BALGENY'S BOWLING GREEN. AKA - "Bargenny/Balgener's/Balginie's Bowling Green." Scottish, English; Jig. England, Northumberland. D Aeolian. Standard. AABBCCDD (Glen, Gow): AABB (Vickers). Composition of the melody is credited to Joseph/John Riddel (1718-95) of Ayr by Glen, Gow, Seatle and others. Seatle (1987) notes Riddell's (or sometimes, Riddle's) best known tune is "Dumfries House," and was alive at the time the Northumbrian editor William Vickers was compiling his collection. Glen finds the tune earliest in print in the collections of Riddel (1766, pg. 46) and Bremner (1757, pg. 39), and it also appears in the Gillespie Manuscript, 1768. Carlin (The Gow Collection), 1986; No. 514. Glen (The Glen Collection of Scottish Dance Music), Vol. I, 1891; pg. 21. Gow (Complete Repository), Part 2, 1802; pg. 33 (appears as "Bargenny Bowling Green"). Seattle (William Vickers), 1987, Part 2; No. 230.
T:Bargenny's Bowling Green
L:1/8
M:6/8
S:Glen Collection
K:D Minor
E|(DED D2)c|GEC C2E|(DED) D2f|e2 d ecA|(fgf) e2f|cAc CDE|(DED) D2f|(e/f/g)e d2:|
|:A|(ded) d2a|gec c2e|(ded) d2a|g2f gec|(fgf) e2d|cAc CDE|(DED D2)f|(e/f/g)e d2:|
|:A/4B/4c/|dAd cAc|GEC C2c|dAd cAc|dAd cAc|fed cBA|GEC C2E|(DED D2)f|e/f/ge d2:|
|:^f/g/|a^fd afd|gec c2 (^f/g/)|a^fd afd|a^fd e=fg|fgf e2d|cAc CDE|(DED D2)f|(e/f/g)e d2:|
DUMFRIES HOUSE. Scottish, Jig. G Major. Standard. AB (Kerr): AAB (Gow, Hunter): AABB' (Athole). Composed by Joseph Riddell (1718-95), the blind amateur fiddle-composer of Ayr, and first published (by music publisher Robert Bremner) in his c. 1776 A Collection of Scots Reels, Minuets, etc. (pg. 32). It is still popular and one of his best tunes, opines Collinson (1966). The name Dumfries means 'stronghold by the little wood', from the Celtic root-word dun, meaning a fortified place. It was the place where, in 1306, Robert Bruce murdered John Comyn in the chapel of Grey Friars and subsequently claimed the throne of Scotland in rebellion against the English. Dumfries is closely associated with the poets Robert Burns and J.M. Barrie. Samuel Bayard thought the second part of this tune was a version of "Rosin the Beau." Gow (Complete Repository), 3rd Edition, Part I, 1799; pg. 13. Hunter (Fiddle Music of Scotland), 1988; No. 283. Kerr (Merry Melodies), Vol. 2; No. 314, pg. 34. McGlashan (A Collection of Reels), c. 1786; pg. 28. Stewart-Robertson (The Athole Collection), 1884; pg. 139.
T:Dumfries House
L:1/8
M:6/8
R:Jig
B:The Athole Collection
K:G Major
D|G3 G2g|dBG GAB|cde dcB|AFD DEF|G3 G2g|dBG GAB|cEA FEF|G3 G2:|
|:B/c/|dBd dBd|gag g<fe|dBd dcB|AFD D2 B/c/|1 dBd dBd gag g<fe|dcB AGF|
G3 G2:|2 dBd ece|fdf gfe|dcB Agf|gdB G2||
DUMFRIES VOLUNTEERS, THE. New England, Polka. D Major. Standard. AABB. The name Dumfries means 'stronghold by the little wood', from the Celtic root-word dun, meaning a fortified place. See note for "Dumfries House" for more information on Dumfries. Miller & Perron (101 Polkas), 1978; No. 38.
GREENSLEEVES [2]. See "The Pirriwig," "Green Sleeves and Mutton Pies." English, Scottish; Song Air, Country and Morris Dance Tune (6/4 or 6/8 time). E Dorian (Chappell). Standard. AB. Williamson prints three tunes under the same name: tune A is in A Minor, form AABB; tune B is in C Major, in form AABB; tune C is in A Mixolydian, form AABB. Musically the melody is not so much a single specific tune, argues John M. Ward, as it is a tune type or descant which can be found in many variations and forms. All seem to conform, however, to the harmonically structured outline of a "ground" or bass progression known as the 'romanesca', which is similar to the 'passemezzo antico' though the initial tone is a third higher (Cazden, et al, 1982). Chappell (1859), Williamson and Alburger (1983) all note that a tune by this name was registered at the Stationer's Company in 1580 as "A New Northern Dittye of the Lady Greene Sleeves" (an early attempt at copyrighting). 'Northern Dittye' here means not Scotland but Northumberland and the Border regions along with the English Midlands; Kidson remarks that during his era (early 20th century) the melody was in the "cherished possession of countrymen in the Midlands, who execute a rustic dance to a traditional survival of it" (pg. 5). Shakespeare wrote in one of his plays, "Let it thunder to the tune of Greensleeves," and again, in The Merry Wives of Windsor when he has Mrs. Ford contrast it with the Hundredth Psalm -'they do no more keep pace together, than the Hundredth Psalm to the tune of Green Sleeves.' Indeed, the tune at the quick tempo Shakespeare suggests has been immensely popular since his time (Emmerson {1971} notes the slow version associated with Christmas scarcely predates the 1940's). Williamson's versions includes two early tunes which were used for a morris dance called "The Bacca Pipes Jig", a dance which features motions with elegant "churchwarden pipes". He says, "the tunes here go in a fast 2/4, which bars them from the category of jigs proper and puts them in the same class of tunes that were called gigs in Wales. The first has a similarity to a Scots tune called 'The Pirriwig.' It's based on the playing of William Kimber. The second tune has a closer resemblance to the well-known song 'Greensleeves'" (Williamson, 1976).
***
Country dance directions to the tune have been recovered from the Holmain MS. (c. 1710-50) from Dumfries-shire. The tune and dance were known in the American colonies in the 18th century (under the titles "Green sleeves" or "Green sleeves & mutton pies"), though there is no reason to believe either was particularly popular as it was not widely reproduced in either MS copy books or dance publications of the period. A American version with the usual 'A' part but quite a different 'B' part appears in Henry Beck's German flute MS of 1786. Kidson (1915) reports the tune was probably an "art-tune" in the 16th century, not a folk-tune, and that both melody and lyrics were immediately popular. It was frequently the vehicle for political dities and for the "scraps of verses that were employed in the early ballad operas" (pg. 27). It was such a common tune in the 17th century that the tune was mentioned by Sir John Hawkins, who recalled disdainfully:
***
...Fidlers and others, hired by the master of the house; such as
in the night season were wont to parade the city and suburbs
under the title of Waits...Half a dozen of fidlers would scrape
"Sellinger's Round," or "John, Come Kiss Me," or "Old Simon
the King" with divisions, till themselves and their audience were
tired after which as many players on the hautboy would in the
most harsh and discordant tones grate forth "Greensleeves,"
"Yellow Stockings," "Gillean of Croydon," or some such common
dance tune, and the people thought it fine music.
***
Kidson (1915) states the air was simplified through the years and that complete passages were eliminated over time. To illustrate he gives a "pure" early 16th century version as well as later "degraded" versions: one from a fiddle MS from 1838, and another from Playford's Dancing Master of 1716, called "Greensleeves and Yellow Lace" (other "degraded" versions mentioned are from The Beggar's Opera {1728}, and D'Urfey's Wit and Mirth). Yet another "degraded" version, devoid of all lilt, can be found on page 16 of violinist Whittier Perkins' Manuscript copybook (Massachusetts, 1790). Chappell (1859) finds the tune in William Ballet's Lute Book and Sir John Hawkins' transcripts of the early 17th century, but he asserts that the ballad had attained popularity before the 1580 date as there was another ballad registered with the Stationers at the same time entitled "A ballad, being the "Ladie Greene Sleeves Answere to Donkyn his frende." The ballad became even more popular immediately after its publication, probably on the strength of the engaging tune, for numerous attempts were made to improve upon the original words which "are neither remarkable for novelty of subject, nor for its treatment" (Chappell, pg. 240). It appears in the Gillespie Manuscript of Perth (1768) and in Walsh's Country Dancing Master or 1718. Breathnach (1963) mentions the tune in conjunction with "Pingneacha Rua agus Pras," "The Humours of Ennistymon," " The Waves of Tramore," "The County Limerick Buckhunt," "Larry Grogan," "The Lasses of Melross," "Little Fanny's Fancy," "The Humours of Miltown," "Lynn's Favourite," "Coppers and Brass," "Hartigan's Fancy", and "Finerty's Frolic." Chappell (Popular Music of the Olden Time), Vol. 1, 1859; pg. 239. Kidson (English Folksong and Dance), 1915; pg. 27. Merryweather (Merryweather's Tunes for the English Bagpipe), 1989; pg. 27. Raven (English Country Dance Tunes), 1984; pg. 69. Williamson (English, Welsh, Scottish and Irish Fiddle Tunes), 1976; pg. 33. Flying Fish FF-407, Robin Williamson - "Winter's Turning" (1986).
ROSIN THE BEAU. AKA and see "Old Rosin, the Beau," "Rosin the Bow," "Mrs. Kenny," "Acres of Clams," "My Lodging's on the Cold, Cold Ground." American, Waltz, Air and Contra Dance Tune; Irish, Jig; English, Morris Dance Tune (6/8 time). A Major (Ford, Joyce): G Major (Bayard, Laufman, Mulvihill, Wade). Standard or AEAE. AB (Bayard, Joyce, Wade): ABB (Ford): AABB (Laufman, Mulvihill). The tune is used for a single step in the North-West England morris dance tradition. Bayard (1981) notes the air was known to most fiddlers, fifers, and singers in Pennsylvania, as in many parts of the country. He identifies a melody by James Oswald which appears in his 2nd Collection (1740's, pg. 25) as a 6/8 "Gigg," that is extremely close to "Rosin," and he wonders if this was the ancestral tune for the air, or if Oswald himself was influenced by an older air. Further, he says a tune called "Dumfries House" in Gow's Complete Repository (3rd Ed., Part I, pg. 13) ascribed to John Riddle has a 2nd strain that equals "Rosin the Beau," and a Welsh harp tune in Bennett's Alawon fy Ngwlad also is quite close. The Fleishchmann index (1998) gives that the tune was derived from a 17th century Irish tune in 6/4 meter called "On the Cold Ground;" that tune, however, is English, attributed to Matthew Lock from the play The Rivals. The title appears in a list of standard tunes in the square dance fiddler's repertoire, according to A.B. Moore in his History of Alabama, 1934. The title appears in a list of traditional Ozark Mountain fiddle tunes compiled by musicologist/folklorist Vance Randolph, published in 1954. Sources for notated versions: "Copied...from a MS. evidently written by a skilled fiddler with much musical taste, from Limerick, but the name of the writer nowhere appears" [Joyce]: Hogg (Pa., 1948) [Bayard]. Bayard (Dance to the Fiddle), 1981; No. 620, pg. 546. Ford (Traditional Music in America), 1940; pg. 56-57 and pg. 127 {discord version} (lyrics included, pg. 56-57). Joyce (Old Irish Folk Music and Song), 1909; No. 352, pg. 162. Laufman (Okay, Let's Try a Contra, Men on the Right, Ladies on the Left, Up and Down the Hall), 1973; pg. 15. Mulvihill (1st Collection), 1986; No. 15, pg. 122. Wade (Mally's North West Morris Book), 1988; pg. 24. Smithsonian Folkways SFW CD 40126, Rodney Miller - "Choose Your Partners!: Contra Dance & Square Dance Music of New Hampshire" (1999).
T:Roisin the Beau
S:John McCusker
Z:Juergen.Gier@post.rwth-aachen.de
L:1/8
M:3/4
K:Eb
B,2|E6|G3 FE2|E3 GB2|c4 e2|B3G F2|E3F G<B|C6|\
C4 B,2|E6|G3F E2|E3G B2|c4 e2|B3G E2|G4 F2|E6|1E4:|2\
E3G A2|:B3c B2|Bc d4|d2e4|e3d cB|B3G F2|E3F G<B|C6|\
C4 B,2|1B3c B2|Bc d4|d2e4|e3 dcB|B3G E2|G4 F2|E6|\
E3G A2:|2E6|G3F E2|Ee3 dB|c4 e2|B3G E2|G4 F2|E6|E4|]
T:Rosin the Bow
L:1/8
M:6/8
S:Joyce - Old Irish Folk Music
K:A
E|ABA cBA|f3 a2f|ecA ABc|(F3F2)E|ABA cBA|f3 a2f|ecA BAB|(A3A2)||
C/d/|ece efg|a2f a2f|ecA ABc|(F3 F2)E|ABA cBA|f3 a2f|ecA BAB|(A3 A2)||
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||