdote, not less worthy of notice, occurs regarding this place. Hugh Fraser, Esq. of Dell, a most extensive drover and grazier, in returning from the southern markets, was benighted here, as he came on a fine frosty November evening to the foot of the traverses, when all of a sudden, as he ascended, a most furious driving of snow come on; he kept forward as long as he could, thinking it might cease,--but in vain,--he lost his way. He had an appointment for next day to pay large sums of money, in his custody,--which, if he was lost, would bring ruin on many persons. If he sat down, he knew he must have inevitably perished with cold. In this state, a thought occurred to him worthy of being universally known,-- and the cause of the present mention of it,--that he should make for the highest pinnacle of the hill and there form a circular path and ride and walk by turns round it till morning came. This he according did, and hailed the morning cry of the grouse as the sweetest music ever he heard. When day-light came, he could not distinguish one object known to him, nor find the road; and, even at sunset, in place of being near Fort Augustus, he reached a hut, entirely in a different direction, within three miles of his own house, unable to go further, and found he had rode over morasses and lakes that would have swallowed him up, but for the intenseness of the frost. He, however, perfectly recovered in a day or two. The presence of mind displayed by him, in preserving life during the night, as a lesson to others, will apologize for the length of this note."
***
The ancient name of Fort Augustus, "Kilchuimen" (sometimes Kilcumein), or 'Church of Saint Cumine.' It was named after Saint Cumine (sometimes Cumein), a monk of Iona who became 7th Abbot of the island and who gained fame for his life of Saint Columba. The Fort that gives Fort Augustus its name was one of a series of forts built by the Hanoverians to secure the Great Glen of Scotland. There was Fort George near Inverness, Fort Augustus in the heart of the Glen at Loch Ness, and Fort William at the southern end. All were named after members of the Hanover royal family; Augustus was the name of George II's son, William Augustus, the Duke of Cumerland. Cumberland is infamous for his part in the battle of Culloden and its aftermath, so much so he was known as 'Butcher Cumberland'. Following the defeat of the Highland forces of Bonnie Prince Charlie he took up residence in Fort Augustus, and remained oblivious to the depredations of his troops upon the local population and the suffering of the Highland people during the harsh winter of 1746. General Wade, referred to by Fraser in the passage above, built the fort in 1730 along with a network of roads and bridges, and he is recognized today as a great engineer. In later years Fort Augustus passed into the hands of Lord Lovat, who bought it in 1867 as a shooting lodge, and whose son donated it to monks in the mid-1870's. The old fort was transformed into a Benedictine Abbey which survived until the present day, although it recently has been closed.
***
HIGHLAND LADDIE(, THE ORIGINAL) [1]. AKA - "Hielan Laddie." AKA and see "Bonny Laddie," "Clashing At Her," "Donkey Riding," "High Caul'd Cap," "I have two yellow goats" (Ireland), "The Lass of Livingston." Scottish, English, New England; Scotch Measure, Quickstep, March, Polka, or Country Dance Tune (cut time). England, Northumberland. D Major (Kerr, Raven): F Major (Johnson): G Major (Miller & Perron, Vickers): A Major (Emmerson, Gow). Standard. AB (Raven): AABB (Emmerson, Kerr, Seattle/Vickers): ABCD (Johnson): AABBCCDD (Gow). In the Gentleman's Magazine for 1750 that "The Highland Laddie written long since by Allan Ramsay, and now sung at Ranelagh and all the other gardens; often fondly encor'd, and sometimes ridiculously hiss'd," for, as Emmerson (1971) points out, the rising of 1745 of Bonnie Prince Charlie was fresh in the minds of many at the time. However, by the end of the century that memory had dimmed to the extent that Gow noted in his Repository (Part Second, 1802) "The Quick step (sic) of the gallant 42nd Regiment (The Royal Highlanders, or, more popularly, The Black Watch). Performed when the Regiment was reviewed by His Majesty at Ashford, May 7, 1802." It is still played on ceremonial occasions. The melody appears in the Drummond Castle Manuscript (in the possession of the Earl of Ancaster at Drummond Castle), inscribed "A Collection of Country Dances written for the use of his Grace the Duke of Perth by Dav. Young, 1734." John Glen (1891) finds the earliest printing of the tune in Robert Bremner's 1757 collection (pg. 47). Highland Laddie is also the name of a simple step dance which used to be taught to children, and is the name of a Scottish country dance.
***
Numerous sets of words exist to the melody. This was often sung to the pipe tune version:
***
Where ha' ye been a' the day?
Bonnie laddie, Hielan' laddie
Saw ye him that' far awa'
Bonnie laddie, Hielan' laddie
On his head a bonnet blue
Bonnie laddie, Hielan' laddie
Tartan plaid and Hielan' trews
Bonnie laddie, Hielan' laddie
***
Barry Finn reports that the melody was used as a capstan and a 'stamp and go' shanty, and (without the grand chorus) was also used as a halyard shanty. It was popular on the Dundee Whalers, then later used (c. 1830's and 40's) as a work song for stowing lumber and cotton in the Southeastern and Gulf ports of the United States. An older Dundee version goes:
***
Where have ye been all the day, Bonnie Laddie, Hieland Laddie
Where have ye been all the day, my Bonnie Hieland Laddie
***
Chorus:
Way hay & away we go, Bonnie Laddie, Hieland Laddie
Way hay & away we go, my Bonnie Hieland Laddie
***
I did see ye down the glen, Bonnie Laddie, Hieland Laddie
I did not see ye near the burn, my Bonnie Hieland Laddie
***
Chorus
***
No, I was not down the glen, no, I was not near the burn
I joined a ship & went a sailing, sailed far north & went a whaling
***
Shipped on board of a Dundee whaler, shipped on board as a whaling sailor
Bound away to Iceland cold, found much ice but not much gold
***
Greenland is a cold country, it's not the place for you and me
We caught some whales and boiled their blubber, oil and fat choked every scupper
***
I'll be glad when I get home, I'll give up this whaling game.
***
A later shanty called "Donkey Riding" was derived from the tune:
***
Was you ever in Quebec, moving timber on the deck
Where you nearly break your neck, riding on a donkey
***
Finn thinks the shanty probably goes back at least to the 1820's or earlier when the Scottish whalers out of Dundee, Peterhead, & Aberdeen were in their Greenland Fisheries hay-days, chasing the right whale. Source for notated version: Bowie Manuscript, c. 1789 [Johnson]. Carlin (The Gow Collection), 1986; No. 568. Emmerson (Rantin' Pipe and Tremblin' String), 1971; No. 29, pg. 129. Gow (Complete Repository, Part Second), 1802; pgs. 2-3. Johnson (Scottish Fiddle Music in the 18th Century), 1984; No. 1, pg. 22. Kerr (Merry Melodies), Vol. 1; No. 5, pg. 21. Miller & Perron (101 Polkas), 1978; No, 95. Raven (English Country Dance Tunes), 1984; pg. 150. Seattle (William Vickers), 1987, Part 2; No. 265 (appears as "Clashing At Her"). Green Linnet SIF 1076, Relativity - "Gathering Place" (1987). Green Linnet SIF 1121, Tannahill Weavers - "The Mermaid Song."
T:The Original Highland Laddie
L:1/8
M:2/4
S:Gow - 2nd Repository
K:A
E|A>Bcc|dB ~c2|cBB A/B/|cBB A/F/|A>B cc|dB ~c>B|AFF E/F/|AFF:|
e|(fa) (ef)|(d/c/)B/A/ {AB}c2|cBB A/B/|cB B>e|fa ea|(d/c/)B/A/ c>B|AFF E/F/|AF~F:|
|:e|a>b c'c'|d'b c'2|c'b~b a/f/|d'b c'>b|af~f e/f/|af~f:|
|:ag|fa ea|(d/c/)B/A/ {AB}c2|cB~B A/B/|cB ~B>e|fa ea|(d/c/)B/A/ c>B|AF~F E/F/|AF~F:|
HIGHLAND SOCIETY OF SCOTLAND, THE [1] (An Comunn Rioghail Gaidhealach). Scottish, Slow Strathspey. A Major. Standard. AAB. An editors note in Fraser says the Highland Society was "rather an association of the 1745 (the date of Bonnie Prince Charlie's defeat). "Though this air appears complimentary to the Highland Society, it was originally composed for an association in the 1745, in favour of the Pretender, which assumed the name of the Highland Association" (Fraser). Fraser (The Airs and Melodies Peculiar to the Highlands of Scotland and the Isles), 1874; No. 5, pg. 2.
T:Highland Society of Scotland, The [1]
T:An Comunn Rioghail Gaidhealach
L:1/8
M:C
S:Fraser Collection
K:A
c/>B/|AFEC EEEc/B/|A<F E>C B,2 B,c/B/|A>FEC FF EC/>B/|
A,>F E/>D/C/>B,/ A,2 A,:|
d|c>Ae>c d/c/B/A/ e>d|c>Ad>c B2 B<d|c>Ae>c f/a/g/a/ g/f/e/d/|
d>ccG A2 Ac/B/|A<ae<c F/G/A E>C|A>CA>C B,2 B,C/D/|E>F A<c B<c A>E|
F>DE>C A2 A||
HOLYROOD. Scottish, Jig. G Major. Standard. AABB. A place name. David I established the Augustinian abbey of Holyrood in 1128, and an adjoining guest-house formed the basis for the royal palace, Holyroodhouse. Mary, Queen of Scots, married two husbands at the palace, and it was at Holyrood that her husband, Lord Darnely, murdered her secretary and musician/composer, David Rizzio in 1566. Bonnie Prince Charlie used the castle for a brief time in 1745 to celebrate his early victories. Sweet (Fifer's Delight), 1964/1981; pg. 34. Tradition 2118, Jim MacLeod & His Band - "Scottish Dances: Jigs, Waltzes and Reels" (1979).
HUNDRED PIPERS (An A', An 'A), THE/A. AKA - "One Hundred Pipers," "Wi' a Hundred Pipers." AKA and see "Durham Reel," "The Hair Fell Off My Coconut." Scottish (originally), English, Canadian, American; Jig or Waltz. USA, New England, Pennsylvania. A Major or A Mixolydian (most versions): G Major (Sweet). Standard. AABB (Kennedy, Kerr, Raven, Songer, Sweet): AA'BB (Miller & Perron): AABB' (Cranford/Fitzgerald): AB (Karpeles). The title comes from words written to the tune and generally credited to Lady Caroline Nairne (1776-1845) and published in 1851, though it has been said to have been a Jacobite song and that the music was an old Scotttish 'catch'; the whole only adapted by Lady Nairne. Some writers also credit the soprano Elizabeth Rainforth (1814-1877) (who performed the song) solely or in conjunction with Lady Nairne. Musically, it is an example of the form Scotch Jig, or a jig in Scotch measure rhythm (see Emmerson, 1971, pg. 159), however Cape Breton and Irish fiddlers have employed it as a waltz. The 'A' part resembles the tune "The Mill Mill O," which Bayard (1981) says he cannot for sure say if it was an ancestral melody or not. Fuld (1966) believes the first part of the melody to be very similar to "The Lee Rig," published in Oswald's 1758 The Caledonian Pocket Companion (vol. VIII, pg. 20) and Johnson's 1787 The Scots Musical Museum (vol. I, pg. 50). The Jacobite origins of the song are based on the tale of Bonnie Prince Charlie's entry into Carlisle on the march south after his victory at Prestonpans, preceded into the city by the famed 100 pipers and followed by an army of 2,000 Highlanders. They crossed the stream with water up to their shoulders and "the pipers struck up, and they danced reels until they were dry again" (quoted in Fuld). More than a tale, the van of pipers is documented in the Chronicles of the Atholl and Tullibardine Families (vol. 3, pg. 95), which contains the entry, "Monday, the 18th November 1745: His Royal Highness made his entry into Carlisle seated on a white charger and preceeded by no less than a hundred pipers" (Collinson, 1975). Since then a mass of one hundred pipers playing the "Hundred Pipers" is a mark of distinction for an event, as, for example, when such a group played it at the 1955 opening of the Canso Causeway (joining Cape Breton Island with mainland Nova Scotia). In County Kerry the tune is sung as "The Hair Fell off My Coconut (So How Do You Like Me, Baldy?)" Source for notated verison: Hiram Horner (fifer from Westmoreland and Fayette Counties, Pa.) [Bayard]; Winston Fitzgerald (1914-1987, Cape Breton) [Cranford]. Bayard (Dance to the Fiddle), 1981; No. 546, pg. 488. Cranford (Winston Fitzgerald), 1997; No. 217, pg. 86. Jarman (Old Time Fiddlin' Tunes); No. or pg. 16. Karpeles & Schofield (A Selection of 100 English Folk Dance Airs), 1951; pg. 9 (appears as "Durham Reel"). Kennedy (Fiddlers Tune Book), Vol. 2, 1954; pg. 36. Kerr (Merry Melodies), Vol. 1; No. 8, pg. 31. Miller & Perron (New England Fiddler's Repertoire), 1983; No. 42. Raven (English Country Dance Tunes), 1984; pg. 104. Songer (Portland Collection), 1997; pg. 103. Spandaro (10 Cents a Dance), 1980; pg. 24. Sweet (Fifer's Delight), 1964/1981; pg. 21. F&W Records 2, "F&W String Band 2." Folkways FW8827, Arbuckle, Mikkelson & Clifton - "Old Time Couple Dances" (1961). Kicking Mule KM216, Arm & Hammer String Band - "New England Contra Dance Music." Wild Asparagus - "In Season" (1985).
T:Hundred Pipers, A
L:1/8
M:6/8
K:A
c2E EFE|F2A A2f|e2c cBA|BcB BAB|c2E EFE|F2A A2f|e2c BcB|1 A3 A2B:|2 A3 c2d||: e2e ece|f2a agf|e2c cBA|BcB Bcd|e2e ece|f2a agf|e2c BcB|A3 A2B:|
HURRAH FOR THE BONNETS OF BLUE. English, Jig. England, Northumberland. G Major (Hall & Stafford, Raven): D Major (Sweet). Standard. AB (Hall & Stafford, Raven): AABB (Sweet). 'Blue Bonnets' is a euphemism for the Scots, steming it is said from the custom of Jacobite troops identifying themselves with a white cockade worn on a blue bonnet, the only thing that passed for a uniform in those days. The white cockade emblam is said to have originated when Bonnie Prince Charlie plucked a wild rose and pinned it to his hat. Hall & Stafford (Charlton Memorial Tune Book), 1974; pg. 14. Raven (English Country Dance Tunes), 1984; pg. 112. Sweet (Fifer's Delight), 1964/1981; pg. 21.
T:Hurrah for the Bonnets of Blue
L:1/8
M:6/8
K:G
D|GAG Bcd|DED DEF|G2e dBG|A3 zBA|GAG Bcd|DED D2e|dc<B AGA|G4z||
G|FGA ABA|D3 D2A|FGA AB^c|d3 d2c|BBA GEF|G2A B2^d|eBA GAF|E3 E2F|
GAG BdB|G3 G2D|GGe dBG|A3 A2A|BBA GAB|cde d2c|d>cB AGA|G3G2||
JENNY'S WELCOME TO CHARLIE ("Fáilte Sineid Roim Catal" or "Fáilte Shinéad roimh Chathal"). AKA and see "Jennie and the Weazel," "Jennie and the Weaver," "Jenny Picking Cockles," "The Highway to Holburn." Irish, Reel. Ireland; Counties Donegal, Meath, west Clare, Limerick. D Aeolian (Dm): D Dorian (Cowdery): D Mixolydian (O'Neill/1001): D Mixolydian/Major (Breathnach, Mitchell): D Mixolydian/Dorian (Cranitch): D Major (Mulvihill, O'Neill/1850). Standard. ABC (Breathnach): ABCD (Mitchell, O'Neill): ABB (Williamson): AABBCCDD (Brody, Cowdery, Cranitch): AABB'CCDD'EEFF (Mulvihill). The title of this Jacobite reel refers to the Scottish pretender Bonnie Prince Charlie, also for a time an Irish hope. Cowdery (1990) identifies the melody as a "further development" of the identifying phrases of the old ballad "The Boyne Water." Caoimhin Mac Aoidh maintains the tune (in four parts) was associated with County Donegal in the past, though it has been disseminated to most of Ireland in the present. "The Long Note" is a related tune. Sources for notated versions: Kathleen Collins [Brody]; Nicholas Markey (County Meath, Ireland) via piper Seamus Ennis [Williamson]; piper Seamus Ennis, 1959 (Dublin, Ireland) [Breathnach]; piper Willie Clancy (1918-1973, Miltown Malbay, west Clare) [Mitchell]; Tommy O'Connor (Ballyhahill, County Limerick) [Mulvihill]. Breathnach (CRE II), 1976; No. 261, pg. 135. Brody (Fiddler's Fakebook), 1983; pg. 146. Cowdery, 1990; Ex. 45, pg. 118. Cranitch (Irish Fiddle Book), 1996; No. 81, pg. 156. Mitchell (Dance Music of Willie Clancy), 1993; No. 144, pg. 114. Mulvihill (1st Collection), 1986; No. 144, pg. 39. O'Neill (Krassen), 1976; pg. 142. O'Neill (1850), 1903/1979; No. 1456, pg. 270. O'Neill (1001 Gems), 1907/1986; No. 687, pg. 122. Williamson (English, Welsh, Scotch and Irish Fiddle Tunes), 1976; pg. 89. Claddagh CC53CD, Robbie Hannan - "Traditional Music played on the Uilleann Pipes." Claddagh CC39, Willie Clancy - "The Pipering of Willie Clancy, Vol. 2." Cló Iar-Chonnachta CICD098, Tola Custy and Cyril O'Donoghue - "Setting Free." Comhaltas Ceoltoiri CL13, Tommy Peoples. Front Hall 09, How To Change a Flat Tire- "A Point of Departure." Gael-Linn, Paul O'Shaughnessy - "Slogadh 78." "Gael-Linn CEF 022, Sean Keane - "Seoda Ceoil 2" (1969). Green Linnet SIF 1075, Eileen Ivers - "John Whelen & Eileen Ivers: Fresh Takes" (1987). Green Linnet SIF 1101, Eileen Ivers - "Playing with Fire: The Celtic Fiddle Collection" (1989). Outlet 3002, Paddy Cronin- "Kerry's Own Paddy Cronin" (1977). Shanachie 29002, "Kathleen Collins". Shanachie 79001, De Danann- "Selected Jigs, Reels, and Songs." Shanachie 78012, "The Best of Joe and Antionette McKenna." Tara Records, Paddy Glackin - "Doublin'".
T:Jenny's Welcome to Charlie
M:4/4
L:1/8
R:reel
Z:Barney
K:Ddor
D3 B AG E^F|GE cE dE cE|D2 DB AG E^F|GE cE ED DC|
(3DDD DB AG E^F|GE cE d2 cd|ec dB cA GE|1 GE cE ED DC:|
2 GE cE ED D2||:
=f2 fd ef ed|cA (3AAA GA EA|=f2 fd ed cd|ea ag (3ege de|
~=f3 d ef ed|cA (3AAA G2 cd|ec dB cA GE|1 GE cE ED DC:||:
(3aaa ab ag e^f|~g3 a ge dg|ea (3aaa ag ed|ea ag (3ege dg|
a2 ab ag e^f|~g3 a ge dB|A2 (3Bcd ed dg|(3AcA GE ED D2:||:
Ad dc de =fz|Ac (3ccc cA Gc|Ad dc d2 cd|ea ag (3ege dc|
d2 de dc AB|~c3 d cA GE|D2 (3E^FG Ad dc|1 (3AcA GE ED D2:|
2 (3AcA GE ED DC||
JOHNNY COPE [1] (Seanin Ua Copa). AKA and see "Fye to the Coals in the Morning," "General Coope." Scottish (originally), Canadian; Reel, Hornpipe or March: American, March (2/4) or Polka. Canada, Prince Edward Island. G Mixolydian/Minor (Gatherer, Johnson, O'Neill/1915): B Minor (Miller & Perron). Standard. AB (Bayard): AABB (Miller & Perron, O'Neill/1850, Perlman, Roche, Winstock): AABBCCDD (Gatherer): AABB'CCDDEEFFAABB' (Johnson). The tune is still played by Scottish regiments as their reveille. It is a satirical melody which commemorates the 1745 Jacobite rebellion when Sir John Cope (d. 1760) and the English were defeated by the Scots under Bonnie Prince Charlie at the Battle of Prestonpans, on the 22nd of September, 1745. In 1745, when Prince Charles landed in the highlands, Sir John was commander in chief in Scotland and he bravely resolved to march into the Highlands to oppose him. Cope was ill-prepared and outnumbered however, and soon retreated in the face of opposition in order to regroup. The rebels meanwhile secured Edinburgh and when they learned that Cope was marching to the city's relief they marched to meet him. Both armies neared each other at Prestonpans late in the day, separated by marshy ground, and it was resolved to wait until the next day to begin hostilities. During the night however, Prince Charlie was appraised by one of his troops that a passage or ford was to be had through the marshy ground and the rebels resolved to filter through at night and take the English forces by surprise in the morning. This was effected and the surprise was complete. Half awake and utterly bewildered, Cope's troops could make no effective resistance, and in a few minutes were in headlong flight. Only one round of ammunition was fired, and not one bayonet was stained with blood. Few except the cavalry made good their escape, the whole of the infantry being either killed or take prisoners. A later court of inquiry was convened to look into the debacle, though the result was that the common troops were blamed for the rout and Cope and all his officers were exhonerated.
***
The song lyrics and perhaps the music (the song is sung to the first two parts of the instrumental version) were written by Adam Skirving, an extremely literate East Lothian cultivator whose fields were tramped by the passage of the armies on the day of the battle. [There is a story that one of Cope's English officers took offense to Skirving's verses and desired to challenge him to a duel; Skiriving's comment on hearing the threat was "Let him come up here. If I can fecht him, I will. If not, I'll rin awa' just like he did."] Johnson (1983) notes the tune was unknown prior to 1750, but Bayard (1981) identifies "Johnny Cope" as a version of the older tune "Fye to the Coals in the Morning." The tune appears with variations by an anonymous but skilled local composer in the Gillespie Manuscript of Perth in 1768, and also in the McLean and Trotter manuscripts. A song by the title "Johnny Cope" is found in James Oswald's Caledonian Pocket Companion, published in London in 1760 with the alternate title "John Cope Trode the North Riding" (the North Riding is a section of Yorkshire). It appears in O'Farrell's, Vol. III (1810-20), pg. 51. O'Neill reports that a footnote in Wood's Songs of Scotland states that this old air originally consisted of one strain which was subsequently elaborated by the addition of a chorus or burden of a silly song; adapted to it was the first strain repeated an octave higher. Bayard (1981) agrees with Graham, and notes (similaryly with Wood) that the first part was the original strain added to in the second strain in instrumental versions by one melody, and in vocal versions usually by a strain resembling the Scots tune "Balquhidder Lasses." O'Neill snidely suggests that althought it was "claimed as Scotch, is in the Irish style and known all over Ireland;" the veracity of this is highly questionable for the tune closely follows "passamezzo antico" form, which was a particular style of stock chord progression imported from 16th century Italy and popular in England and Scotland in the 16th and 17th centuries. Bayard (1981) sees some resemblance between the first part of "Johnny Cope" and the second of the American tunes "Tennessee Wagoner," "Keep Off the Grass," and "Mississippi Sawyer;" he wonders if they are derivations. Similarly he sees resemblance between the second strain and the American collections of "Paddy on the Handcar." He also sees some resemblance between a "simple, fundamental strain" of Cope and some elaborated Irish hornpipe tunes, notably "The Groves" and "The Drunken Sailor" (they use the "Balquhidder" strain version plus some added parts). There is a legend that has been collected among Protestant Irish and fifers in Pennsylvania (Bayard, 1981) that has (falsely) the person of Johnny Cope a drummer boy in the Orange Irish forces who falls asleep on his watch on the very night of a surprise attack by the Catholic army. He was awakened just in time to sound the alarm by some birds pecking at some crumbs scattered on his drumhead--Bayard astutely points out that this story parallels the legend of the Capitoline geese, whose cackling awakened the Roman sentries in time to repel an ancient attack. As late as the mid-twentieth century these lyrics, based on the Scots words, were to be heard in American folk tradition sung to the tune:
***
Hey Johnnie Cope, are ye wakin' yet,
And are ye're drums a-beatin' yet? (Bayard)
The Scots chorus goes:
Hey Johnie Cope are ye wauking yet,
Or are ye sleeping I would wit;
O haste ye get up for the drums do beat,
Of fye Cope rise in the morning. (Robert Burns)
***
Beethoven arranged the melody for string quartet to accompany a vocal version of the tune around 1800. Sources for notated versions: McLean Collection (1772, pg. 23) [Johnson]; The Repository of Scots and Irish Airs (1799) [O'Neill]; Hiram Horner (fifer from Westmoreland and Fayette Counties, Pa., 1960) [Bayard]. Bayard (Dance to the Fiddle), 1981; No. 396, pg. 378. Buchan (101 Scottish Songs). Gatherer (Gatherer's Musical Museum), 1987; pg. 14. Johnson (Scottish Fiddle Music in the 18th Century), 1984; No. 38, pg. 97. Kohler's Violin Repository (1881-1885). Miller & Perron (101 Polkas), 1978; No. 42. Oxford Song Book, Volume 2. Winstock (Songs and Music of the Redcoats), 1970.
X:1
T:Johnny Cope
Z:transcribed by Henrik Norbeck
M:2/4
L:1/8
K:Am
E | A>A cd | eA AA | G>G GB | dd BG |
cc dd | eg BB/B/ | Ae/e/ dB/B/ | A2 A:|
|: z | cc/c/ cc/c/ | ce g>c | Bc d>d | Bc d>d |
cc dd | eg B>B | Ae/e/ dB/B/ | A2 A:|
X:2
T:Johnny Cope
M:4/4
L:1/8
S:Doug MacPhee, piano
R:march
N:play slowly
B:Cape Breton's Magazine no. 43 (1980s)
Z:Paul S. Cranford
K:Ador
A4 A2 Bd|e2 eg B2 AB|G4 G2 Bc|d2 g2 B2 AG|
c2 cc d2 dd|e2 (3efg B2 AG|1AB g2 e2 dB|A4 A2 GE:|
2 A2 eg e2 dB|A4 A2||
eg|a4 a2 ga|b2 a2 a2 ge|g2 d2 g2 dg|b2 a2 a2 ge|
a4 a2 ga|b2 gb a2 ge|d2 Bd e2 gB|A4 A2:||
G2|E<AAB ABcd|edcB A2 Ac|B2 AB GABc|
dcBA G2 (3GAB|c2 cc d2 (3ddd|e2 g2 B2 AG|
1A<Be<g e2 dB|A4 A2:|2 AAA<g e2 dB|A4 A2||
eg|aga<b agab|c'bag a2 ef|gdg<b gdg<b|dgbg a2 eg|
aga<b agab|c'bag a2 ge|d2 Bd e2 gB|A4 A2:||
AB|cGE<G c>Bc<d|e<cgc B2 AB|GEG>E GABc|
dcBA G2 AB|cGE<G cBcd|e<cgc B2 AG|
AB g2 e2 dB|A4 A2:||
F2|EA,>CA, EA,A>A,|E<A,CA EA,A>A,|D<G,B,G, DG,GG,|
D<G,B,A, G,B,AG|E<A,CA, EA,AF|E<A,CA, EA,A>E|
FDFe d<BgB|A4 A2:||
AB|cBcd edc<e|gfg<a gedc|B<GdG B<GdG|cdef gfed|
c<Gcd edce|gfga gedc|1B<Gd>G edBG|A4 A2:|
2 Bdgd edBG|A4 A2||
LASS OF LUNCARTY, THE. Scottish, Strathspey. Composed by Niel Gow. Emmerson (1971) reports that the fiddler's intimate friends believed he composed the popular tune in 1745, when as a teenager he followed Bonnie Prince Charlie and Lord Murray's Highland army through Luncarty as far as Perth. He left the cause at that time, not willing to leave his native area.
LINLITHGOW LOCH. AKA and see "Provost Dawson's Favorite." Scottish, Strathspey. D Major. Standard. AAB. Composed by William Marshall (1748-1833). The tune is subtitled "Provost Dawson's Favorite" in honor of Provost Adam Dawson who lived at the old Bonnytoun House on the shores of Linlithgow Loch (Moyra Cowie, The Life and Times of William Marshall, 1999). Dawson was a partner in a distillery named A & J Dawson, and a supporter of the Whig party and the Reform Act of 1832. Cowie says he is remembered for his warmth and keen sense of humor.
***
Lintihgow was the site of an important royal residence, Linlithgow Palace, now in ruins. It was already a royal manor house by the time Edward I of England garrisoned it and used it as a base prior to the battle of Bannockburn. Afterwards it reverted to the Scots. James I began the transformation to a large fortified castle in in 1424, and later Mary, Queen of Scots was born there. The castle was destroyed in 1746 during the Jacobite uprising when English troops, who had occupied the castle, took up the chase for Bonnie Prince Charlie but left an unattended fire, which soon spread. Marshall, Fiddlecase Edition, 1978; 1845 Collection, pg. 25.
T:Linlithgow Loch, or Provost Dawson's Favorite
L:1/8
M:C
S:Marshall - 1845 Collection
K:D
F|D>E D<A F<DA<F|D>E D<F E2 E<F|D>E D<A F<DA<F|d/c/d/e/ f<d F2F:|
|:G|d>e f<d e<BdA|Bcd<f e2 e>f|d>e f<d e>Bd>A|G<BF<A E2 E>A|
d>efd e<Bd<A|B>c d<f e2 e>f|g>e (g/f/)e/d/ (f/e/)d/c/ d>A|G<B F>A E2E||
LOCHIEL'S AWA' TO FRANCE (BUT HE'LL COME AGAIN). Scottish, English; Reel. England, Northumberland. A Dorian. Standard. AAB. "Old set." The title refers of Cameron of Lochiel, one of Bonnie Prince Charlie's chiefs who fought under his standard at the battle of Culloden (1746). After the defeat Lochiel was forced to flee with the Prince to France. Clan Cameron, however, was eventually pardoned and still retain substantial lands in Scotland. Breathnach (1976) finds the first part of this tune the same as the "The Gossan that beat his father" family of tunes, but that the second part is the same as that of "The Mountain Rose." MacDonald (1887) opines that the "modern set by Neil Gow (is) not so playable." Kerr (Merry Melodies), Vol. 1; pg. 9 (appears as "Lochiel's Rant"). MacDonald (The Skye Collection), 1887; pg. 49. Seattle (William Vickers), 1987, Part 2; No. 222 (appears as "Lochiel's Reel").
T:Lochiel's Awa' to France
L:1/8
M:C
S:Skye Collection
K:A Dorian
g|eA A/A/A e2 dc|B>G G/G/G (B<d)d<g|e>A A/A/A e2 dc|BGAB gee:|
g|(de)ga (bg)ab|gd d/d/d (gd)dg|dega bgab|ge e/e/e (ge)eg|dfga bgab|
gd d/d/d (gd)dg|bgae degB|BA A/A/A (ge)e||
MACCRIMMONS LAMENT [1]. AKA and see "Cha Till Mi Tuille" (Never More Shall I Return), "Cha Till MacCruinen (Macrimmon Will Never Return)." AKA and see "Cha Till MacCruimen." Scottish, (very) Slow Air (4/4 time). Scotland, Isle of Skye. A Dorian. Standard. AA'BB'. A note in Keith MacDonald's Skye Collection notes the setting of this tune is particular to the Island of Skye. Neil (1991) identifies the air (which originally was in Gaelic, though has a rhyming English version also) as a bagpipe lament and a pibroch (píobaireachd) theme which can be found in numerous versions, originally composed to honor the head of the legendary Macrimmon family. One story (related by Neil) goes that it was the work of a Macrimmon sister, written on the eve of her brother's departure for the camp of Bonnie Prince Charlie in the mid-18th century. Another story (from Pulver and Collinson, 1975) is that the MacCrimmons did not support the Jacobite cause and that "MacCrimmon's Lament" was composed by Domhnall Ban MacCrimmon when he left Skye, the chorus of the song predicting that he would never return. The luckless piper was the only person on either side killed at the rout of Moy in 1745, travelling with the MacLeods and Lord Loudon in the hope of capturing the Prince. Donald Báin was one of the two sons of Patrick Og MacCrimmon, the other being Malcolm MacCimmon, also a famous piper. So great was Donald Bain's reputation, however, that when he was captured by the Jacobites at the Battle of Inverurie, two months before his death, pipers in the Jacobite army (many of whom had been trained by Donald himself) went on strike and refused to play until he was given his freedom.
***
The Macrimmon family, through several generations, achieved the inherited position of pipers to the lairds of MacLeod of Dunvegan in the Isle of Skye, from 1570 to 1825. They were famous as composers and exponents of the art of pibroach playing, and some say the form originated with them, though the origins of piobraireachd are obscure. They were also associated with a school of piping whose founding has been credited to Patrick Macrimmon (Padruig Mor) around 1664, and which existed until 1770. It was situated in Boreraig in Skye (where the MacCimmons held land, just across the water from Dunvegan castle) and attracted pipers from all over the Highlands. The story is told that the course at one time lasted seven years (Collinson, 1975; Neil, 1991).
***
Source for notated version: Miss Jessie Macleod Gesto (Isle of Skye) [Skye]. MacDonald (The Skye Collection), 1887; pg. 182. Neil (The Scots Fiddle), 1991; No. 160, pg. 207 (appears as "Cha Till MacCruimen").
T:MacCrimmon's Lament
M:4/4
L:1/8
S:MacDonald - Skye Collection
K:A Dorian
A>A e2 d2 {d}e2| A2 {bag}f2 e>deA|1 G2 (3GBd {e}dB dA:|2 G2 (3GBd e2 dB|
G>G B2 e2 d>A||!
g>feA g>feA| g>feA g>feA|1 g>edG g>edG| g>edG d>B A2:|2 G2 (3GBd e2 dB|G
2 (3GBd e2 dA||
MAGGIE BROWN'S FAVORITE. AKA - "Maggie Brown," "Margrett Brown's Favorite," "Margaret Brown's Favorite," "Miss Brown's," "Miss Margaret Brown's Favorite," "Planxty Browne," "Planxty Maggie Brown." Irish, English, American; Single Jig or Set Dance. USA, New England. G Major. Standard. AAB (Cole, Gow, Miller & Perron, Raven, Sweet): AABB (Brody, Allan's): AA'AA"B (Phillips): ABC (Kerr). The tune appears to have been composed by Nathaniel Gow, and appears with his name in his publication Beauties of Niel Gow (1819) under the title "Miss Margaret Brown. Now Lady Camden." It is often credited to the blind Irish harper Turlough O'Carolan (1670-1738), probably due to its appearance in O'Neill's Music of Ireland under the title "Planxty Browne." Donal O'Sullivan, in his definitive work on O'Carolan, included the tune as an untitled air, but was of the opinion that it was doubtful it was a genuine work of the harpers. The appear to be no publications of the tune that predate Nathaniel Gow's. O'Neill may have based his attribution to O'Carolan on the fact that a Miss Margaret Brown was the object the harper's love for some time. Unfortunately for him, his Maggie Brown married Theobald, Sixth Viscount Mayo, in July, 1702, who incidently became a great patron of O'Carolan. The melody is employed for the Scottish song "Twa Bonnie Maidens," about Bonnie Prince Charlie's flight to the Isle of Skye after his defeat, disguised as a woman. Allan's Irish Fiddler, No. 110, pg. 28. Brody (Fiddler's Fakebook), 1983; pg. 180. Carlin (The Gow Collection), 1986; No. 348 (appears as "Margrett Brown's Favorite"). Cole (1001 Fiddle Tunes), 1940; pg. 53. Complete Collection of Carolan's Irish Tunes, 1984; No. 180, pg. 123 (Untitled). Kennedy (Fiddler's Tune Book), Vol. 2, 1954; pg. 40. Kerr (Merry Melodies), Vol. 2; No. 304, pg. 33. Miller & Perron (New England Fiddler's Repertoire), 1983; No. 50. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), Vol. 2, 1995; pg. 371. Raven (English Country Dance Tunes), 1984; pg. 105. Sweet (Fifer's Delight), 1965/1981; pg. 33. Alcazar Dance Series FR 204, Rodney Miller - "New England Chestnuts 2" (1981). Green Linnet 1015, Eugene O'Donnell- "Slow Airs and Set Dances." Rounder 7008, "Jerry Holland."
T:Maggie Brown's Favorite
L:1/8
M:6/8
K:G
dBG GAB|E2E E2c|AFD DEF|G2G G2g|dBG Bcd|E2E E2c|AFD DEF|GBA G3:|/
[|ga|bgb afd|efg gfe|dBg dBG|AFD Dga|bgb afd|efg gfe|faf gc^c|d3 de=f|ece dBd|cac BgB|Ace cBG|FAF DEF|GAB EFG|ABc def|gdB cAF|G3 g2g|]
MO GILE MEAR (My Nimble Lad/My Spirited Lad). AKA - "Ó, Mo Laoch, Mo Ghile Mear," "Seal do Bhíos im' Mhaighdin Shéimh," "De bharr na gCnoc 's i nImigéin," "Air Bharr na G-Cnoc 's an Ime G-Céin." AKA and see "Will Ye No' Come Back Again?" Irish, Slow March or Air (4/4 time). Ireland, West Kerry. G Major. Standard. One part (Ó Canainn): AB (Mac Amhlaoibh & Durham, Tubridy). A Jacobite song originally composed by Seán Clárach Mac Dónaill (1691-1754), in which Eire laments her love, Bonnie Prince Charlie Stuart, then in exile. The verses have been reworked in the folk process and there is a modern chorus to the song. As "Air Bharr na G-Cnoc 's an Ime G-Céin" it appears in Edward Walsh's Irish Popular Songs (Dublin, 1847).
***
Seal da rabhas im' mhaighdean shéimh,
'S anois im' bhaintreach chaite thréith,
Mo chéile ag treabhadh na dtonn go tréan
De bharr na gcnoc is i n-imigcéin.
***
Curfá:
'Sé mo laoch, mo Ghile Mear,
'Sé mo Chaesar, Ghile Mear,
Suan ná séan ní bhfuaireas féin
Ó chuaigh i gcéin mo Ghile Mear.
***
For a while I was a gentle maiden
And now a spent worn-out widow
My spouse ploughing the waves strongly
Over the hills and far away.
***
Chorus:
He is my hero, my dashing darling
He is my Caesar, dashing darling.
I've had no rest from forebodings
Since he went far away my darling.
***
The tune was played at the funeral of Seán Ó Riada, when he was buried in the little church in Cúil Aodha on October 3rd, 1971. Ó Riada is credited with helping to revitalize Irish traditional music in the mid-20th century and was founder of Ceoltóirí Cualann, the group out of which developed the Chieftains.
***
Mac Amhlaoibh & Durham (An Pota Stóir: Ceol Seite Corca Duibne/The Set Dance Music of West Kerry), No. 87, pg. 50. Ó Canainn (Traditional Slow Airs), 1995; No. 98, pg. 84 (Appears as "Gile Mear"). Tubridy (Irish Traditional Music, Book Two), 1999; pg. 4. RCA 62702, Chieftains (& Sting) - "Long Black Veil." Green Linnet, Relativity.
T:Mo Ghile Mear
M:4/4
C:Traditional
B:A Stór 's a Stórín
Z:Transcribed by Martin Wanicki
K:G
%Verse 1 and chorus:
D3DD2DE|G2A2B4|c2BAB2A2|G3ED4|
G3FE2D2|G2GAB3c|d3ed2B2|A3GG4||
%Other Verses:
B2d2d2B2|A2G2G3A|B2d2d2B2|A2G2A3A|
B2d2d2B2|A2G2G2AB|c2BAB3A|G2E2D4||
MY KING HAS LANDED AT MOIDART. Scottish, Pipe Pibroch. This pipe pibroch commemorates the spot where Bonnie Prince Charlie first stepped foot on Scottish soil during the Jacobite rising of 1715. It is said to have been composed on the spot at the time of the landing (although this is disputed) by a member of the piping family of MacIntyres from Rannoch, one John MacIntyre (Collinson, 1975).
O WHISTLE AND I'LL COME TO YOU/YE MY LOVE/LAD. AKA and see "Days of 'Lang Syne," "Todlen Hame." Scottish, Jig and Air. D Major. Standard. AAB. The title comes from Robert Burns's lyric to an air by John Bruce, the 'red-wed Highlander' of Dumfries and Braemar who spent some time as a prisoner in Edinburgh Castle for his adherence to the cause of Bonnie Prince Charlie during the rising of 1745. Kerr (Merry Melodies), Vol. 1; No. 30, pg. 33.
OVER THE WATER TO CHARLIE. AKA - "Charley Over the Water," "Over the River to Charlie," "Over the Water." AKA and see "Ligrum Cush," "Lacrum Cosh," "The Marquis (Marquess) of Granby," "Pot Stick," "Sean Buidhe" (Yellow John) "The Shambuy," "Wishaw's Delight." Scottish (originally), English, American; Air, Jig and Morris Dance Tune (6/8 time, with an irregular measure in the 'B' part). England, Northumberland. A Major (Raven): G Major (Alewine, Kennedy, Kerr, Mallinson). Standard. AABB (x4). A Jacobite (i.e. Highland supporters of Bonnie Prince Charlie) tune that was "improbably" introduced into British Guards regiments by 1764 (Winstock, 1970). That Winstock finds this improbable seems to be because the last Jacobite attempt to capture the throne of England was defeated at the Battle of Culloden in 1745, a mere nineteen years prior to the Britsih Guards introduction. However, memories of the rising appeared to have healed even more quickly in the general populace of England, as evidenced by this excerpt from a letter written by Ralph Bigland in 1749 of an entertainment on the London stage (quoted by Emmerson, 1972):
***
I have since I came here [London] been lately two or three
times at the play and what invited me most was to see a
new dance called the Scots Dance consisting of about 20
lads and lasses dress'd after the Highland fashion. The
scene represents a very romantic, rocky, or mountainous
country seemingly, at the most distant view you behold a
glorious pair (which far surpass all the other actors) sitting
among the rocks, while the rest are dancing below among
groves of trees. Some are also representing with their
wheels a spinning; all the while the music plays either
Prince Charlie's minuet or the Auld Stewarts Back Again.
At last descends from the mountains the glorious pair
which to appearance is a prince and princess. Then all the
actors retire on each side while the royal youth and his
favourite dance so fine, in a word that the whole audience
clap their hands for joy. Then in a moment the spinning
wheels are thrown aside and every lad and lass join in the
dance and jerk it away as quick as possible while the
music briskly plays--Over the Water to Charlie, a bagpipe
being in the band. In short it was so ravishing seemingly
to the whole audience that the people to express their joy
clap their hands in a most extraordinary manner indeed.
***
Though the title stems from the Jacobite era, the tune is older and has had many names (given above as alternates--see notes for "Pot Stick" and "Sean Buide"), however, by the 1750's it was appearing in published collections with the "Over the Water" title. Bayard (1981) identifies that at some point the tune was altered and a new group of variations formed using the second half of the "Charlie" tune as the first strain and adding a different second strain. This second group is usually known as "Blow the Wind Southerly" (after song lyrics) or "Kinloch (of Kinloch)" {a title which first appeared in 1798 in John Watlen's Second Collection of Circus Tunes}. Early printings of the tune can be found in Oswald's Caledonian Pocket Companion (book 4, pg. 7, c. 1752), the Gillespie Manusript of Perth (1768) and Robert Bremner's 1757 collection (pg. 16). A three-verse version exists in the Scots Musical Museum (1788) and it appears in Hogg's Jacobite Relics (early 1800's).
***
"Over the Water to Charlie" was employed variously as an accompaniment to dancing in the British Isles and was imported as a dance tune to America. A morris dance version was collected in the village of Bledington, Gloucestershire, in England's Cotswolds, while country dance instructions, but not the melody, appear in the Scottish Menzies Manuscript, 1749 (contained in the Atholl Collection of the Sandeman Library, Perth). The title appears in Henry Robson's list of popular Northumbrian song and dance tunes ("The Northern Minstrel's Budget"), which he published c. 1800 and, in America, the tune appears in Giles Gibbs' MS collection made in 1777 in East Windsor, Connecticut.
***
Words to the melody can be found in several collections. The following are from the Scots national poet, Robert Burns:
Come boat me o'er, come row me o'er,
Come boat me o'er to Cherlie:
I'll gie John Ross anither bawbee
To boat me o'er to Charlie. --
***
Chorus:
We'll o'er the water, we'll o'er the sea,
We'll o'er the water to Charlie;
Come weal, come woe, we'll gather and go,
And live or die wi' Charlie. --
***
I lo'e weel my Charlie's name,
Tho' some there be abhor him:
But O, to see auld Nick gaun hame,
And Charlie's faes before him!
***
I swear and vow by moon and stars,
And sun that shines so early!
If I had twenty thousand lives,
I'd die as aft for Charlie.
***
And these from the Ettick Shepherd, James Hogg (Jacobite Relics):
Come boat me o'er, come ferry me o'er,
Come boat me o'er tae Charlie
I'd hear the call once, but never again,
Tae carry me over tae Charlie.
***
Chorus:
We'll over the water, we'll over the sea,
We'll over the water tae Charlie.
Come weel, come woe, we'll gather and go
And live or die with Charlie.
***
I swear by moon and stars sae bright,
And sun that shines sae Dearly,
I would give twenty-thousand lives
I'd given them all for Charlie.
***
Once I had sons, but now I've gat nane,
I've treated them all sae sairly.
But I would bear them all again,
And lose them all for Charlie
***
Sources for notated versions: John White (Greene County, Pa., 1930's) and Thomas Patterson (Elizabeth, Pa., 1930's) [Bayard]. Alewine (Maid that Cut Off the Chicken's Lips), 1987; pg. 28. Bacon (The Morris Ring), 1974; pg. 81. Bayard (Dance to the Fiddle), 1981; No. 556A-B, pgs. 494-495. Hall & Stafford (Charlton Memorial Tune Book), 1974; pg. 18. Kennedy (Fiddlers Tune Book), Vol. 2, 1954; pg. 38. Kerr (Merry Melodies), Vol. 1; No. 6, pg. 31. Mallinson (Mally's Cotswold Morris Book), 1988; No. 16, pg. 14. Raven (English Country Dance Tunes), 1984; pg. 78 (morris version). Folk-Legacy Records FSI-42, The New Golden Ring - "Five Days Singing, Vol II."
PRESTON PANS. Scottish, Reel. A Major. Standard. AABB'. The title commemorates the one-sided battle in 1745 in which the Jacobite forces of Bonnie Prince Charlie routed the English led by General Sir John Cope. Kerr (Merry Melodies), Vol. 4; No. 31, pg. 6.
PRINCE CHARLES' LAMENT. Scottish, Pipe Pibroch. A pipe pibroch composed by Captain Malcolm MacLeod of Raasay, in sadness at the defeat of Bonnie Prince Charlie and the uprising of 1745. MacLeod held a commission in the Prince's army (Collinson, 1975).
ROBIN ADAIR. AKA and see "Eiblin a Ruin," "Eileen/Aileen Aroon," "Ellen A Roon." Irish, Scottish; Air. The song was popularized in Scotland by the long-lived Irish harper Donnchadh a Haimpsuigh, also known as Denis O'Hampsey or Hempson (1697-1807), who had crossed over from Ireland a second time in 1745 to play for Bonnie Prince Charlie at Edinburgh (The collector Edward Bunting later noted several of Hempson's tunes). He played many Irish airs later claimed as Scottish, as this one was, according to Flood (1905, 1906). In fact, claims have been made by the Irish, Scots and English, for national origin of the piece.
***
The words of Robin Adair, to the tune of "Eileen Aroon," were written by Lady Caroline Keppell in the early 1750's about her lover, a surgeon named Robert Adair, to whom she was permitted to marry only several years later, in 1758, when she was twenty-one. She died in 1769 at the age of thirty-two. The song was first published under the "Adair" title in 1793 in The Edinburgh Musical Miscellany, volume II, pg. 304, and it was featured by Mr. Braham early in the 19th century.
SCONE PALACE. Scottish, Reel. F Sharp Minor. Standard. AABB'. Composed by Alexander Walker. Scone, Perth and Kinross, lies not far from the city of Perth, Scotland. It was the site of an abbey and the Stone of Destiny on which the Scottish kings were crowned since Kenneth I. Kenneth MacAlpin made Scone the capitol of his kingdom of Alba around the year 843 when he united the Picts and Scots. The abbey and Bishop's Palace were destroyed during the Scottish Reformation (1559). James, the Old Pretender, established his court there in 1716, and Bonnie Prince Charlie slept there in 1745. Since 1606 the palace has been the family home of the earls of Mansfield. Walker (A Collection of Strathspeys, Reels, Marches, &c), 1866; No. 163, pg. 56.
SHEWGLIE'S HARP. Scottish. The tune can be found in the Angus Fraser manuscript. The title refers to Alexander Grant, of the family of the Grants of Shewglie, born about 1675. Shewglie has been variously described as a plyer of violin and pipers, violin and harp, and harp and fiddle, and was known as a poet as well. His branch of the Grants were supporters of Bonnie Prince Charlie, to whom he composed a poem of welcome in 1745. Though the elderly man did not take part in the battle of Culloden, he was denounced by loyal members of the Grant family and was imprisoned in London. Despite a petition on his behalf, he remained in captivity until 1746, when he contracted a fever and died, though his son and a minister who had been imprisoned with them were allowed to return to their homes.
SKYE BOAT SONG, THE. Scottish, Air (6/8 time). G Major. Standard. ABB. Words to the tune were written by Sir Harold Boulton to an air collected by Miss Annie MacLeod (Lady Wilson) in the 1870's. It seems that Miss MacLeod was on a trip to the isle of Skye and was being rowed over Loch Coruisk (Coire Uisg, the 'Cauldron of Waters') when the towers broke out into the Gaelic rowing song "Cuchag nan Craobh" (The Cuckoo in the Grove). A talented composer and singer, MacLeod remembered fragments of the song and fashioned them into an air which she set down in notation with the intentions of using it later in a book she was to co-author with Boulton. Sir Harold joined Miss MacLeod at Roshven House, Invernesshire, soon after to work on their book, by which time the whole group at the residence was humming the "scrap of chanty" collected by her, and he too soon began to work the air around in his imagination. It was he that transformed the words the group had been singing:
***
Row us along, Ronald and John
Over the sea to Roshven
into:
Over the sea to Skye
***
and it was he who wrote additional lyrics in a Jacobite mold, introducing the heroic figures of Bonny Prince Charlie and Flora MacDonald. As a piece of modern romantic literature with traditional links it succeeded perhaps too well, for soon people began "remembering" they had learned the song in their childhood, and that the words were 'old Gaelic lines'. In 1893 a publisher, believing the tune to be an ancient traditional air, commissioned a Brechin teacher named Margaret Bean to compose another set of lyrics to it, which gained some popularity.
The song begins:
***
Loud the winds howl, loud the waves roar,
Thunderclaps rend the air,
Baffled our foes stand on the shore,
Follow they will not dare.
Chorus:
Speed bonnie boat, like a bird on the wing,
Onward the sailors cry!
Carry the lad that is born to be king,
Over the sea to Skye!
While Bean's words go:
Waft him, ye winds, far o'er the sea,
Far from a traitor's eye,
Fly, little boat, that our Prince may be free
Over to loyal Skye.
***
See also note for "The Castle of Dromore." Kerr (Merry Melodies), Vol. 3; No. 410, pg. 45. North Star RS0009, "The Wind in the Rigging: A New England Voyage" (1988).
STRUAN ROBERTSON('S RANT) [1]. AKA and see "Cuckold come out of the Amrey," "David Rae." Scottish, Strathspey. E Minor. Standard. AABBC (Kerr): AABBCCD (Athole): AABBCCDD' (Skye). A good example of the form strathspey rant. John Glen (1891) finds the earliest appearance of the tune in print in either Stewart's 1761 collection (pg. 19) or Robert Bremner's 1757 collection (pg. 17). "Struan Robertson" is known in Northumberland under the title "Cuckold come out of the Amrey." One version also appears in the Gillespie Manuscript of Perth, 1768. Struan is a placename in Perthshire, a region known for its harpers in the 17th century. The Robertsons were Lairds of Lude in Perthshire. The widow of one of the lairds, John Robertson, himself having passed away in 1731, lived long enough to enthusiastically entertain Bonnie Prince Charlie at Lude in 1745, where he dallied to dance strathspeys and reels before campaigning. Lady Lude was said to have been so excited that she behaved "like a light giglet" and that she was "so elevate while she was about the Young Pretender that she looked like a person whose head had gone wrong" (Sanger & Kinnaird, Tree of Stings, 1992). Gow (1st Repository), 1799; pg. 2. Kerr (Merry Melodies), Vol. 1; Set 4, No. 1, pg. 5. MacDonald (The Skye Collection), 1887; pg. 79. Stewart-Robertson (The Athole Collection), 1884; pg. 248. Rounder 3067, Alan Stivell - "Renaissance of the Celtic Harp" (1982).
T:Struan Robertson's Rant
L:1/8
M:C
R:Strathspey
B:The Athole Collection
K:E Minor
e|E/E/E G>A B>A B<d|D/D/D F>E D/E/F/G/ A<F|E/E/E G>A B>A B<e|
d>BA>F E/E/E E:|
|:g|e>fg>e b>eg>e|f<d d>f a/g/f/e/ d>f|e>fg>e b>eg>e|d>BA>F E/E/E E:|
|:B|G>BE>B G>BE>B|F>AD>A F>AD>A|G>BE>B G>BE>g|f>da>f e/e/e e:|
f|g>be>b g>be>b|f>ad>a f>ad>a|g>be>b g>be>g|f>da>f e/e/e e>f|
g>be>b g>be>b|f>ad>a f>ad>f|g>bf>a e>fd>f|d/^c/B/A/ d<F E/E/E ~E||
THIS IS NO MY AIN HOUSE. AKA and see "Colonel David Stewart of Garth's Reel." Scottish, Shetland; Reel or ("Very Slow" {Gow}) Strathspey. Shetland, Whalsay. D Major (Athole, Emmerson, Kerr): C Major (Dick, Emmerson, Thomson). Standard. AAB. Bonnie Prince Charlie danced to this tune at the house of Lude, near Blair, before the battle of Prestonpans, 1745 {he won that one} (Marshall monogram, 1845 Collection, and Winstock 1970). Country dance directions were recovered to the tune from the Holmain Manuscript from Dumfries-shire (c. 1710-1750). The earliest record of the tune, which appears to be a set of "De'il Stick the Minister," is from David Young's Duke of Perth Manuscript (AKA the Drummond Castle Manuscript) of 1734 (where it is listed as a country dance), and Thomson's Orpheus Caledonius, 1733. Gow published it twice, the second time in Sixth Collection, 1822, under the title "Colonel David Stewart of Garth's Reel," and it appears in James Aird's 1782 collection. It is now played as a strathspey in Scotland. Related tunes include "This is not my ain Lassie" and "Sean Trews/Triubhas." / Cooke (1986) prints the following text to this dance tune, collected in the Shetland Islands:
***
This is no me ain hoose
I ken by the tickin o it
Bread and butter were my door's cheeks
And pancakes were the tickin o it.
***
Aird (Selection), Vol. 2, 1782; No. 176. Alburger (Scottish Fiddlers and Their Music), 1983; Ex. 28, pgs. 49-50. Carlin (The Gow Collection), 1986; No. 225. Dick, No. 96. Emmerson (Rantin' Pipe and Tremblin' String), 1971; Nos. 12-13, pg. 131. Gow, First Collection, 1784. Kerr (Merry Melodies), Vol. 1; Set 13, No. 2, pg. 9. MacDonald (The Skye Collection), 1887; pg. 63. Stewart-Robertson (The Athole Collection), 1884; pg. 105. Thomson, Orpheus Caledonius, 1733; No. 32.
T:This is No' My Ain House
L:1/8
M:C|
R:Reel
B:The Athole Collection
K:D
A|FAAa f2 ed|B/c/d AF BEEG|FA Da f2 ed|B/c/d AG FDD:|
A|FAAd B/c/d AF|GBAF BEEG|F(AA)d B/c/d AF|GBAG FDDG|
FAAd B/c/d AF|GBAF BEEG|FADa gfed|B/c/d AG FDD||
WHEN THE KING ENJOYS HIS OWN AGAIN. AKA and see "World Turned Upside Down" [1]. English, March (4/4 time). G Major. Standard. AABC. This extremely popular tune was a Cavalier air and ballad by Mathew (or Martin) Parker which first appeared in 1643; political in nature, it supported Charles I, sang his praises and prognosticated his eventual victory in the civil wars (Merryweater, 1989). The song was circulated in secret during the commonwealth, although in the end the unfortunate Charles was, of course, beheaded and his cause lost. Ritson states the air "served afterwards, with more success, to keep up the spirits of the Cavaliers, and promote the restoration of his son--an event it was employed to celebrate all over the kingdom." As a Whig tune it was played in 1690 when the Irish (never ones to pass up a good tune, even though they learned it from the supporters of William the III) played it {in derision?} when they sacked Kilbrogan (Winstock, 1970; pg. 26). The Irish harper Denis Hempson (or O'Hempsey) was fifty years old when, on a second trip to Scotland in 1745, he played the tune for Prince Charlie in Edinburgh. Collinson (1975) reports it was played by bagpipers (in an altered form for the instrument) for Bonnie Prince Charlie upon the same occasion of his triumphal entry into Edinburgh. It was later played by Jacobite officers in a Manchester church as Bonnie Prince Charlies forces retreated to Scotland in 1745, feeling betrayed by the town whose former warm reception had turned hostile when the fortunes of the Prince waned (Winstock, 1970). Chappell (1859) says that, although the tune is sometimes claimed as Scottish, it is an English composition. He also states that it was not only a vehicle for numerous Jacobite songs, but that several written in support of the House of Hanover can be found. It appears in Musick's Recreation on the Lura-Viol (1652), Musick's Delight on the Cithren (1666), and Elizabeth Rogers' Virginal Book. Under the title "The King's Joy" it was printed in Richard Roberts' Cambrian Harmony (1829) and reprinted in Parry's Welsh Harper (1848), with the suggestion that it is an old Welsh tune "never before published arranged as they were originally performed by the Ancient Britons." Chappell (Popular Music of the Olden Time), Vol. 1, 1859; pgs. 210-211.
WHISTLE AND I'LL COME TO YOU MY LAD. Scottish (originally Irish), Slow Jig. G Minor. Standard. AABB. A 4/4 time version of the tune is "The Fife Hunt." The air was reputedly composed by fiddler John Bruce, born between 1700 and 1720 in Braemar. He took part in the rising of 1745, but was imprisoned in Edinburgh Castle when Bonnie Prince Charlie was defeated, though his skill at the fiddle supposedly helped to mitigate his sentence. He later lived at Dumfries and there became acquainted with Robert Burns before his death in 1785. Gow (1806) identifies the tune as "Irish." The British Minstrel and Musical and Literary Miscellany, Vol. II, 1843-45, pg. 169. Carlin (The Gow Collection), 1986; No. 380. Crosby (The Caledonian Musical Repository), 1811; pg. 144. Crosby (The Irish Musical Repository), 1808; pg. 284. Goulding (Instructions for the Fife), 1790; pg. 30. Gow (Complete Repository), Part 3, 1806, pg. 12. Graham, pgs. 244-245. Johnson (The Scots Musical Museum), 1787-1803; Vol. II, No. 106 and Vol. VI, No. 560. Kerr (Merry Melodies), Vol. 1, pg. 33. Moffat (The Minstrelsy of Ireland), 1897; pg. 280. Murphy (Collection of Irish Airs...), 1809 or 1820; pg. 18. O'Farrell, 1797-1800; pg. 19. O'Neill (1850), 1979; No. 391. Shield (The Poor Soldiers), 1782?; pgs. 3-5, 8.
T:Whistle and I'll come to you my lad
L:1/8
M:6/8
S:Gow - 3rd Repository
K:B_
B/>c/|(dB)G {G}FED|Ccc c2 B/c/|(dB)G (FD)F|GBB B2 B/c/|(dB)G (FE)D|C(ed) c2 (d/e/)|
(dB)G (FD)F|(GB)B B2:|
|:d/c/|(Bd)f (Bd)f|(Bd)f f>ed/c/|(Bd)f (Bd)f|(ge)c c>ed/c/|(Bd)f (Bd)f|Bbg f>gf/e/|
(dB)G {G}FED|C(ed) c2 B/c/|(dB)G (FD)F|(GB)B B2:|
WHISTLE OVER/O'ER (THE LAVE O'T). Scottish (originally), English; Rant or Strathspey. England, Northumberland. G Major (Alburger, Glen, Gow, Hall & Stafford, Kerr, Neil, Raven): E Flat Major (Emmerson). Standard. One part (Emmerson, Hunter): AAB (Kerr, Neil): AABB (Alburger, Hall & Stafford, Raven): AABCCD (Athole), AABBCCDD (Glen, Gow, McGlashan). The tune (and song, both extent in several versions) appears to be an early 18th century set of "De'il Stick the Minister," and has often been attributed to John Bruce of Dumfries (c. 1720-1785, born in Braemar), the poet Robert Burns being the first to do so. Others (e.g. Mayne) say the air was composed long before him, and Emmerson (1971) finds in all little evidence to support claims for Bruce. A colorful character, Bruce was a Jacobite, born in Braemar between 1700 and 1720, who was imprisoned in Edinburgh Castle after the rising of 1745 and the defeat of Bonnie Prince Charlie. Reportedly his skill as a fiddler helped free him and he went to Dumfries where he became acquainted with Robert Burns (who called him "an honest man, though a red wud Highlander") before passing away in 1785 (Collinson, 1966/Alburger, 1983). Flood (1906) says the tune was originally an Irish air dating back to the 17th century called "Maggie Pickens," which the Scots appropriated c. 1715-1740 and set to the song "Whistle O'er the Lave O't" (whose words were so indelicate, according to Flood, that Robert Burns had to rewrite them in 1790. The tune was a favorite march of the Irish Volunteers (1774-1784).
***
"Whistle's" first printed appearance was in 1757 in either Robert Bremner's Scots Reels (pg. 56) {as Glen, 1891, finds} or James Oswald's Caledonian Pocket Companion where it appears in rant form. Alburger searched the Blaikie Manuscript (1692), as it had been reported by James Dick to be contained there, however she could not locate it in the Wighton copy. It is one of the "missing tunes" from William Vickers' 1770 Northumbrian dance manuscript, but is contained in the 1768 Gillespie Manuscript of Perth. Today, the version that was published by James Scott Skinner (1890) is commonly associated (along with "Gin ye kiss my Wife") with the Scottish traditional dance "Sean(n) Triubhas," which is performed in tartan trousers, not kilts, though other items of Highland dress remain the same. In fact, states Emmerson (1972) "Whistle" is so intimately associated with the dance that it is now commonly known as "Seann Triubhas" (see also note for "Seann Triubhas Willighan," the original tune for the dance).
***
The song "Whistle o'er the lave o't" was written in the 17th century and contains ribald lyrics which can be found in David Herd's Ancient and Modern Scottish Songs. "One of many Scots songs with indelicate suggestions," notes Purser (1992), "'fiddling' has long been a double-entendre and whistling a way of avoiding the overexplicit." Burns' words go, in part:
***
I am a fiddler to my trade
An' a' the tunes that e'er I play'd
The sweetest still to wife or maid
Was - Whistle owre the lave o't.
***
My mother sent me to the well,
She had better gang hersell,
I got the thing I dare nae tell,
Whistle o'er the lave o't.
***
The first verse of this version first appears in the Merry Muses where it is the chorus of "Let me ryke up to dight that tear,' while the 2nd verse is from Herd's book of Scots Songs (1769), referenced above. Alburger (Scottish Fiddlers and Their Music), 1982; Ex. 87, pg. 140. Dick, No. 250. Emmerson (Rantin' Pipe and Tremblin' String), 1971; No. 36, pg. 133. Glen (The Glen Collection of Scottish Music), Vol. 1, 1891; pg. 6. Gow (Complete Repository), Part 1, 1799; pg. 12. Hall & Stafford (Charlton Memorial Tune Book), 1974; pg. 1. Hardie (Caledonian Companion), 1992; pg. 53. Henderson, Flowers of Scottish Melody, 1935. Hunter (The Fiddle Music of Scotland), 1988; No. 87. Johnson, Musical Museum, 1787. Kerr (Merry Melodies), Vol. 1; Set 16, No. 3, pg. 11. McGlashan (Collection of Strathspey Reels), c. 1780/81; pg. 31. Neil (The Scots Fiddle), 1991; No. 96, pg. 129. Raven (English Country Dance Tunes), 1984; pg. 180. Skinner, 1890 (Harp and Claymore). Stewart-Robertson (The Athole Collection), 1884; pg. 172. "James F. Dickie's Delights" (1976). "The Fiddler's Companion" (1980).
T:Whistle O'er the Lave O't
L:1/8
M:C
R:Slow Strathspey
B:The Athole Collection
K:G
G>E E<G B>A B2|d<e B>g A>G E2|G>D E<G G>AB>g|G<G B>G A2G2:|
de/f/ g>f e>d B2| d>eB>g A>G E2|de/f/ g>f e>d B<g|G<G B>G A2 G2|
de/f/ g>f e>d B2|c>aB>g A>G E2|g>be>g d>g B<b|G<G B>G A2 G2||
|:G>BA>c B>GA>c|B>GA>F G>B, A,2|G,>B,A,>C B,>D G<B|
A>Bc>B A2 G2:|
G/A/B/c/ d<g e>cB>G|c>AB>G A>G E2|BA/B/ cB/c/ de/f/ g2|
G<G B>G A2G2|G/A/B/c/ d<g e>cB>G|ce/c/ Bd/B/ A>G E2|
g>be>g d>g B<b|G<G B>G A2 G2||
WHITE COCKADE, THE [1] (An Cnota Bán). AKA and see "The Duke of Buccleugh's Tune," "The Ranting Highlander/Highlandman," "Fiddler's Morris," "A Highland Lad My Love Was Born," "The Highland Laddie," "The Lad With the White Cockade," "O, An Ye Were Dead, Guidman," "The Rose in the Garden" (a Kings County, PEI title), "White Cock Head." Scottish (originally), Irish, English, Canadian, American; Scottish Measure, Reel, March, or Country Dance. USA; New England, New Hampshire, Maine, southwestern Pa., New York, Michigan. Canada, Prince Edward Island. G Major. Standard. AB (Bayard, O'Neill/1850, Skye): AAB (Linscott): AABB (Athole, Breathnach, Brody, Carlin, Hardie, Hunter, Johnson, Kennedy, Miller & Perron, Morrison, O'Neill/1915, Raven, Shaw, Sweet, Trim). The tune in its original form is properly catagorized a Scottish Measure. One of the first printings of the air is in Playford's Apollo's Banquet of 1687 where it was called simply a "Scots tune," and another early title seems to have been "The Duke of Buccleugh's Tune." Bayard (1981) dates the tune to the latter 17th century (apparently due to the Playford publication), but admits it might be older, although Flood (1906) more decisively (though without documentation) identifies it as a popular air and song of 1615-1630. Linscott (1939) finds a relatively late printing by Herd in 1776, by which time the air was thoroughly established.
***
A cockade was a ribbon in the shape of a rosette used as a decoration on hats, and thus was a convenient vehicle to display the wearer's loyalties in much the same manner as a button or a bumper sticker nowadays. It was used especially as a uniform decoration and to mark irregular troops in the 18th century and various colors represented different loyalties. A white cockade was associated with Jacobite rebels in 1715 and again for Bonnie Prince Charlie's uprising in 1745, in both Scotland and Ireland. The Americans, with a high percentage of both Scots-Irish and Irish in their ranks who identified with the earlier rebels, adopted the white cockade as their symbol during the Revolutionary War and when France entered the war they added the black cockade of that country's troops, forming the black and white "Alliance cockade" (Johnson, Scottish Fiddle Music in the 18th Century, 1984, and others). It is popularly though the title of the tune refers to a these Jacobite symbols. Jacobite associations to it dimmed by the end of the century, allowing the tune to be absorbed (like the Highlander's kilts) and used as a march in the British army in 1812 where it appears in a military musician's manuscript book of the period (Winstock). Other military citations include it as one of two stirring tunes (along with "St. Patrick's Day in the Morning") played by pipers attached to the Irish Brigade in the service of France which helped to turn the tide of battle against the English troops in the battle of Fontenoy on May 11, 1745 (O'Neill, 1913). Flood (1906) and O'Neill (1913) state it was probably the last appearance in battle of the Irish Piob mor (war pipes or great pipes, which did survive in Scotland) of any mention.
***
The title is from a Jacobite song from the 18th century written by Muiris mac Daibhi mac Gerailt (Maurice FitzDavid FitzGerald) perhaps after, it has been variously suggested, the fashion of wearing white ribboned plumes in men's hats of the time or possibly to the white cockade which Dublin ladies wore in their hair to show their support of the House of Stewart. Breathnach (CRE II) reports that Seán Ó Dálaigh wrote a note to this song stating that it refers not, as many think, to a military cockade but rather to bouquets of ribbons worn by the young women of Munster at weddings and other such occasions early in the 17th century. This custom is referred to in a verse Ó Dálaigh attributes to the period poet Muiris Mac Gearailt:
***
A chailín donn deas an chnota bháin,
Do bhuair is mheall mé le h-iomad grá;
Tair-se liom 's ná de/an me/ chrá,
Mar do thug mé greann dod' chnota bán.
***
Oh pretty brown girl of the white cockade,
Who grieved and charmed me with abundance of love;
Come with me and don't torment me,
Because I mocked your white cockade. [translation by Paul de Grae]
***
The Scots poet Robert Burns rewrote the lyrics as "A Highland Lad my Love was
Born," but the tune itself seems to have been more popular than even his song, and it was often used as a vehicle for various songs about love, topography, and drinking (see "The Ranting Highlander," "The Highland Laddie," "Fiddler's Morris"). {As an aside, Burn's originally specified his lyric be sung to the tune of the song "O, and ye were dead, Guidman," which was written to the melody of "Watson's Scotch Measure"}. "White Cockade" was commonly played at Orange County, New York, country dances in the 1930's (Lettie Osborn, New York Folklore Quarterly). The tune is associated with a dance of the same name in New England, and one set appears in Linscott's Folk Songs of Old New England; Johnson also prints a Scottish contra dance to the tune. Burchenal (1918) gives the tune as commonly played in that region for the contra dance Camptown Hornpipe. It was listed in the repertoire of Maine fiddler Mellie Dunham (the elderly Dunham was Henry Ford's champion fiddler in the late 1920's). The title appears in Henry Robson's list of popular Northumbrian song and dance tunes ("The Northern Minstrel's Budget"), which he published c. 1800. The English novelist Thomas Hardy, himself an accordion player and fiddler, mentions the tune in scene notes to his drama The Dynasts:
***
It is a June Midnight at The Duke & Duchess of Richmond's. A band
of stringed instruments shows in the background. The room is crowded
with a brilliant assemblage of more than two hundred of the distinguished
people sojourning in the city on account of the war and other reasons, and
of local personages of State and fashion. The ball has opened with 'The
White Cockade.'
***
The author of English Folk-Song and Dance (pg. 144) found the tune in the repertoire of fiddler William Tilbury (who lived at Pitch Place, midway between Chrut and Thursley in Surrey), who, in his young days, used to play the fiddle at village dances. Tilbury learned his repertoire from an uncle, Fiddler Hammond, who died around 1870 and who was the village musician before him. The conclusion was that "The White Cockade" and similar old country dance tunes survived in tradition (at least in southwest Surrey) well into the second half of the 19th century. A jig form of the tune is known as "A Hundred Pipers and A'."
***
Sources for notated versions: Dennis McClure (Willimantic, Conn.) [Linscott]; Clyde Lloyd (fifer from Indiana County, Pa., 1952), Hiram Horner (fifer from Westmoreland and Fayette Counties, Pa., 1960), Hogg (Pa., 1948), George Strosnider (fiddler from Greene County, Pa., 1930's) [Bayard]; flute and whistle Micho Russell, 1973 (Doolin, Co. Clare) [Breathnach]; Francis MacDonald (b. 1940, Morell Rear, North-East Kings County, Prince Edward Island) [Perlman]; tin whistle player Micho Russell (Doolin, County Clare) [Breathnach]. Adam, 1928; No. 16. Aird (Selections), 1778 (1782?), Vol. 1, No. 1 (appears as "The Ranting Highlandman," a title G. Farquhar Graham thought Aird found more prudent than "The White Cockade" as sentiments from the rising of '45 were still strong). American Veteran Fifer, 1927; No. 13, pg. 7. Bayard (Dance to the Fiddle), No. 174A-D, pgs. 125-126. Blake (Ye Ancient Song and Fife), 1974; pg. 26. Breathnach (CRE II), 1976; No. 115, pg. 63. Brody (Fiddler's Fakebook), 1983; pg. 291. Burchenal (American Country Dances, Vol. 1), 1918; pg. 18 (appears as "Camptown Hornpipe"). Cahusac's Pocket Companion for the Flute, 1795?, Vol. 1, pg. 40. Carlin (Gow Collection), 1986; No. 466. Cazden, Jigs, Reels and Squares, Vol. 1, pg. 20. Creighton, 1933; No. 85, pg. 183. DeVille, 1905; No. 73. Emmerson (Rantin' Pipe and Tremblin' String), pg. 124. Ford (Traditional Music in America), 1940; pg. 109. Fraser (The Airs and Melodies Peculiar to the Highlands of Scotland and the Isles), 1816; No. 126. Gow (Vocal Melodies of Scotland), 1822; pg. 35. Gow (Complete Repository), Part 2, 1802; pg. 19. Graham, 1908; pg. 219. Hardie (Caledonian Companion), 1992; pg. 29. Harding Collection (1915) and Harding's Original Collection (1928), No. 18. Howe (School for the Violin), 1851, pg. 33. Hunter (Fiddle Music of Scotland), 1988; No. 313. Huntington, (William Litten's), 1977; pg, 17. Jarman (Old Time Fiddlin' Tunes); No. or pg. 22. JEFDSS, Vol. 1, pg. 94 (2nd half). JFSS, Vol. IV, pg. 159 (2nd half). Johnson (The Scots Musical Museum), 1787-1803, Vol. 3, No. 272 (apparently the first printing in Scotland). Johnson (Twenty-Eight Country Dances as Done at the New Boston Fair), Vol. 8, 1988; pg. 10. Joyce (Ancient Irish Music), 1873, No. 80. Joyce (Old Irish Folk Music and Song), 1909; No. 112. Keller (Giles Gibbs Jr., His Book for the Fife...1777), 1974, pg. 28. Kennedy (Fiddlers Tune Book), Vol. 1, 1951; No. 60, pg. 29. Kerr (Merry Melodies), Vol. 1; No. 2, pg. 23 & pg. 40. Linscott (Folk Songs of Old New England), 1939; pgs. 117 & 120. MacDonald (The Skye Collection), 1887; pg 170. McDonald (The Gesto Collection), 1895; pgs. 6 & 126. McDonald (Highland Vocal Airs), 1784; pg. 33 (Dance No. 5). Miller & Perron (New England Fiddler's Repertoire), 1983; No. 105. Morrison (Twenty-Four Early American Country Dances, Cotillions & Reels, for the Year 1976), 1976; pg. 41. O'Daly, 1849, Vol. 1, pg. 50. O'Malley, 1919, pg. 41. O'Neill (1915 ed.), 1987; No. 108, pg. 61 (includes variations). O'Neill (1850), 1903/1979; No. 1803, pg. 328. Perlman (The Fiddle Music of Prince Edward Island), 1996; pg. 155. Preston, 1796, pg. 127. Raven (English Country Dance Tunes), 1984; pg. 151. Ritson (Scottish Songs), Vol. II, pg. 430. Robbins, 1933, No. 82, pg. 26. Ruth (Pioneer Western Folk Tunes), 1948; No. 80, pg. 29. The Scottich Country Dance Book, 1930-57, No. 5 (tune 11). Shaw (Cowboy Dances), 1943; pg. 391. Smith (Scottish Minstrel), 1820-24, Vol. 1, pg. 21. Stewart-Robertson (The Athole Collection), 1884; pg. 147. Sweet (Fifer's Delight), 1965/1981; pg. 32. Thompson (Scottish Airs for the Voice), 1805, Vol. 4, No. 188. Tolman (Nelson Music Collection), pg. 168. Trim (Thomas Hardy), 1990; No. 6 (appears as "White Cock Head"). White's Excelsior Collection, 1907; pg. 72. Wilson (Companion to the Ballroom), 1840; pgs. 39 & 54. ALcazar Dance Series FR 204, Rodney Miller - "New England Chestnuts 2" (1981). Folkways FA 2381, "The Hammered Dulcimer as played by Chet Parker" (1966). Folkways FTS 31036, Roger Sprung- "Grassy Licks." North Star NS0038, "The Village Green: Dance Music of Old Sturbridge Village." Olympic 6151, The Scottish Festival orchestra- "Scottish Traditonal Fiddle Music" (1978). RCA 09026-60916-2, The Chieftains - "An Irish Evening" (1991). Transatlantic 337, Dave Swarbrick- "Swarbrick." Victor 20537 (78 RPM), Mellie Dunham (Me.), 1926 (appears as 2nd tune of "Medley of Reels").
T:White Cockade, The
L:1/8
M:C|
R:Country Dance
B:The Athole Collection
K:G
GA|B2B2B2 AB|G2B2B2 ge|d2B2B2 AG|B2A2A2 GA|B2 Bd cBAG|
A2B2g3a|bagf efge|d2B2B2:|
|:Bc|d2B2g2B2|d2d2d3e|d2B2g2fg|a2A2A2GA|B2Bd cBAG|A2B2g3a|
bagf efge|d2B2B2:|
WILL YE NO' COME BACK AGAIN? AKA and see "Bonnie Charlie's Gone/Noo Awa.'" Scottish, Air (4/4 time). F Major (Neil): A Major (Sweet). Standard. AB (Neil): AA'B (Sweet). The song by Lady (Baroness) Nairne (1766-1845), born Carolina Oliphant, to the tune by Neil Gow Junior (1795-1823), the famous Scots fiddler Niel Gow's namesake and grandson, refers to the exiled Bonnie Prince Charlie and reflects her Jacobite upbringing and "is considered to be among the last of the earnest and spontaneous Jacobite songs" (Neil, 1991). The tune is the same as that of the song "Mo Gile Mear."
***
Bonnie Charlie's now awa'
Safely owre the friendly main;
Mony a heart will break in twa,
Should he ne'er come back again
Will ye no' come back again?
Will ye no' come back again?
Better lo'ed ye canna be
Will ye no' come back again?
***
Cazden (et al, 1982) finds a derivation of the tune in use in the Catskill Mountains (New York) for a folk hymn tune called "My Lord Knows the Way." Neil (The Scots Fiddle), 1991; No. 115, pg. 153. Sweet (Fifer's Delight), 1965/1981; pg. 74.