The Fiddler’s Companion

© 1996-2008 Andrew Kuntz

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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]

 

 

 

SO CLOSE QUICKSTEP. Scottish, Quickstep (6/8 time). C Major ('A' part), G Major ('B' part) & A Minor ('C' part). Standard tuning. AABC. Carlin (Master Collection), 1984; No. 172, pg. 100.

                       

SO EARLY IN THE MORNING. English, Polka ? B Flat Major. Standard tuning. AABB. Raven (English Country Dance Tunes), 1984; pg. 154.

                       

SO I'M OFF WITH THE GOOD ST. NICHOLAS BOAT. Scottish, Jig (6/8 time). A Major. Standard tuning. AB (Skinner): AA’B (Cranford). From the Hirn Collection, composed by J. Scott Skinner (1843-1927), who labelled the tune “For Flirtation.” The real St. Nicholas was Archbishop of Myra in Lycia, renowned for his good and generous deeds, and for his power to calm wind and wave and to deliver ships from peril. Source for notated version: fiddler Brenda Stubbert (b. 1959, Point Aconi, Cape Breton) who learned it from a recording by the influential fiddler Winston Fitzgerald [Cranford].

***

St. Nicholas, Help of Sailors

***

Cranford (Brenda Stubbert’s), 1994; No. 88, pg. 33. Skinner (The Scottish Violinist), pg. 46. Breton Books and Records BOC 1HO, Winston “Scotty” Fitzgerald - “Classic Cuts” (reissue of Celtic Records CX 17).

X:1

T:So I’m Off with the Good St. Nicholas Boat

M:6/8

L:1/8
R:Jig

N:”For Flirtation.”

S:Skinner – The Scottish Violinist

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:A

A | A>ce e^de | fe^d e2c | {c}d>cd (B<e)d | (c3c2)A | A>ce e>^de | fe^d e2c |

{c}d>cd B<ec | (A3A2) || c | c<fg a>gf | d>ed c2c | cfg agf | (g3g2)g |

a>gf e2 e | f>ed c2c | Bef gaf | eee e2e | f2f f>ed | (g3g2) c | d2d d>cB |

(e3e2)G | A>ce e^de | fe^d e2c | {e}dcd EFG | (A3A) ||

                       

SO NOW COME AWAY. Irish, Air (4/4 time). A Dorian. Standard. One part. "Taken down from a ballad‑singer while she was in the act of singing at the fair of Trim fifty years ago (c. 1859)" {Joyce}. Joyce (Old Irish Folk Music and Songs), 1909; No. 5, pg. 5.

X:1

T:So now come away

M:C

L:1/8

R:Air

S:Joyce – Old Irish Folk Music and Songs (1909)

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

N:”Mod.”

N:the chorus begins at the double bar.

K:A Dorian

dc|AAAA d2 cA/>F/|G2 A>A A2 cd|e2 ee edcd|edd>d d2 cd|eaag =f2 ed|

dedA A2 cd|e2 ee edcd|efge d2 ||cA/>F/|G2 A>A A2||

                       

SO NOW MY DEAR JOHNNY. AKA and see "Tatter Jack Walsh" (An t‑Athair J. W.). American, Irish; Air and Jig. USA, Massachusetts. G Mixolydian. Standard. AB. The air was well‑known as a vocal air in southwestern Pa. and the title derives from words set to the tune, the fragments of this Bayard's source gave as "So now, my dear Johnny, your cash is all out‑‑" and "So now, my dear Johnny, your coat is all torn‑‑." Source for notated version: Mrs. Anastasia Corkery (Cambridge, Mass., 1930's; originally from County Cork, Ireland) [Bayard]. Bayard (Dance to the Fiddle), 1981; Appendix No. 38, pg. 588.

                                   

SOAP FAT MAN, THE. AKA and see "Old Dan Tucker." Old‑Time, Breakdown. USA, southwestern Pa. C Major. Standard. AAB. A local southwestern Pa. title for this well‑known American tune. Source for notated version: John Tustin (Greene County, Pa., 1944) [Bayard]. Bayard (Dance to the Fiddle), 1981; No. 189B, pg. 145.

                       


SOAP('S) IN THE WASHPAN. AKA and see "Hot Corn." Old‑Time, Breakdown. USA, Kentucky. Recorded by Andy Palmer (b. 1881, Anderson County, Ky., the featured fiddler and vocalist for the north-central Kentucky Jimmie Johnson String Band. The tune is played in Franklin County as "Hot Corn," and is related to the Stripling Brothers' "Horse Shoe Bend," according to Guthrie Meade (1980). Morning Star 45003, Jimmie Johnson's String Band ‑ "Wink the Other Eye: Old Time Fiddle Band Music from Kentucky" (1980. Originally recorded for Gennett in 1932).

                       

SOAPSUDS OVER THE FENCE [1]. Old‑Time, Breakdown. USA; West Virginia, north Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas, Texas. D Major. Standard. AB (Silberberg): AABB (Phillips). Both parts of the Blalock/Bryan version are irregular. Tune mentioned in accounts as having been played in a fiddlers' contest in Atlanta, Ga. in 1914, and as having been played by Rock Ridge, Alabama, fiddlers around 1920 (Bailey). The title appears in a list of traditional Ozark Mountain fiddle tunes compiled by musicologist/folklorist Vance Randolph, published in 1954. Texas fiddler Captain McKinney recorded the tune in 1929 for Okeh Records. Sources for notated versions: James Bryan [Phillips]; Scott Marckx [Silberberg]. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes, Vol.1), 1994; pg. 227. Silberberg (Tunes I Learned at Tractor Tavern), 2002; pg. 147. Heritage XXXIII, Mose Coffman ‑ "Visits" (1981. Learned from Ed Price of Arden's Cave, West Virginia). Old Homestead OHSC‑145, Skillet Lickers‑‑"A Day at the Country Fair" (appears in skit "Jeremiah Hopkin's Store on Sand Mountain"). Rounder 0175, James Bryan ‑ "Lookout Blues" (1983. Learned from Mack Blalock, Mentone, Alabama).

 

SOAPSUDS OVER THE FENCE [2]. Old-Time, Breakdown. G Major. Standard. AABBA'A'BB. Source for notated version: Jimmy Wheeler [Phillips]. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes, Vol. 1), 1994; pg. 227.

 

SOAPSUDS OVER THE FENCE [3]. AKA and see "Buffalo Nickel [1]," “Cat Ate the Handsaw,” "Chinky Pin," “Crooked Stovepipe [2],” "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)," “Lead Out,” “Liesel,” “Love Somebody [2],” "Midnight Serenade [1]," "My Love Is/She's But a Lassie Yet [1],” “Old Mose,” “Raymondville,” "Richmond Blues," "Sweet Sixteen," "Ten Nights in a Bar Room," “Too Young to Marry [1],” "Yellow Eyed Cat." Old‑Time, Breakdown.  From North Carolina fiddler Tommy Jarrell.

                       

SOAPSUDS SPLASH. See "Rabbit in the Grass."

                       

SOCIAL BOWL, THE. English, Jig. England, North‑West. D Major. Standard. AABB. Knowles (Northern Frisk), 1988; No. 57.

                       

SOD OF TURF, THE (An Fod Mona). AKA and see "Croosting Cap." Irish, Double Jig. D Major. Standard. AABB. O'Neill (Music of Ireland: 1850 Melodies), 1903/1979; No. 928, pg. 173. O'Neill (Dance Music of Ireland: 1001 Gems), 1907/1986; No. 161, pg. 41.

X:1

T:Sod of Turf, The

M:6/8

L:1/8

R:Jig

S:O’Neill – Dance Music of Ireland: 1001 Gems (161), No. 161

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:D

d|dcA AGE|c2A ABc|dcA AGF|DGG GBc|dcA AGE|c2A ABc|dcA fga|g2G G2:|

|:d|dcA f2g|aag f2d|dcA fga|g2G GBc|dcA f2g|aqag f2d|dcA fga|g2G G2:|

                       

SOD OF TURF WE TOOK TO SCHOOL, THE. AKA and see “Dan Sweeney’s,” “Johnny Leary’s,” “Mick Howard’s,” “Munster Bank,” “Tarrant’s [3].” Irish, Polka.

                       

SODA BREAD MAKING.  Irish, Hornpipe. Composed by County Tipperary fiddler Seán Ryan (d. 1985). Ryan (Sean Ryán’s Dream), 34.

 

SODGER LAD(DIE). AKA and see "Sailor Lad(die)." Scottish, Jig. G Major. Standard tuning. AABB. The melody appears in the Gillespie Manuscript of Perth (1768), but John Glen (1891) finds the earliest appearance of the tune in print in Robert Bremner's 1757 collection. Bremner (A Collection of Scots Reels), 1757; pg. 22. Gow (Complete Repository), Part 1, 1799; pg. 14. Kerr (Merry Melodies), vol. 3; No. 267, pg. 29. O’Farrell (Pocket Companion, vol. III), c. 1808; pg. 13 (appears as “Soldier Laddie”). Stewart-Robertson (The Athole Collection), 1884; pg. 139.

X:1

T:Sodger Laddie

M:6/8

L:1/8

R:Jig

B:Bremner – Scots Reels (1757)

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:G Major

g |: (B>AG) GDE | A>BA ABd | e/f/g(G G)DE | G>AG B2G | cAc BGB | ABA ABd |

(e/f/g)(G G)DE|1 G>AG G2g :|2 G2G G2 |: e/f/ | g>ag gdB | Aaa “tr”a2g | def gdB |

g(a/g/f/e/) gdB | (c/B/c/d/e/f/ g)dB | aAA ABd | (e/f/g)(G G)DE | G>AG G2 :|

X:2

T:Sodger Lad

M:6/8

L:1/8

R:Jig

B:Stewart-Robertson – The Athole Collection (1884)

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:G Major

g| BAG GDE | ABA ABd | e/f/gG GDE | GAG B2G | cAc BGB |

ABA ABd| e/f/gG GDE | GAG G2:: f | gag gdB | Aaa a2b | def gdB |

gag gdB | cac BgB | aAA ABd | e/f/gG GDE | GAG G2 :|

                                               

SOET ROOSIE ROOT (Sweet Rosie Red).  Dutch, Country Dance Tune (cut time). C Major. Standard tuning. AABCCD. Barnes (English Country Dance Tunes, vol. 2), 2005; pg. 125.

                       

SOETE MEERIMIN, DE.  Dutch, Country Dance Tune. E Minor. Standard tuning. AABB. Barnes (English Country Dance Tunes, vol. 2). 2005; pg. 6 (appears as “At Rainbow’s End”, the name of a dance by Fried de Metz Herman).

 


SOEURS, LES. AKA and see “(Le) Reel à Neuf.” French-Canadian, Reel. G Major. Standard tuning. ABAB’. The ‘B’ parts are ‘crooked’, with a measure of 3/2 time at the end. Guy Bouchard notes that this tune is quite common in the older repertoire of Quebecois fiddlers, though the versions are sometimes so different they sound like different tunes. Source for notated version: André Alain (St-Basile de Porteuf, Quebec) [Remon & Bouchard]. Remon & Bouchard (25 Crooked Tunes, Vol. 2: Québec Fiddle Tunes), Vol. 2, 1997; No. 5. André Marchand & Jean-Paul Loyer - “Détournement majeur.” Les Têtes de violon - “Le talencourt.”

 

SOFT DEAL BED, THE. Irish, Air (3/4 time). Ireland, Munster. A Minor. Standard tuning. One part. Stanford/Petrie (Complete Collection), 1905; No. 582, pg. 147. 

X:1

T:Soft Deal Bed, The

M:3/4
L:1/8

N:”A Munster air.”

S:Stanford/Petrie (1905), No. 582

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:A Minor

a>g | f2 ed cA | fg ed cA | G4 AA | A4 AG | E2A2 AB | c3 dcA | d3 efd | e4 AG |

E2A2 AB | c3 e/d/ {d}cA | dc defd | e4 a>g | f2 ed cA | fg ed cA | G4 AA | A4 ||

 


SOFT DEAL BOARD, THE (An Clar Bog Del/Deil). AKA ‑ "Claur Bug Dale." AKA and see “Caiseal Mhumhan” (Cashel in Munster), “Cois na Brighde,” “The Bog-Deal Board.” Irish, Slow Air (3/4 time). A Minor (Joyce): A Mixolydian (O Canainn): F Dorian (Stanford/Petrie). Standard tuning. One part. "Also called by two other names‑‑Caiseal Mhumhan, 'Cashel of Munster;' and Cois na Brighde (Cush na Breeda), 'Beside the river Bride' (the Bride is a river in Cork and Waterford). In the Stanford‑Petrie collection there are six settings of this beautiful air, scattered through the book; but the one I give here fidders from all. It is the characteristic Munster version, as I heard it scores of times in my youth, played by the best fiddlers and pipers, and sung by the accomplished traditional singers. The original Irish song of Clar bog del, better known in Munster by the name of Caiseal mhumhan, will be found in Edward Walsh's Irish Popular Songs, p. 168. It was a universal favourite sixty or seventy years ago. Another song to the same air, which held as high a place in popular estimation, was one composed by a well‑known Gaelic poet, the Rev. William English, beginning with‑‑'Cois na Brighde, seal do bhiossa, go sugach samh'‑‑'While I dwelt by the (river) Bride, pleasantly and tranquilly.' This will be found in O'Daly's Poets and Poetry of Munster, second series, p. 120.  I once heard 'Cashel of Munster' sung under peculiarly pleasant and characteristic circumstances, when I was a mere child. The people of the village had turned out on a sunny day in June to 'foot' the half‑dry turf in the bog at the back of Seefin mountain which rises straight over Glenosheen: always a joyuous occasion for us children. Dinner time came‑‑about 1 o'clock: each family spread the white cloth on a chosen spot on the dry clean bog‑surface. There might have been half a dozen groups in that part of the bog, all near each other, and all sat down to dinner at the same time: glorious smoking‑hot floury savoury potatoes, salt herrings (hot like the potatoes), and good wholesome blathach, i.e. skimmed thick milk slightly and pleasantly sour‑‑a dinner fit for a hungry king. After dinner there was always a short interval for rest and diversion‑‑generally rough joyous romping. On this occasion the people, with one accord, asken Peggy Moynahan to sing them a song. Peggy was a splendid girl, noted for her singing: and down she sat willingly on a turf bank. In a moment the people clustered round; all play and noise and conversation ceased; and she gave us the Clar bog del in Irish with intense passion, while the people‑‑old and young, including myself and my little brother Robert‑‑sat and listened, mute and spellbound. I have good reason to fear that the taste for intellectual and refined amusements‑‑singing, music, dancing, story‑telling, small informal literary clubs and meetings, etc.‑‑once so prevalent among the people of my native district, which often expressed itself in scenes such as I describe here, is all gone; and we shall never witness the like again. Is muar an truagh e: more's the pity!" (Joyce). A Donegal version was recorded by Mairead Ni Mhaonaigh and Frankie Kennedy in 1983 (Green Linnett 3090). Source for notated version: “From Father Walsh” [Stanford/Petrie]. Joyce (Old Irish Folk Music and Song), 1909; No. 127, pgs. 64‑65. Stanford/Petrie (Complete Collection), 1905; No. 581, pg. 147.

X:1

T:Soft Deal Board, The

M:3/4

L:1/8

R:Air

S:Joyce – Old Irish Folk Music and Song (1909)

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

N:”Slowly and tenderly”

K:A Minor

fd|e>d cA AA|d>c AG (3^FEF|G4 A2|A3B cA|G2A2 AB|c2A2 (A/B/c/d/e/)|

f3a gf|e3g (6f/d/c/A/G/^F/|G2A2 AB|c2A2 de|f4g2|a3g fg|e>d cA {G}AA|

d>c AG (3^FEF| G4 A2|A4||

X:1

T:Soft Deal Board, The

M:3/4
L:1/8

S:Stanford/Petrie (1905), No. 581

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:B_

F/G/(3A/4B/4c/4 | dd e2 dB | AF {A}B2 A (3F/E/D/ | E4F2 | F4 BA/F/ |

EE E2 FG | FF F2 F/G/(3A/4B/4c/4 | d4 e>d | {d}c4 | BA/F/ | EE E2 FG |

FF F2 F/G/(3A/4B/4c/4 | d4e2 | {d}f4 (3g/f/e/ | dd e2 cB | AF {A}B2A F/E/D/ | E4  F2 | F4 :|

 

SOFT HORSE REEL. AKA and see “The Rottweiler.” Scottish, Reel. A modern composition by accordion player Phil Cunningham. In an interesting twist, the tune was picked up by Irish musicians, although the original title was lost somewhere in the transition. At some point the title “The Rottweiler” became attached, and under the new title was re-introduced to Edinburgh session musicians. Green Linnet GLCD 1059, “Relativity.”

 

SOFTLY GOOD TUMMAS.  English, Country Dance Tune (cut time). D Minor. Standard tuning. AA’BB. The melody was composed by dancing master Nathaniel Kynaston (1683-1757). Although very little is known about him, Kynaston appears to have been active from 1705 to about 1722 in the Shropshire/Wales border area. Walsh published some 120 of Kynaston’s tunes and dances over several publications; this tune from a 1718. The Selattyn parish register in Shropshire records that a “Nathanial Kynaston, gent., & Mrs. Elizabeth Davies, both of Oswestry” married on August 25th, 1719—although whether this was the dancing master is unknown. Kynaston appears to have been a not uncommon name in Shropshire, and the family includes Sir Humphrey Kynaston, a notorious 16th century highwayman and Robin Hood figure, who preyed on the wool merchants of Shrewsbury. The melody can be heard in the soundtrack of the 2007 historical film Becoming Jane. Barnes (English Country Dance Tunes, vol. 2), 2005; pg. 120. Wild Goose Records WGS 314, Belshazzar’s Feast – “Mr. Kynaston’s Famous Dance” (2003). Wild Goose Records WGS 353, Balshazzar’s Feast – “The Food of Love.”

X:1
T:Softly Good Tummas
M:4/4
L:1/8
Q:360
K:F
FE |: "Dm" DEFD "A" EFGE | "Dm" F2 D2 "A" E2 ^C2 |"Dm" D2 A,2 "C" E2 A,2 | "Bb" F2 A,2 "C" E2 A,2 |
"Dm" DEFD "A" EFGE | "Gm" F2 D2 "A" E2 ^C2 |"Bb" D2 A,2 "C" E2 A,2 |1 "Dm" F2 D4 ^C2 :|2 "Dm" F2 D4
|:"Dm" d^c|"Dm" defd "A" efge|"Gm" f2 d2 "A" e2 ^c2|"Dm"d2 A2 "A" e2 A2|"Gm" f2 A2 "A" e2 ^c2|
"Dm" defd "A" efge|"Dm" fgaf "A" efge| "Gm" defd "A" ^cdec|"Dm" d6 :|

 

SOFTLY ROBIN. English, Country Dance Tune (2/2 time). G Major. Standard tuning. AABB. Published before 1730. Raven (English Country Dance Tunes), 1984; pg. 19.

X:1

T:Softly Robin

M:2/2

L:1/8

K:G

G2G2B4|A2A2c2e2|G2G2B4|d2d2e2g2:|

|:gfed BcdB|A2A2c2e2|gfed BcdB|d2d2e2g2|

gfed BcdB|A2A2c2e2|G2G2B4|d2d2e2g2:|

 

SOGGARTH SHAMUS O'FINN. Irish, Slow Air or Lament (3/4 time). D Minor/Dorian. Standard tuning. AB. This lament is a variant of "Gallagher's Lament." Stanford/Petrie (Complete Collection), 1905; No. 1024, pg. 260.

           

SOHO. Scottish, Hornpipe. D Major. Standard tuning. AABB. So-ho was the cry of the sportsman in Britain when a hare appeared in sight. Kerr (Merry Melodies), vol. 4; No. 284, pg. 30.

X:1

T:Soho

M:C|

L:1/8

R:Hornpipe

S:Kerr – Merry Melodies, vol. 4, No. 284  (c. 1880’s)

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:D

(FG) | A2d2 dedc | B2e2 efed | cdcB ABAG | FGAB A2 (FG) | A2d2 dedc |

B2e2 efed | cdcB Agfe | d2f2d2 :: (ed) | cdcB A2 (ag) | fgfe d2 (d’c’) | bagf gfed |

cdBc A2 (ed) | cdcB A2 (ag) | fgfe d2 (d’c’) | bagf efga | f2d2d2 :|

           

SOIR, UN. French, Valse (3/4 time). D Major. Standard tuning. AA'B. Stevens (Massif Central), 1987, vol. 1; No. 59.

           

SOIR ET MATIN. French, Waltz. D Major. Standard timomg. AABB. Composed by French guitarist Gilles Le Bigot (Douarnenez, France) in 1987 while on tour in the United States with accordionist Serge Desaunay, and dedicated to touring musicians "who go to bed very late and must get up very early." Matthiesen, 1995; pg. 56. Kerry Elkin - "Soir et Matin." Gilles Le Bigot - "Tunes for America." David Surette - "Back Roads."

           

SOLANUS CASEY’S. Irish, Jig. D Major. Standard tuning. AABB. Composed by Falmouth, Massachusetts, musician and writer Bill Black for Father Solanus Casey, an Irish-American fiddler. Black (Music’s the Very Best Thing), 1996; No. 314, pg. 168.

X:1

T: Solanus Casey's

C: © B.Black

Q: 325

R: jig

M: 6/8

L: 1/8

K: D

B | AFD DFA | Bee dcB | AFF dFF | BAF E2 B |

AFD DFA | Bee def | afe dBA | Bdc d2 :|

e | f2 d ecA | BGB ABc | dff aff | baf e2 d |

f2 d ecA | BGB ABc | dcd Bee | cAc d2 :|

           

SOLDIER AND A SAILOR, A. English, Air. The air appears in John Gay's The Beggar's Opera (1729) under the title "A fox may steal your hens, sir." It also appears in Pills to Purge Melancholy, vol. III. Raven (English Country Dance Tunes), 1984; pg. 53.

           

SOLDIER AND SAILOR, THE (An Saigeadoir Agus An Mairnealac). Irish, Air (3/4 time). A Major. Standard tuning. AB. O'Neill (Music of Ireland: 1850 Melodies), 1903/1979; No. 151, pg. 26.

X:1

T:Soldier and Sailor, The

M:3/4

L:1/8

R:Air

N:”Moderate”

S:O’Neill – Music of Ireland (1903), No. 151

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:A

E>G | A2A2 BA | G2 A2 B2 | c2d2c2 | B4 EG | A2A2 BA |

G2 A2 Bd | e2B2G2 | A4 || cd | e2e2c2 | d2c2B2 | A2A3c | B4 cd |

ec dB cA | BG E2 EG | A2 c2 B2 | A4 ||

           


SOLDIER HIS EYES SO BLUE (THERE WAS A). American, Waltz. USA, Arizona. G Major. Standard tuning. In the repertory of Arizona fiddler Kenner C. Kartchner, who said it was from the 1890's.

           

SOLDIER LADDIE. See "Sodger Lad(die)."

           

SOLDIER'S CLOAK. Scottish, English, Canadian, American; Jig. Canada, Cape Breton. USA, New England. England, Lincolnshire. D Major. Standard tuning. AABB (Cole, Lerwick): AA'BB' (Cranford, Miller & Perron). Joshua Gibbons (1778-1871) was a papermaker and musician who lived in Tealby, near Market Rasen in the Lincolnshire Wolds. Sources for notated versions: Winston Fitzgerald (1914-1987, Cape Breton) [Cranford]; Joshua Gibbons manuscript (1823-26, Lincolnshire) [Sumner]. Cole (1000 Fiddle Tunes), 1940; pg. 57. Cranford (Winston Fitzgerald), 1997; No. 192, pg. 75. Lerwick (Kilted Fiddler), 1985; pg. 41. Miller & Perron (New England Fiddlers Repertoire), 1983; No. 49. Ryan’s Mammoth Collection, 1883; pg. 87. Sumner (Lincolnshire Collections, vol. 1: The Joshua Gibbons Manuscript), 1997; pg. 2. Rounder CD7018, Frank Ferrel - “Boston Fiddle: The Dudley Street Tradition.”

X:1

T:Soldier’s Cloak, The

M:6/8

L:1/8

R:Jig

K:D

ABA AFA|d2e f2d|ecA AGF|G3 F2G|ABA AFA|d2e f2d|ecA ABc|1 d3 dcB:|2 d3 d2g||

|:fef def|g3 f/g/af|ecA AGF|G3 F2G|ABA AFA|d2e f2d|ecA ABc|1 d3 d2g:|2 d3 dcB||

           

SOLDIER'S DANCE. AKA and see "The Marchioness," "The Guard House," "The Hullichan Jig," "Chelmsford Races." American, Scottish; Jig or Quadrille. USA, southwestern Pa. A Major (Ford): G Major (Bayard). Standard tuning. AABB. Bayard dates the tune to the 18th century; it appears in The Scottish Country Dance Book from a Skillern collection of 1776. Source for notated version: Hoge MS (a fife MS from southwestern Pa., 1944) [Bayard]. Bayard (Dance to the Fiddle), 1981; No. 587, pg. 517. Ford (Traditional Music in America), 1940; pg. 90. The Scottish Country Dance Book, 1930‑1957, Pt. 16, No. 3 (tune 2).

X:1

T:Soldier’s Dance

M:6/8

L:1/8

R:Jig

S:Ford – Traditional Music in America (1940)

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:A

E|A2A AGA|B2B e2d|c2A AGA|GBG EFG|A2A AGA|B2B e2d|

cBA BAG|A2A A2::c|e2e cde|f2f f2z|G2G EFG|A2 A A2z|

e2e cde|f2f f2z|edc BAG|A2A A2:|

           

SOLDIER’S DREAM, THE.  American, Waltz. G Major. Standard tuning. One part. Source for notated version: the 1938 typewritten manuscript of New Hampshire fiddler John Taggart (1854-1943), entitled “Recollections of a Busy Life” (New Hampshire Historical Society, Concord, N.H.). Taggart wrote in his ms. that the tunes “were all taught me during my boyhood days in Sharon (N.H.), by the various fiddlers in that vicinity” [Miller]. Miller points out that Sharon is in “the heart of the Monadnock Region of southwestern New Hampshire, where fiddlers and contra dances abound to this day” (pref. iv) [Miller]. Miller (Fiddler’s Throne), 2004; No. 373, pg. 220. New Hampshire Fiddlers Union, Miller & Peery – “The Music of John Taggart” (1989).

 

SOLDIER'S GLORY, THE. AKA and see "Old Amzi Eccles Tune," "Voulez Vous Danser{, Mademoiselle?}" "The Life of a Soldier," "Nine-pins (Ninepins) [2]." Cole's Pocket Companion for the Flute, 18‑‑, No. 206 (part 5, pg. 5).

           

SOLDIER'S HORNPIPE. English, Hornpipe. England, Northumberland. G Major. Standard tuning. AABB. Seattle (William Vickers), 1987, Part 2; No. 478.

           


SOLDIER'S JOY [1] (Lutgair An Sigeadoir/t-Saigdiura). AKA and see "French Four" [2], "I Am My Mamma's Darlin' Child," “John White,” "The King's Head," "The King's Hornpipe [1]," "(I) Love Somebody [1]," "Payday in the Army,"  "Rock the Cradle Lucy." Old‑Time, Bluegrass, American, Canadian, English, Irish, Scottish; Breakdown, Scottish Measure, Hornpipe, Reel, Country Dance and Morris Dance Tune. D Major (almost all versions): G Major (Bacon, Bayard‑Simmons). Standard or ADae (Edden Hammons) tunings. AB (Athole, Bayard‑Simmons, Shaw): AABB (most versions): ABCDE (Cooke {Ex. 54}). One of, if not the most popular fiddle tune in history, widely disseminated in North America and Europe in nearly every tradition; as Bronner (1987) perhaps understatedly remarks, it has enjoyed a "vigorous" life. There is quite a bit of speculation on just what the name ‘soldier’s joy’ refers to. Proffered thoughts seem to gravitate toward money and drugs. In support of the latter is the 1920’s vintage Georgia band the Skillet Lickers, who sang to the melody:

***

Well twenty-five cents for the morphine,

and fifteen cents for the beer.

Twenty-five cents for the old morphine

now carry me away from here.

***

Bayard (1981) dates it to "at least" the latter part of the 18th century, citing a version that has become standard in Aird's 1778 collection (Vol. 1, No. 109_) and Skillern's 1780 collection (pg. 21). Kate Van Winkler Keller (1992) says that the hornpipe “Soldier’s Joy” appeared with a song in London in about 1760. John Glen (1891) and Francis Collinson (1966) maintain the first appearance in print of this tune is in Joshua Campbell's 1778 A Collection of the Newest and Best Reels and Minuets with improvements.  It has been attributed to Campbell himself but Collinson notes it is hardly likely as it is a well known folk dance tune in other countries of Europe. There is also a dance by the same name which is "one of the earliest dances recorded in England, but no date of origin has been established. It is still done in Girton Village as part of a festival dance. The tune is also well known in Ireland" (Linscott, 1939). The melody was used in North‑West England morris dance tradition for a polka step, and also is to be found in the Cotswold morris tradition where it appears as "The Morris Reel," collected from the village of Headington, Oxfordshire. Scots national poet Robert Burns set some verses to the tune which were published in his Merry Muses of Caledonia. In the first song of Burns' cantata, The Jolly Beggars, by the soldier, is to the tune of “Soldier's Joy.” Early versions of "Soldier's Joy" can be traced to a Scottish source as far back as 1781; variants can be found in Scandinavia, the French Alps, and Newfoundland (Linda Burman‑Hall, "Southern American Folk Fiddle Styles," Ethnomusicology, vol. 19, #1, Jan. 1975). Jean-Paul Carton identifies a version of “Soldier’s Joy” in the tablature manuscript of French fiddler Pierre Martin, dating from around 1880. He says: “I find (Martin’s) version of Soldier’s Joy—simply referred to as Été [a type of dance], tab #132—surprisingly close to some of the American versions, including the bowing, which is indicated in the tab.” [Reference: Claude Ribouillault, Violon du Poitou, Répertoire de danses en tablatures (Cahier de Pierre Martin, vers 1880), UPCP-Métive, Les Cahiers du CERDO No. 1, CPCP-Métive: 2003].

***

Swedish folklorist Jonas Liljestrom writes to say that Danish folk dance researcher Per Sørensen has traced the history of “Soldier’s Joy” in Denmark and Scandinavia, and has written that it can be found in the third volume of Rutherford's Compleat Collection of two hundred of the most Celebrated Country Dances, Both Old and New, published in Scotland circa 1756. Sørensen’s article includes a transcription of the Rutherford version, nearly identical to the usual melody, and indicates the “Soldier’s Joy” title was used by Rutherford and that it was published with dance directions. Liljestrom cites: Sørensen, Per: "Dansens og musikkens rødder 42: Hornfiffen fra Randers 2.del" ("The Roots of the dance and music part 42: The Randers Hornpipe part 2"), (Published in "Hjemstavnsliv" issue nr. 11, 1999. The magazine is issued by "Landsforeningen Danske Folkedansere" ["National Association of Danish Folk Dancers"] in association with Danske Folkedanseres Spillemandskreds  ["Danish Folkdancers' Association of Fiddlers"].)

***

In America the melody is ubiquitous. It was cited as having commonly been played for country dances in Orange County, New York, in the 1930's (Lettie Osborn, New York Folklore Quarterly), and Bronner (1987) confirms it was a popular piece at New York square dances in the early 20th century. The title appears in a repertoire list of Norway, Maine, fiddler Mellie Dunham (the elderly Dunahm {b. 1853} was Henry Ford's champion fiddler in the late 1920's). Musicologist Charles Wolfe (1982) says it was popular with Kentucky fiddlers. 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, for the same institution by Herbert Halpert in 1939 from the playing of Mississippi fiddlers John Hatcher, W.E. Claunch and Stephen B. Tucker. “Soldier’s Joy” is one of ‘100 essential Missouri tunes’ listed by Missouri fiddler Charlie Walden. It was also recorded by legendary Galax fiddler Emmett Lundy, and is listed as one of the tunes played at a fiddlers' convention at the Pike County Fairgrounds, Alabama (as recorded in the Troy Herald of July 6, 1926) {Cauthen, 1990}. Arizona fiddler Kenner C. Kartchner said: "Every fiddler plays this. Some not so good" (Shumway). Howe (c. 1867) and Burchenal (1918) print a New England contra dances of the same name with the tune. Tommy Jarrell, the influential fiddler from Mt. Airy, North Carolina, told Peter Anick in 1982 that it was a tune he learned in the early 1920's when he first began learning the fiddle, at which time it was known as "I Love Somebody" in his region. Soon after it was known in Mt. Airy as "Soldier's Joy" and, after World War II, as "Payday in the Army." Another North Carolina fiddler, African-American Joe Thompson, played the tune in CFgd tuning. Gerald Milnes (1999, pg. 12) remarks that tune origins were of significant value to West Virginia musicians who often tried to trace tunes to original sources. It was the first tune learned by Randolph County, W.Va., fiddler Woody Simmons (b. 1911). Braxton County fiddler Melvin Wine (1909-1999), says Milnes, used family lore to attribute the tune to his great-grandfather, Smithy Wine, of Civil War era. Smithy, it seems, had been detained by the Confederates in Richmond under charges of aiding Union soldiers. Although imprisoned, his captors found out he was a fiddler and made him play for a dance, and Smithy later associated the tune with this incident, calling it “Soldier’s Joy.” For further information see Bayard's (1944) extensive note on this tune and tune family under "The King's Head." During a Senate campaign in the 1960's the piece was played to crowds by Albert Gore Sr., the fiddling father of the Vice President during the Clinton administration (Wolfe, 1997). 

***

In England, 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 novelist Thomas Hardy, himself an accordionist and fiddler, mentions the tune in his Far From the Madding Crowd:

***

'Then,' said the fiddler, 'I'll venture to name that the right

and proper thing is 'The Soldier's Joy' ‑ there being a

gallant soldier married into the farm ‑ hey, my sonnies,

and gentlemen all?' So the dance begins. As to the merits

of 'The Soldier's Joy', there cannot be, and never were,

two options. It has been observed in the musical circles

of Weatherbury and its vacinity that this melody, at the

end of three‑quarters of an hour of thunderous footing,

still possesses more stimulative properties for the heel

and toe than the majority of other dances at their first opening.

***

At the turn into the 20th century the melody was in the repertoire of fiddler William Tilbury (who lived at Pitch Place, midway between Churt and Thursley, Surrey), the last of a family of village fiddlers who had learned his repertoire from an uncle, Fiddler Hammond (died c. 1870), who had taught him to play and who had been the village musician before him. The author of English Folk-Song and Dance concludes that “Soldier’s Joy” was enjoyed in the tradition of this southwest Surry village about 1870, and was one of a number of country dances which survived well into the second half of the 19th century (pg. 144).

***

Some of the lyrics which have been sung to the tune are:

***

Chicken in the bread tray scratchin' out dough,

Granny will your dog bite? No, child, no.

Ladies to the center and gents to the bar,

Hold on you don't go too far.

***

Grasshopper sittin on a sweet potato vine, (x3)

Along come a chicken and says she's mine.

***

I'm a‑gonna get a drink, don't you wanna go? (x3)

Hold on Soldier's Joy.

***

Twenty‑five cents for the malteen,

Fifteen cents for the beer;

Twenty-five cents for the malteen,

I'm gonna take me away from here.

***

Love somebody, yes I do, (x3)

Love somebody but I won't say who.

***

I am my mama's darling child (x3)

And I don't care for you.

***

Refrain

Dance all night, fiddle all day,

That's a Soldier's Joy.  (Kuntz)

***

The Holy Modal Rounders sang:

***

Bold General Washington and old Rochambeau

Buggering the hessians while the fire light's aglow

Spending all their money, drinking all their pay

They're never going to end the war this a way.

***

In Newfoundland, it is sometimes known as “John White” and sung accompanied by the fiddle or accordion:

***

Did you see, did you see, did you see John White?

Did you see, did you see, did you see John White?

Did you see, did you see, did you see John White?

He's gone around the harbour for to stay all night.

He's gone around the harbour for to get a dozen beer.

He's gone around the harbour and he won't be coming here.

He's gone around the harbour for to get a cup of tea.

If you sees him will you tell him that I wants he?

***

Sources for notated versions: John Carson and The Skillet Lickers (North Georgia) [Kuntz]; J.S. Price (Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma) [Thede]; Ben Smith (Dixon, Missouri) [Christeson]; Willie Woodward (Bristol, N.H.) [Linscott]: Floyd Woodhull (1976), Woodhull's Old Tyme Masters (1941), Pop Weir (c. 1960) {three versions from central New York State} [Bronner]; Bobbie Jamieson (Cullivoe, Yell, Shetland) [Cooke]; George Sutherland (Bressay/Vidlin, Shetland) [Cooke]; Lorin Simmons (Prince Edward Island, Canada, 1930's), James Marr (elderly fiddler from Missouri, 1949), twenty southwestern Pa. fifers and fiddlers [Bayard]; Richard Greene with Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys [Phillips]; a c. 1837-1840 MS by Shropshire musician John Moore [Ashman]; the 1823-26 music mss of papermaker and musician Joshua Gibbons (1778-1871, of Tealby, near Market Rasen, Lincolnshire Wolds) [Sumner]; Elliot Wright (b. 1935, Flat River, Queens County, Prince Edward Island) [Perlman]; fiddler Dawson Girdwood (Perth, Ottawa Valley, Ontario) [Begin]; Isham Monday (Tompkinsville, Monroe County, Ky., 1959) [Titon]. Adam, 1928; No. 2. Ashman (The Ironbridge Hornpipe), 1991; No. 86b, pg. 35. Bacon (The Morris Ring), 1974; pg. 197. Barnes (English Country Dance Tunes, vol. 2), 2005; pg. 121. Bayard (Dance to the Fiddle), 1981; Appendix No. 1A‑B, pgs. 571‑572, and No. 332A‑S, pgs. 303‑310. Begin (Fiddle Music from the Ottawa Valley: Dawson Girdwood), 1985; No. 47, pg. 56. Breathnach (CRÉ V), 1999; 11. Brody (Fiddler’s Fakebook), 1983; pg. 262. R.P. Bronner (Old-Time Music Makers of New York State), 1987; No. 12, pgs. 71‑72 and No. 25, pg. 110. Burchenal (American Country Dances, vol. 1), 1918; pg. 6. Carlin (English Concertina), 1977; pgs. 40‑411. Cazden (Dances from Woodland), 1945; pg. 19. Christeson (Old Time Fiddlers’ Repertory, vol. 2), 1984; pg. 61. Cole (1000 Fiddle Tunes), 1940; pg. 24. Cooke (The Fiddle Tradition of the Shetland Isles), 1986; Ex. 54, pg. 112 and Ex. 55, pg. 113. DeVille, 1905; No. 76. Ford (Traditional Music in America), 1940; pg. 49. Harding Collection (1915) and Harding's Original Collection (1928), No. 20. Honeyman (Strathspey, Reel and Hornpipe Tutor), 1898; pg. 9. Howe (Complete Preceptor for the Accordeon), 1843; pg. 39. Howe (School for the Violin), 1851; pg. 37. Howe (Diamond School for the Violin), pg. 41. Howe (1000 Jigs and Reels), c. 1867; pg. 75. Jarman (Old Time Fiddlin' Tunes), No. or pg. 23. Kaufman (Beginning Old Time Fiddle), 1977; pg. 40. Karpeles & Schofield (A Selection of 100 English Folk Dance Airs), 1951; pg. 7. Keller (Fiddle Tunes from the American Revolution), 1992; pg. 14. Kennedy (Fiddler’s Tune Book), vol. 1, 1951; No. 4, pg. 2. Kerr (Merry Melodies), vol. 1; Set 1, No. 6, pg. 3. Krassen (Appalachian Fiddle), 1973; pg. 15 and 45 (latter includes a 'A' part variation by Charlie Higgins {Galax, Va}). Kuntz (Ragged but Right), 1987; pg. 295‑296 (two versions). Lerwick (Kilted Fiddler), 1985; pg. 21. Linscott (Folk Songs of Old New England), 1939; pg. 110‑111. Lowinger (Bluegrass Fiddle), 1974; pg. 22. McGlashan (Collection of Scots Measures), c. 1780; pg. 32. MacDonald (The Skye Collection), 1887; pg. 38. Martin (Traditional Scottish Fiddling), 2002; pg. 95. O'Neill (Krassen), 1976; pg. 183. O'Neill (Music of Ireland: 1850 Melodies), 1903/1979; No. 1642, pg. 305. O'Neill (Dance Music of Ireland: 1001 Gems), 1907/1986; No. 868, pg. 150. Perlman (The Fiddle Music of Prince Edward Island), 1996; pg. 71. Phillips (Fiddlecase Tunebook), 1989{A}; pg. 38. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), vol. 1, 1994; pg. 227 (two versions). Raven (English Country Dance Tunes), 1984; pg. 166 (appears as "King's Head"). Reiner (Anthology of Fiddle Styles), 1979; pg. 37 (includes several variations). Robbins, No. 56. Roche Collection, 1982, vol. 2; No. 216, pg. 12 (appears as a hornpipe). Ruth (Pioneer Western Folk Tunes), 1948; No. 7, pg. 4 (an alternate title is given as “King’s Head”). Ryan’s Mammoth Collection, 1883; pg. 174. Shaw (Cowboy Dances), 1943; pg. 383. Stewart-Robertson (The Athole Collection), 1884; pg. 150. Sumner (Lincolnshire Collections, vol. 1: The Joshua Gibbons Manuscript), 1997; pg. 22. Sweet (Fifer's Delight), 196