The Fiddler’s
Companion
© 1996-2008 Andrew Kuntz
_______________________________
Home Alphabetical Files References
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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
***
St. Nicholas, Help of Sailors
***
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.
SOAP FAT MAN, THE. AKA and see "Old Dan Tucker." Old‑Time,
Breakdown.
SOAP('S) IN THE
WASHPAN.
AKA and see "Hot Corn." Old‑Time,
Breakdown.
SOAPSUDS OVER THE FENCE
[1]. Old‑Time, Breakdown.
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
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,
SOFT DEAL BED, THE. Irish, Air (3/4 time).
X:1
T:Soft Deal Bed, The
M:3/4
L:1/8
N:”A
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
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
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:1T:Softly Good TummasM:4/4L:1/8Q:360K:FFE |: "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.
X:1
T:
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 (
SOIR ET MATIN. French, Waltz. D Major. Standard timomg. AABB. Composed by French
guitarist Gilles Le Bigot (
SOLANUS CASEY’S. Irish, Jig. D Major. Standard tuning. AABB. Composed by
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
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