The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #61757 Message #995891
Posted By: Bob Bolton
03-Aug-03 - 09:48 AM
Thread Name: Tune Req: Put Your Little Foot / Varsouvienne
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: MIDI Add: 'Put Your Little Foot'
G'day dulcimer,
I probably mentioned something along this line in a previous thread, but Varsovienne is French for (~) "woman from Warsaw". This was the title of a poem or song being sung in France ... As part of their revolutionary fervour for Poland. Unfortunately, it has little to do with the dance, which appears to be Swedish (they have the best, the earliest and the most complicated versions).
The dance had a worldwide craze ... roughly in the 1880s ... and the name is "adapted" (corrupted ...?) in most countires. In Australia the final "e" is sounded ... and the spelling generally follows to make if "Varsovienna". This probably also happened in America. The was mention of "Varsouviana" ... well I've struck Italian usage as "Vesuviana"! The most abstracted would be the German settlers in Queensland who sometimes called the dance Vater Weisskopf ... more or less "Father Christmas" (Father Whitehead)!
Incidentally, we have dozens of different Varso tunes here in Australia - from a wide variety of national origins. For some reason (like: it's a great dance!) the Varso survived for generations beyond the time of its international craze ... and is still popular in remote areas, like parts of Tasmania ... quite outside of "folk revival" circles.