MRS. KENNY('S). AKA and see "The Men of the West." Irish, Waltz. D Major. Standard. AABB. The tune is named in honor of Mrs. Bridget Kenny, dubbed by Chief O'Neill as the "Queen of Irish Fiddlers." Taylor (1992) reports that as well as being an outstanding musician this daughter of renowned 19th century piper John McDonough (Co. Galway) was the mother of 13 children. It was recorded by the Irish fiddle master Michael Coleman in 1934 as "The Men of the West," which tune is perhaps better known today as "Rosin the Beau" or "Old Rosin the Beau." Miller & Perron (Irish Traditional Fiddle Music), 1977; Vol. 2, No. 68. Taylor (Crossroads Dance), 1992; No. 64, pg. 49. Ace of Hearts AH 95, "Irish Dance Party." Shaskeen - "My Love is in America."
OLD ROSIN THE BEAU. See also "Rosin the Beau," "Rosin the Bow," "Mrs. Kenny," "Cill Cais (Church of Cais)" [pronounced 'kill cash']. English, American; Jig, Air and Waltz. G Major. Standard. AABB. The tune "Old Rosin the Beau," or "Rosin the Beau," has a varied and extensive history and has served a number of functions. On the minstrel stage it was one of the frequent songs of the character Mr. Corn Meal, a creation of the white blackface performer Jim "Daddy" Rice, who based his version on that of a street singer he heard in New Orleans. As a dance tune it was cited as commonly played for Orange County, New York, country dances in the 1930's {as "Old Rosin the Bow"} (Lettie Osborn, New York Folklore Quarterly). Jarman (Old Time Fiddlin' Tunes); No. or pg. 16. Kennedy (Fiddlers Tune Book), Vol. 1, 1951; No. 99, pg. 49. Kerr (Merry Melodies), Vol. 1; pg. 29. Raven (English Country Dance Tunes), 1984; pg. 100. Sweet (Fifer's Delight), 1965/1981; pg. 23. Fretless 119, Rodney and Randy Miller--"Castles in the Air" (played as a waltz).
ON THE COLD GROUND. AKA and see "I Prethee, Love, Turn to Me." English, Song Air (6/4 time). E Dorian. Standard. AB. The air appears in Playford's Dancing Master of 1665, Musick's Delight on the Cithern (1666), and Apollo's Banquet for the Treble Violin (1669). The tune was ascribed to Matthew Lock, while the words were written by Sir William Davenant for the play The Rivals, performed around the year 1664. It was sung by the 'mad shepherdess.' The tune was popular and used for other ballads, including: "The Courteous Health; or, The Merry Boys of the Times", "The Old Man's Complaint; or, The Unequal-macht Couple", "Wit bought at a dear rate," and "The Faithful Lover's Farewell; or, Private News from Chatham," all appearing it the Roxburthe collection, though "many more" appear in other collections. At some point Lock's tune was discarded and, around the year 1775, a new tune was substituted, one familiar today as "My Lodging's in the Cold, Cold Ground." The Fleishmann index (1998) states that Lock's tune was the precursor for "Rosin the Beau" and attributes Irish origins for it. Chappell (Popular Music of the Olden Time), Vol. 2, 1859; pgs. 137-138.
T:On the Cold Ground or I Prethee, Love, Turn to Me
L:1/8
M:6/4
S:Chappell - Popular Music of the Olden Time
K:E Dorian
B,2|E2E2F2 G2F2E2|B6 A4F2|G2A2B2 F4E2|(^D6 D4) B,2|E4F2 G2F2E2|
B6 A3GA2|B2c2d2 G4A2|(B6 B4)||B2|B2c2e2 G4A2|B6 A3GA2|B2c2e2 F4E2|
(^D6D4) B,2|E2E2 F2 G3FE2|B6 e2 EF|G3A B2F4E2|(E6 E6)||
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)||