The Fiddler’s
Companion
© 1996-2008 Andrew Kuntz
_______________________________
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LEA - LEG |
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Notation
Note: The tunes below are recorded in what
is called “abc notation.” They
can easily be converted to standard musical notation via highlighting with
your cursor starting at “X:1” through to the end of the abc’s, then
“cutting-and-pasting” the highlighted notation into one of the many abc
conversion programs available, or at concertina.net’s incredibly handy “ABC
Convert-A-Matic” at http://www.concertina.net/tunes_convert.html **Please note that the abc’s in the Fiddler’s
Companion work fine in most abc conversion programs. For example, I use
abc2win and abcNavigator 2 with no problems whatsoever with direct
cut-and-pasting. However, due to an anomaly of the html, pasting the abc’s
into the concertina.net converter results in double-spacing. For
concertina.net’s conversion program to work you must remove the spaces
between all the lines of abc notation after pasting, so that they are
single-spaced, with no intervening blank lines. This being done, the F/C abc’s will convert to standard notation nicely. Or, get a
copy of abcNavigator 2 – its well worth it.
[AK] |
LE
X:1
T:le jeune, La
M:2/4
L:1/8
S:Daubat – Cent Contredanses en Rond (1757), No. 17
Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion
K:F
.F/.C/.F/.A/ .G/.E/.G/.B/ | .A/.F/.A/.c/ .B/.G/.B/.d/ | .c/.A/.G/.F/ .B/.G/.F/.E/ |
.F/.G/.A/.B/ .c/.d/.e/.f/ | .F/.C/.F/.A/ .G/.E/.G/.B/ | .A/.F/.A/.c/ .B/.G/.B/.d/ |
.c/.A/.G/.F/ .B/.G/.F/.E/ | F4 :: a/f/c/f/ a/f/a/f/ | g/f/e/d/ c/e/g/e/ | a/g/f/e/ f/e/d/c/ |
=B/A/G/=F/ G/=B/d/e/ | f/e/d/c/ =B/A/G/F/ | .E/(c/=B/c/) .e/(c/g/e/) |
f/e/d/c/ =B/A/G/F/ | .E/(c/=B/c/) .e/(c/g/e/) | a/g/f/e/ d/c/=B/A/ | =B/G/A/B/ c/d/(e/4f/4)g/ |
a/g/f/e/ d/c/=B/A/ | B/>G/ ~G c/>G/ ~G | d/>G/ ~G
e/>G/ ~G | {G}f4 | {f}e(d/c/) {e}d(c/=B/) | {=B}c>d c/B/A/G/ :|
LE PETRE'S HORNPIPE. American; Hornpipe. D Major ('A' part) & A Major ('B' part). Standard. AA'BB. Cole (1000 Fiddle Tunes), 1940; pg. 109.
Ford (Traditional Music in
X:1
T:Le
Petre’s
M:2/4
L:1/8
R:Hornpipe
S:Ryan’s Mammoth Collection (1883)
Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion
K:D
f>g |: (3.a.a.a d’>b | a>g
f>a | g>e B>c | d2 e>f | (3.g.g.g B>g | (3.f.f.f A>f |1
e>^de>f | e2 f>g :|2 e>AB>c | d2 || c>d |: (3.e.e.e ^d>e |
c>e a>c’ | (3.e.e.e ^d>e |
B>e g>b | e’>e d’>e |
c’>e b>e | c>e c’>b |1 a>g f>e :|2
a2 ||
LEA RIG(GES),
THE. AKA ‑ "The Old Lea Rig." AKA and see "(My) Own Kind Deary O,"
"Ain Kind Dearie O," “Maggie Pickins/Pickie/Piggy,”
"An Oidhche a Bha Bhainis Ann" (The Night the Wedding Was), “Wedding Night.” Scottish,
English, Canadian; Reel and Air.
***
I'll lay thee o'er the lea rig,
My ain kind dearie O.
***
The word “rowe” or ‘roll’ is
sometimes substituted for ‘lay’.
Robert Burns reworked and revised
the lyrics for his song "My Ain Kind Dearie, O":
***
Although the night were ne'er sae wild,
And I were ne'er sae wearie, O,
I'd meet thee on the lea rig,
My ain kind dearie, O.
(See The Songs of Scotland, 1977).
***
Johnson (1983) states that the tune was probably played on the fiddle in
two versions; one a song‑tune with decorative variations, and a reel
version. He has
plausibly and extensively traced the routes the early versions took with regard
to each other. In a fine example of the reel version, Hall & Stafford (Charlton Memorial) print the tune with
six variations by Northumbrian piper Tom Clough (1881-1964). Clough was a
member of a very influential Northumbrian piping family, whose tradition went
back some 250 years. He was recorded in the 1930’s on some of the first
commercially available examples of Northumbrian piping, and he was active in
the Northumbrian Pipers Society. His playing is often described as crisp and
staccato, while at the same time highly rhythmic.
***
Sources for
notated versions: Gillespie MS and
Riddel's Scotch, Galwegian and Border
Tunes, pg. 28 (a variation sonata form) [Johnson]; Donald MacLellan (
X:1
T:An Oidhche a Bha Bhainis Ann
T:Lea Rig, The
M:C|
L:1/8
S:Reel
B:The Athole
Collection
Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion
K:A
c|AFEF A2AB|A/B/c BA BFFB|AFEF A2Aa|f2ec eAA:|
|:a|f2 (ec) efac|B/B/B (BA) BFFB|1 AFEF A2 (Aa)|f2 (ec) eAA:|2
AFEF ABce|faea cAA|]
X:2
T:Lea Rig, The
D:Swarbrick, Ceilidh Album
Z:Nigel Gatherer
M:2/4
L:1/16
K:A
cB | c2E2 E2F2 | A3B A2c2 | B3c dcBA | c2F2 F2
cB | c2E2 E2F2 | A3B Acea | f2fe fgae | c2A2 A2 :|
e2 | fefg a2c2 | dcde f2A2 | BABc dcBA | c2F2 F2
cB | c2E2 E2F2 | A3B Acea | f2fe fgae | c2A2 A2 :|]
LEABAR NA G-CEART. AKA and see "The Book of
Rights."
LEAD OUT. AKA and see "Buffalo
Nickel [1]," "Chinky Pin,"
"Darling Child," “Eber Atkins Tune,” “Farmer Had a Dog,” "Fourth of July," “Grey-Eyed Cat,” "Hair in the Butter," "I'm My Momma's Darling (Child),"
"Love Somebody [2],"
"Midnight Serenade [1],"
"My Love
Is/She's but a Lassie Yet [1]," “Raymondville,”
“Richmond Blues,” “Soapsuds Over the Fence [3],”
"Sweet Sixteen," "Ten Nights in a Bar (Room)," “Too Young to Marry [1],” "Yellow Eyed Cat." Old-Time. USA,
Missouri. “Lead Out” is what some fiddlers call the tune in the Little Dixie
region of Missouri. The title is not particular to Missouri, however, for
hammered dulcimer player Paul Van Arsdale (who learned his repertorie from his
grandfather Jesse Martin of Frewsburg, N.Y.) also calls the melody “Lead Out”
(although he has another variant he calls “Highland Fling”). Tommy Jackson also
recorded it under this title. Marimac AHS #3, Glen
Smith – “Say Old Man” (1990. Learned from Tommy Jackson). MSOTFA 292-CD, Nile
Wilson (Linn County, Mo.) - “The Tie-Hacker Hoedown.”
LEAD THE KNAVE. Irish, Reel. Composed by Irish fretted-instruments player Arty McGlynn.
Henrik Norbeck points out the tune is remarkably similar
to a tune in the Joyce collection called “Johnny from Gandsey.” GIFT 10007, Arty McGlynn & Nollaig Casey – “Lead the
Knave.” Popcorn Behavior – “Journeywork” (1997).
LEADER HAUGHS AND YARROW. Scottish. 'Haugh' (rhymes with loch) means the low ground by a river.
Composition of the melody is attributed to the 17th century Border minstrel
Nichol Burne (who was born c. 1650 according to Stenhouse and c. 1750 by
Laing), also called 'Minstrel Burne' or 'Burne the Violer', whose portrait once
hung in Thirlestane Castle, "a douce old man leading a cow by a straw
rope". Collinson (1966) identifies it as a "pleasant and innocuous
song air" that has no particular characteristics which would identify it
as fiddle music. Some of the words of the song are but place‑names,
though "these fall as music on the Border ear ‑‑ 'Wanton‑wa's',
'Whitslaid Shaws', "Braidwoodshiel', "Kaidslie Birds',
etc." Williamson relates a story
which has become attached to the tune:
***
A beauty named Midside Maggie lived with her husband, Thomas
Hardie, on their sheep farm high in the hills of Lauder parish.
Tollishill
the farm was called. So Beautiful was she that their landlord, the Laird
of Thirlestane Castle, known as a hard hearted blackguard, was willing
to forego their rent, one year of terrible hardship, in exchange for a
kiss.
This she spiritedly refused him, and he with a guffaw, suggested instead
that if the winters up in Tollishill were as cold as she claimed, let
her
bring him a snowball next June for her rent. She packed snow in a high
cleft in the hills and brought it to him the following June, and he was
as good as his word. But Thirlestane, a Royalist, lost his lands after
the
Civil War and found himself prisoned in the Tower of London. During
those years, Maggie and her husband set aside all rent due him. They
baked it into a bannock and set off to walk the 400 miles to London,
Maggie disguised as a man. Arriving at the Tower, they were admitted
as simple ballad singers, and sang beneath the gaol bars an air their
landlord would be sure to recognize. When he peered through the bars,
they tossed him the bannock full of money, with which he was able to
purchase his freedom. This gave rise to the saying "every bannock
has
its maik (equal) but the bannock of Tollishill." The air they
whistled
was Leader Haughs and Yarrow.
***
Flying Fish, Robin
Williamson‑ "Legacy of the Scottish Harpers, Vol. 2."
LEADING OF THE STAR, THE. Irish, Air (4/4 time). G Major. Standard. AB.
Joyce had the tune from the Pigot Collection. Joyce (Old Irish Folk Music and Song), 1909; No. 694, pg. 348.
X:1
T:Leading of the Star
M:C
L:1/8
R:Air
S:Joyce – Old Irish Folk Music
and Songs (1909), No. 694
Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion
K:G
(3def | g>agf edBd | degb a2g2 |
{d/e/f/}gagf edBd | degb a2g2 ||
{B}c>dec B>dBA | GA Bd e2d2 |
{g/a/}b2 ag gfed | d>e c/B/A/G/ A2G2 ||
LEADING ROLE, THE. Irish, Reel. A Major. Standard. AABB. Composed by
X:1
T:Leading Role, The
M:C|
L:1/8
C:Liz Carroll
R:reel
Z:transcribed by Philippe Varlet
D:Trian (FF 70586)
K:A
B|c2 BA FECB,|~A,2 CE {G}FECE|c2 BA
FAeB|cFAF cFAF|
c2 BA FECB,|~A,2 CE {G}FECE|c2 BA
FECB,| {C}B,A,CE A3 :||
c|eAcA eAce|~f2 ec {c}BAFA|cFAF
cFAB|c2 BA FECE|
eAcA eAce|~f2 ec {c}BAFA|c2 BA
FECB,| {C}B,A,CE A3 :||
LEADING THE CALVES (IN
THE PASTURE). AKA and see “The Driving of the Calves”
(Seoladh na nGamhan), “Boyne Water [1].”
LEAG AN TÁILLIÚR. AKA and see “Tumble the Tailor.”
LEAGRAVE, THE. Irish,
March (2/4 time). D Major. Standard tuning. AA’BB. Lesl
Harker (2005) notes that accordion player John Whelan’s father Denis was a
founding member of the Leagrave Comhaltas branch in
LEAGUE AND SLASHER. AKA and see "The Atholl
Brae(s)," "The Drinking Reel,"
"The Drunken Tailor,"
"Gallagher's Best," "Lagan
Slashers," "Pigeon
on the Pier [2]," "The
Pigeon on the Gate [1]," "Reidy's
Reel,” "The Scotch Braes,” “The Wandering Tinker.” Irish, Reel. E
Dorian. Standard tuning. AABB. The title is a
corruption of the name “Lagan Slashers.” See Bayard's note for "Paddy On
the Turnpike." Cole (1000 Fiddle
Tunes), 1940; pg. 12. Ryan’s Mammoth
Collection, 1883; pg. 35.
X:1
T: League & slashers
S: R. M. O'Mealy
M: 2/4
L:1/16
Z:Transcribed by Thomas Johnson
K:D
ADFA BABd | dEE2 | ADFA BGBc | DBAF D2D2 :|
d2fd Adfd | e2fe d2cB | d2fd Adfe |
dBAF D2D2 |
d2fd Adfd | e2fe d2cB d2ef g2ef | dBAF D2D2 |
LEAGUE REEL, THE. Irish, Reel. G Major. Standard tuning. AA’B. Source for notated version: the Rice-Walsh manuscript, a collection of music from the repertoire of Jeremiah Breen, a blind fiddler from North Kerry, notated by his student [O’Neill]. O’Neill (Waifs and Strays of Gaelic Melody), 1922; No. 273.
X1
T:League Reel, The
M:4/4
L:1/8
S:Rice-Walsh manuscript
Z:Paul Kinder
R:Reel
K:G
D2|:G2 Bd gdBd|cBAG FADA|GFED CE ag|1fdcA BGAF:|2fdcA G2||
ga|bg g2 bgdg|af f2 afdg|bgaf gefd|ecdB cABF|
G2
Bd gdBd|cBAG FADA|GFED CE ag|fdcA G2 z2||
LEAHY'S JIG (Port Uí Laochdha). Irish, Double Jig. D Mixolydian. Standard tuning. AABB. Breathnach (1976) explains that Leahy
was a dancing master and a fiddler. Source for notated version: whistle player
Michael Murphy, 1967 (Ballydesmond, Co. Cork, Ireland) [Breathnach]. Breathnach
(CRE II), 1976; No. 44, pg. 25.
LEAKE
LEAKING TAP, THE. Irish, Jig. Composed by the
late
LEAN GO CEATHARLACH
SIOS ME. AKA and see "Follow me down to Carlow."
LEAN ME SIOS. AKA and see "Follow Me Down."
LEAN ME SIOS GO
CEATARLOC. AKA and see "Follow Me Down
to Carlow."
LEANBH AIMHREIDH, AN. AKA and see "The Troubled
Child."
LEANBH MO CHROÍ (Lannamacree). AKA and see “Jackson’s Babes,” “Lanamacree,” “The Rose in Full Bloom.” Irish,
Double Jig. G Major. Standard. AB. “Leanbh mo chroí” means ‘child of my heart’.
Source for notated version: fiddler and uilleann piper Stephen Grier (Farnaght,
Co. Leitrim), who wrote his manuscripts in the 1880's [Breathnach]. Breathnach
(CRÉ IV), 1996; No. 10, pg. 7.
LEANBH SI, AN. Irish, Slow Air (4/4 time). G Major. Standard. One part. Ó Canainn (Traditional Slow Airs), 1995; No. 100,
pg. 85.
LEANBHAI I MBEITHIL, NA (The Children of
LEANDER. American, Air (6/8 time). A
Minor. Standard. AABB. An air from The
Original Sacred Harp (Denson Revision). Miller (Fiddler’s Throne), 2004; No. 69, pg. 52.
LEAP OVER THE GARTER. Irish?, Polka. C Major. Standard tuning. AB. Hardings All-Round Collection, 1905; No. 194; pg. 61.
X:1
T:Leap Over the Garter
M:2/4
L:1/8
S:Harding’s All-Round Collection (1905)
Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion
K:C
g>a g/f/e/d/|ccce|dfBd|c/B/c/d/
c/d/e/f/|g>a g/f/e/d/|
ccce|dfBd|czcz||.e.e(eg)|.d.d(df)|eg/e/
fd|B/c/d/B/ cG|
.e.e(eg)|.d.d(df)|eg/e/
fd|(g/^f/).g/.a/ (g/=f/).e/.d/||
LEAP OVER THE STONE, A. Welsh, Country Dance Tune (6/8 time). G Minor. Standard. AAB. The tune
is from Edward Jones's Musical and Poetical
Relicks of the Welsh Bards (1794). Mellor (Welsh Dance Tunes), 1935; pg. 12.
LEAP YEAR [1]. AKA and see “Cheap Meal,” “The Dear Meal (is Cheap Again),”
“Lucy Campbell [2].” American, Reel.
D Major. Standard. ABC. A re-titled Scottish reel, also
variants of which are also popular in
M:2/4
R:Reel
S:White’s Unique Collection (1896), No. 69
Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion
(F/G/) | A/D/F/D/ A/D/F/D/ | A/D/F/D/ (B/E/)E | (A/D/)F/G/ (A/g/)f/e/ |
d/B/(A/F/) (A/D/)D/F/ | A/D/F/D/ A/D/F/D/ | A/D/F/D/ (B/E/)E | (A/D/)F/G/ (A/g/)f/e/ |
(d/B/)A/F/ (A/D/)D || A/ | d/e/d/c/ d/e/f/e/ | d/B/A/F/ (G/E/)E | d/e/d/c/ (d/e/)f/e/ |
(d/B/)A/F/ A/D/D/A/ | d/e/d/c/ d/e/f/e/ | d/B/A/F/ (G/E/)E | (d/e/)d/c/ (d/e/)f/e/ |
(d/B/)A/F/ (A/D/)D/ || f/ | a/b/a/f/ d/e/f/d/ | e/f/g/e/ (b/e/)e | a/b/a/f/ e/g/f/e/ |
(d/B/)A/F/
A/D/D | a/b/a/f/ d/e/f/d/ | e/f/g/a/ ee | a/f/g/e/ f/d/e/d/ | c/A/B/c/ d ||
LEAP YEAR [2] (Bliadain Bisig). AKA and see "The Dear Meal (is Cheap Again),"
"Lucy Campbell [2]," "Cairngorum." Irish, Air (6/8 time). G
Major/Mixolydian. Standard. AB. O'Neill (Music of Ireland: 1850 Melodies),
1979; No. 414, pg. 72.
X:1
T:Leap Year [2]
M:6/8
L:1/8
R:Air
N:”Moderate”
S:O’Neill –
Music of
Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion
K:G
B/c/|d>ed de=f|fee ege/e/|dBG
GEF|AGE ED B/c/|d>ed de=f|fee ege/e/|
DBG GEF|G>AG G2||B/c/|ded efg|fed
{f}edc|dcB {d}cBA|BAG {G}FED|
BAG {d}cBA|dcB ege|dBG {A}GEF|G3
z2||
LEAPFROG [1]. English, Morris Dance Tune (4/4 time). D Major (Mallinson): D Major (Bacon).
Standard. AB, x4. The title is descriptive of the dance, whose tune was
collected from the villages of Bledington (Gloucestershire) and Headington
(Oxfordshire), in England's Cotswolds. Bacon (The Morris Ring), 1974; pg. 193. Mallinson (Mally’s Cotswold Morris Book), 1988, Vol. 2; No. 24, pg. 13.
LEAPFROG [2]. AKA and see "Glorishears [2]".
English, Morris Dance Tune (6/8 time). The title "Leapfrog" is Cecil
Sharpe's descriptive name for the Fieldtown (Leafield), Oxfordshire, dance
"Glorishears."
LEAPFROG [3]. AKA and see “Year of Jubilo,”
“Kingdom Coming.”
LEAPING LULU. American, Jig. B Minor (‘A’ part) & A Major (‘B’ part). Standard tuning. AA’BB. According to Sue Songer’s notes, the
melody was composed in 1972 while travelling in England by Greg Boardman,
fiddler for the Maine band The Moosetones, on the occasion of hearing of friends’ expecting a child to be named Lulu.
Source for notated version: Creighton Lindsay (
LEARTOG, AN. AKA and see "The Skylark [2]."
LEASOWES LUCK. English, Reel. A Minor. Standard tuning. AABB.
A modern composition by editor Michael Raven. Raven (English Country Dance Tunes), 1984; pg. 192.
LEATHER APRON. AKA and see "Oh, How They
Frisk It," "Under the
Greenwood Tree." English, Air (6/4 time). G Major. Standard
tuning. AAB. A song composed by Charles Coffey, 1748, from his opera The Devil to Pay. Scott (English Song Book), 1926; pg. 14.
LEATHER AWAY WITH THE
WATTLE (Buail Leat Leis An
Bata). AKA –
“Leather Away the Wattle-O.” AKA and see “The
Grand Old Dame,” “The Halfdoor,” “I-tiddly-I-ti,” “Leather
the Bottle-o,” “Lisdoonvarna
Polka [2],” “The Little
Lisdoonvana Polka,” “The London
Bridge Polka,” “Rose Tree [2],” “(An) tSeanbhean uasal,” “The Water Street Polka.” Irish, Polka
and Air (2/4 time, "lively"). D Major. Standard
tuning. AB (O’Neill): AABB (Tubridy). The Philadelphia-based band The
Four Provinces Orchestra recorded the tune (under the title “Leather Away”) in
1924. Bayard (1981) suggests that the first part of this air was the derivation
of the second part of the minstrel tune "Mary Run Away With the
Coon." The title “Leather Away with the Wattle” breaks down as: ‘leather
away’ i.e. to go at something vigorously, and ‘wattle’ i.e. a stick, or ‘to have
a vigorous go with the stick’. This
phrase could apply to various things, but is also a euphemism for male
masturbation. Source for notated version: Pádraig O’Keeffe (Sliabh Luachra)
[Breathnach]. Breathnach (The Man &
his Music), 1996; pg. 95. Levey Collection. O'Daly (The Poets and Poetry of
X:1
T:Leather Away the Wattle
L:1/8
M:2/4
S:Based on Pádraig O’Keeffe’s
version
K:D
A|(dA) (FA)|(dc) dc/d/|(ed) (cd)|ef
ge|(af) (ge)|dc AF|(GB) (A/B/A/G/)|(FD) D:|
|:e|f2 (fd)|g2 (ge)|f2 (fa)|(gf)
ef/g/|(af) (ge)|dc A>F|(GB) (A/B/A/G/)|(FD) D:|
X:2
T:Leather Away with the Wattle
M:2/4
L:1/8
R:Air
N:”Lively”
S:O’Neill –
Music of
Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion
K:D
A/B/c|dAFA|d2 d/e/f/g/|edcd|e/f/g
fg|af ge|d2 AF|G/A/B/c/ AG|FD D2||
d/e/|ff fd|gg ge|ff fa|gf ef/g/|af
ge|d2 AF|G/A/B/c/ AG|FD D||
LEATHER BAGS DONNEL. Irish, Air (3/4 time). D Minor. Standard tuning.
AB. Source for notated version: “From P. Carew’s’ MS” [Stanford/Petrie].
Stanford/Petrie (Complete Collection),
1905; No. 393, pg. 100.
X:1
T:Leather Bags Donnel
M:3/4
L:1/8
R:Air
S:Stanford/Petrie (1905), No. 393
Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion
K:D Minor
A2d2d2 | A2d2d2 | A2d2d2 | c2A2 AG |
A2d2d2 | A2d2d2 | Ac G2 AG | E2D2D2 |
A2d2d2 | A2d2d2 | A2c2 de | f2e2d2 |
e2c2d2 | Ac G2 AG | F3 GAF | E2D2D2 ||
F4 G2 | A3 cGA | F3 GAF | E2D2D2 |
F4 G2 | A3 cGA | F3 GAF | E2C2C2 |
F4G2 | A3 BAG | A2c2 de | f2e2d2 |
e2c2d2 | Ac G2 AG | F3 GAF | E2D2D2 ||
LEATHER BOTTLE, THE. English, Air (6/4 time). G Major. Standard tuning. ABCD. Chappell believes this ballad to date
to pre‑Elizabethan times based on his analysis of irregularities in the
metre which "gives it the character rather of a minstrel production, such
as Richard Sheale's '
LEATHER
BREECHES/BRITCHES. See "Lord MacDonald('s
Reel) [4]" which is thought to be the origin of the American version.
AKA and see “Breeches On,” “The Irish Lad(‘s a Jolly Boy),”
"Old Leather Britches
[2]," "Oh
Those Britches Full of Stitches," "Lord MacDonald('s Reel) [4],"
"McDonald's Reel," “Reel McDonnell,” "Slanty Gart." Old‑Time,
Bluegrass; Breakdown. USA, very widely known. G Major. Standard
tuning. AB (Bayard, Silberberg): AABB (Brody, Lowinger): AABCC (Titon):
ABCDD (Christeson): AABBCC (Shumway, Thede): AA'BB'CC' (Phillips): AABCCDDC'
(Krassen). 'Leather Breeches' was a nickname in some parts of the American
South and West for green (snap) beans dried in the pod and later cooked,
although many verses connected with the tune have referred to garments made out
of leather. Sometimes the beans would be pieced with a needle and thread and
strung together, then hung to dry where they would last the winter (but would
need to be soaked to re-hydrate them prior to cooking). Professor Samuel Bayard
notes the tune is descended from, or related to, an Irish air called "The
Breeches On" or "The Irish Lad" and a widespread Scottish reel
generally called "(Lord) McDonald's Reel." Generally, the order of
the parts is reversed from the ‘MacDonald’ tune. Paul Gifford believes that the
earliest version of “Leather Breeches” in print (under that title) appears in
numerical tablature in Music for the Piano Dulcimer by R.J. Rudisill (of
Missouri), published by Stedman (New York) & Milton (Kentucky) with a date
of 1859, sold by L.S. & H. Wade. The volume, says Paul, was apparently
written to accompany the dulcimers manufactured by the Wades in Chautaqua
County, New York.
***
Many sources note this tunes
popularity in the United States: for example, Marion Thede said it was
"among the most frequently heard fiddle tunes in the Southwest,"
while Arizona fiddler Kenner C. Kartchner stated it was "a great favorite
in early Texas cattle country" (Shumway). Bell Wiley listed it among the
popular fiddle tunes played by fiddlers in the Confederate army in his book The
Life of Johnny Reb. It was in repertory of Alabama fiddler D. Dix Hollis
(1861‑1927) who considered it one of "the good old tunes of long
ago" (as quoted in the Opelika Daily
News of April 17th, 1926), and it was commonly played by Rock Ridge Alabama
fiddlers around 1920 (Bailey). It was mentioned in the autobiography of fiddler
Tom Freeman of Cullman County, Alabama, and was listed in the Tuscaloosa News of March 28th, 1971 as a
specialty of "Monkey" Brown of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, who had a local
reputation in the 20's and 30's (Cauthen, 1990). The tune was recorded for the
Library of Congress (by musicologist/folklorist Vance Randolph) from the
playing of Ozark Mountain fiddlers in the early 1940's, and (by Herbert
Halpert) from the playing of Mississippi fiddlers John Hatcher, Stephen B.
Tucker, and Hardy Sharp in 1939. “Leather Breeches” was played in the
non-standard key of ‘D’ Major by Surry County, North Carolina, fiddler Benton
Flippen (b. 1920).
***
The melody was a standard at
fiddlers' contests in many areas of the South and Mid-West. It was a 'category
tune' for an 1899 fiddle contest in Gallatin, Tenn., in which each fiddler
would play his version; the best rendition won a prize (C. Wolfe, The Devil's Box, vol. 14, No. 4,
12/1/80). Larkin Hicks of Broadhead, Kentucky, played “Leather Breeches” in the
1919 Berea, Kentucky, fiddle contest, as recorded in lists of tunes played at
the event (Titon, 2001). It was predicted to "vie with the latest jazz nerve
wreckers for first place" at a fiddlers' convention in Chilton County,
Alabama, according to the Chilton County
News of June 1, 1922 (Cauthen, 1990), and was also predicted by the Northwest Alabamian of August 29th,
1929, that it was likely to be played at an upcoming contest. A.B. Moore, in
his 1934 History of Alabama, said it
was one of the standard tunes in the square dance fiddler's repertoire, and it
was listed as one of the definitive fiddle tunes for a contest in Jackson,
Alabama, in the Clarke County Democrat
of May 6, 1926 (Cauthen, 1990). It was a tune in the repertoire of fiddler and
Confederate veteran Arnold A. Parrish (Willow Springs, Wake County, N.C.), as
recorded by the old Raleigh News and
Observer. Parrish was a contestant at fiddler’s conventions held in Raleigh
prior to World War I. “Leather Breeches”
has retained popularity to this day as a contest tune. A story has been told of California old-time
mandolin player Kenny Hall who played this tune in the 1970’s at the ‘national’
contest at Weiser, Idaho, a hot-bed of Texas-style or ‘contest’ fiddling that
dominated the stage. Hall said he had learned “Leather Britches” from an old
Texas fiddler, and that his was what “real” Texas fiddling was all about, which
did not endear him to many Texans that weekend. Compounding his faux pas, was
his reference to Dick Barrett’s Texas version: “That ain’t Leather Britches,
its Perma Press.” The Texans were not amused.
***
Samuel Bayard suggests the rhyme
sung to the melody by old‑time musicians is borrowed from an Irish air
(song) called "The Britches On." Researcher and fiddler Lisa
Ornstein, however, says the only association she could find to support this was
in Irish novelist and Fenian Charles J. Kickham’s novel Knocknagow, or the Homes
of Tipperary (1879), in which a jews-harper plays the tune and then sings: “Oh,
my breeches full of stitches, Oh, my breeches buckled on, Oh, my breeches full
of stitches, Oh my breeches buckled on” to a visitor who has a torn pant-leg
(Chapter 19). "This (Bayard's 1944 set) is the best set of 'Leather
Breeches' yet to turn up in western Pennsylvania. The tune is often accompanied
by a rhyme that in Greene County (Pa.) tradition runs:
***
Leather breeches full of stitches,
Old shoes and stockings on‑‑
My wife she kicked me out of bed
Because I had my breeches on.
***
Bayard’s source Mrs. Armstrong
recalled only two lines:
***
Leather breeches, full of stitches,
Mammy sewed the buttons on.
***
Ford (1940) prints these words:
***
Leather Breeches full of stitches,
Leather Breeches, Leather Breeches;
Mammy cut 'em out an'