DonD wrote: "(I danced with Nancy Cronan) and her Grannie on the Head - what the Hell is that?"

I always thought it referred to where Grannie lived - on the "Head", which is a jut of land protruding from the main part of land. For example, I live in a small village called North Head. I'm on the Head, eh? My friend lives half way down the island on another "Head" called Ingalls.

I may be far afield on this, but Willie-O's reply: "Duh...it's a dance figure. Context is all," doesn't sound like something Johnny Burke would toss in as context.

I have before me an original copy of Songs of Newfoundland printed and distributed compliments of The Bennett Brewing Co., LTD, St John's, Newfoundland, in which Bennett acknowledges the words to the songs came from The Gerald S. Doyle Song Book. In it, the word Head is definitely capitalized and printed in quotation marks (as I have it on my own site), perhaps to emphasize its proper intended meaning, as opposed to the local preacher coming "with the pulpit on his head" without capitalization or quotation marks printed just two stanzas before.

See: http://www.wtv-zone.com/phyrst/audio/nfld/01/kelligrews.htm

GEST Songs of Newfoundland and Labrador:
http://www.wtv-zone.com/phyrst/audio/nfld/