[My post to Ballad-L, Feb. 16,, 1999]

Exactly what tune was known as "Captain Kidd" in the 18th century has been a little fuzzy, as the tune was never known to have been printed under that title, and even circumstantial evidence is rather meager. However, Ed Cray in the 'Erotic Muse', 2nd edit., p. 46, 1992, and James Dick, 'Songs of Robert Burns', p. 464, 1903, have pointed out that the tune for Burns' "Ye Jacobites by Name" in 'The Scots Musical Museum', #371, 1792, is a version of the "Put in All" tune in 'Pills to Purge Melancholy', VI, p. 251, 1719-20. C. M. Simpson, 'The British Broadside Ballad and Its Music', #438, 1966, printed the 'Pills' tune and pointed out that it appeared earlier as "Put in All" in 'The Dancing Master', II, 2nd ed, 1714 (and it's in later dance colecttions). I've put an ABC of an earlier version of "Put in All" from Walsh, Hare and Randall's 'Twenty four new Country Dances for the year 1708' on my website as B438 (under Simpson's tentative title, "Sound a Charge").

Bertrand Bronson, in 'The Ballad as Song' printed a version of the SMM tune from a song, "Germany Thomas", commencing "Oh, my loves in Germany, Send him home, send him home". That's a traditional version of a song by Hector MacNeill, published in 1794, and according to Wm. Stenhouse, who quoted the song in 'Illustrations to SMM', it's to the tune in SMM.

Now how do we connect this to "Captain Kidd"? Burns' song "Ye Jacobites by Name" is not entirely original. He used the opening verse of an older song, and, obviously, its tune. The older song, 1746, is "An Excellent new Song on the Jacobites, and the Oppression of the Rebels", and is "To the Tune of, Captain Kid [sic]". This song seems to have been unreprinted, but it's on my website in the Scarce Songs 1 file.

So we have a little 18th century evidence for identifying the "Captain Kidd" tune with "Put in All".

"Jack the Chimney Sweep" (Jack Hall) was undoubtably sung to the same tune, but the 19th century Pitts edition in the Madden Collection (Roud #369) has no tune direction (or, at least, Steve Roud's Index cites where such should appear). The "Coming Down" tune direction for "Captain Kidd" (ZN1837) was undoubtably derived from this ballad. In the same meter as other songs here noted is a song by Thomas D'Urfey in 'Pills', II, p. 182, 1719- 20, "The Moderators Dream", commencing "When Sol to Thetis Pool". This was to 'a pretty Tune, call'd Chimney Sweep.' No directions are given there as to where the music might be found. I have searched through many songbooks and collections of single sheet songs with music for some copy of this song that gave music or an alternative tune direction, but all to no avail.

There is still no solid evidence for connection of "Put in All" with the 17th century tune or tunes with the same meter, "Sound a Charge, Sound a Charge", "Touch and Go, Touch and Go", and "Royal News, Royal News". "Sound a Charge" seems to make its first appearance as the tune for "A Spiritual Song touching doing away of Sin", in a book of 1654, item #572 in Joseph Frank's 'Hobbled Pegasus', 1968.

Simpson printed as #439, a tune from a manuscript of 1642 for a song commencing "farwell to ye parliament, with a Hey, with a Hey", stating that the tune was clearly related to "Put in All". John Ward, however, in JAMS XX, p. 75, 1967, pointed out that Simpson's tune #439 is just another variant of the "Duke of Norfolk"/ "John Anderson, My Jo" tune. The ballad Simpson cited, "Farewell to the parliament" is in 'Rump Songs', I, p. 91, 1662, without tune direction. It's also found in Bodleian MS Rawl. poet. 71, with the tune direction "the Beggar laid him down to sleepe", a tune direction or line from a song that I have not seen elsewhere, so this seems to lead nowhere.

Neither Simpson, nor Ward, make any comments on Ravenscroft's tune for "Remember, O thou man", and its tune was not cited for any broadside ballads that I know of.