Tune Req: Nancy Dawson

Subject: Tune Req: Help: Searching for song Nancy Dawson
From: GUEST,Anika from Berlin Germany
Date: 15 Dec 04 - 06:36 AM

Hi, my name is Anika and I write my thesis about the music in the film "Master and Commander". There are several irish traditionals in it. I`m searching for the sheet music of the song "Nancy Dawson". It is a title of the soundtrack in the folk medley.

Please help me. It is urgent.

Sincerly yours

Anika

Subject: Lyr/Tune Add: NANCY DAWSON / PISS ON THE GREEN
From: John in Brisbane
Date: 15 Dec 04 - 08:48 AM

Anika, you'll find this tune in the same way that I described for O'Sullivan's March.

Interestingly this is another example of a tune used for children's song. The alternative tune names are 'Piss Upon The Grass' or 'Piss On The Grass'.

Regards, John

X: 1
T:Nancy Dawson
T:Piss on the Green
M:6/8
L:1/8
Q:155
S:George Spencer m/s, Leeds,1831
R:Jig
O:Traditional - England
A:Leeds
N: Nancy Dawson is the tune now used for our children's song "Here we
N: go 'round the Mulberry Bush". The real Nancy Dawson, for whom the
N: song was written, was a popular stage dancer in 18th Century England.
N: A biography of Nancy Dawson was published in 1760. She died in 1767
N: and was buried in the Chapel of St. George the Martyr, Queen Square,
N: Bloomsbury, where her tombstone says N: only, "Here lies Nancy
N: Dawson". This well-known dance tune appeared in performances of
N: John Gay's ballad opera The Beggar's Opera (1729)
K: C
%%titlefont Wyld-Bold 20
%%subtitlefont Wyld 16
%%partsfont Wyld-Bold 12
%%gchordfont Wyld 12
%%infofont Wyld-Italic 14
%%textfont Wyld 12
%%vocalfont Wyld-Bold 13
%%wordsfont Wyld 14
%%headerfont Wyld 12
%%footerfont Wyld 12
K:G Major
G2GG2B | d2BG2B | A2BA2B | A2G FED | G2GG2B | d2BG2B | A2GF2E | D3"cr"D3 |]
P:Chorus
[| A2BA2B | A2G FED | B2cd2e | d2g (dBG) | c2Bc2d | e2f (gfe) | dcB AGF | G3"cr"G3
|]
W: VERSE:
W: Of all the girls in our town
W: The black , the fair , the red, the brown
W: That dance and prance it up and down,
W: There's none like Nancy Dawson
W: CHORUS:
W: Her easy mien, her shape so neat
W: She foots, she trips, she looks so sweet
W: Her every motion's so complete
W: I die for Nancy Dawson

Subject: RE: Tune Req: Help: Searching for song Nancy Dawson
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 15 Dec 04 - 08:50 AM

Not Irish, but an English song of the 18th century, set to an older Anglo-Scottish tune originally called Piss upon the Grass. More commonly known nowadays as the tune for the children's song Here we go round the Mulberry Bush.

See http://www.folk-network.com/products/notes/nancydawson.html for more information.

Subject: RE: Tune Req: Help: Searching for song Nancy Dawso
From: Charley Noble
Date: 15 Dec 04 - 09:44 AM

John wins by a nose!

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: Tune Add: NANCY DAWSON / MISS DAWSON'S HORNPIPE
From: masato sakurai
Date: 15 Dec 04 - 10:52 AM

In Aloys Fleischmann, ed., Sources of Irish Traditional Music c. 1600-1855, 2 vols. (New York: Garland, 1998), these tunes are collected:

#757: "Piss Upon the Grass" (Caledonian Country Dances, 1737-40, III 236)
#1627: "A Medley" (Love in a Village: A Comic Opera, 1763, I 15)
#1638: ["Nancy Dawson"] (Kane O'Hara, Midas: A Comic Opera, 1764, III 50)
#1771: "Nancy Dawson Hornpipe" (A Collection of Violin Music by James Gillespie, 1768, III 111e)
#2486: "Nancy Dawson" (J. Aird, ed., A Selection of Scotch, English, Irish and Foreign Airs, 1790-97, I 112)
#3844: "Nancy Dawson" (B. Cooke, Forty Eight Irish Country Dances, c1805, I 17)
#6436: "Nancy Dawson" (J.P. Lynch, ed., The Melodies of Ireland, 1845-46, 34)

From Chappell:

(1) "Nancy Dawson, or Miss Dawson's Hornpipe"

X:1
T:Nancy Dawson, or Miss Dawson's Hornpipe
M:6/8
L:1/8
B:William Chappell, Old English Popular Music, [1838, 1840, 1893], rpt. 1961
K:G
G|G2 G G2 B|d2 B G2 B|A2 B A2 B|
w:Of all the girls in our_ town, The black, the fair, the
A2 G FE D|G2 G G2 B|d2 B G2 B|
w:red, the brown,_ That dance and prance it up and down, There's
A2 G F2 E|D3 D2||D|A2 A A2 B|A2 G FE D|
w:none like Nan-cy Daw-son. Her ea-sy mien, her shape so neat,_ She
d2 d d2 e|d2 c BA G|c2 B c2 d|
w:foots, she trips, she looks so sweet,_ Her ev'-ry mo-tion's
e2 f g2 e|d2 c B2 A|G3 G2||
w:so com-plete, I die for Nan-cy Daw-son.

Two other descendants are:

(2) "I Saw Three Ships"

X:2
T:I Saw Three Ships
M:3/4 %should have been 4/4
L:1/8
B:William Sandys, Christmas Carols, Ancient and Modern (1833; rpt. n.p., Folcroft, 1976)
K:G
D2|G3/2 G/ A3/2 B/ d3/2 B/|A3/2 c/ B3/2 G/ G3/2 B/|
w:I saw three ships come sail-ing in On Christ-mas day, on
A3/2 D/ D3/2 D/ G3/2 G/|A3/2 B/ d3/2 B/ A3/2 c/|
w:Christ-mas day I saw three ships come sail-ing in On
B3/2 G/ G3/2 A/ B/ A3/2|G4|]
w:Christ-mas day in the morn-ing.

(3) "Garden Hymn"
See The Southern Harmony

Subject: Tune Add: PISO AR Y GWAIR / PISS ON THE GRASS
From: masato sakurai
Date: 15 Dec 04 - 07:41 PM

Broadsides with various sets of lyrics are at Bodleian Library Broadside Ballads.

    nancy dawson [tune]

A Welsh version titled "Piso ar y Gwair" (click here) is not different from the Englsih one:

X: 49
T:Piso ar y Gwair
T:Piss on the Grass
M:6/8
L:1/8
Q:130
S:Mary Richards' (1787-1877) Collection
R:Jig
A:Wales
Z:[e-mail]
K:G
G2G G>AB/c/|d2BG2B|A2BA2B|A2B AFD|G2G G>AB/c/|d2BG2B|A2GF2E|D3D3:||!
A2BA2B|A2B AFD|B2cd2e|d2e dBG|c2Bc2d|e2f gfe|dcB AGF|G3G3:||

Subject: RE: Tune Req: Help: Searching for song Nancy Dawson
From: GUEST,Anne Croucher
Date: 15 Dec 04 - 08:12 PM

See how she comes to bring surprise
With joy and pleasure in her eyes
To give delight she always tries
So means my Nancy Dawson

I gather from my laconic 'etc' that there are more verses but as usual I made no record of my source.

It was/is used by a couple of Morris sides - possibly Royton and almost definitely Manley - at least it was in the 1960's. The figure 'cross morris' or 'number four' was also called 'Nancy' even if not danced to the tune.

Anne

Subject: RE: Tune Req: Help: Searching for song Nancy Dawson
From: masato sakurai
Date: 15 Dec 04 - 10:20 PM

"See how she comes to bring surprise ..." is the second stanza, which Chappell quoted in his Popular Music of the Olden Time, vol. 2 (pp. 719-20). He says, "The words are printed in The Bullfinch and other collections of songs, as well as one of the engraved portraits." The words were virtually unknown in the middle of the 19th century, since someone asked for them in Notes & Queries in 1860 (Click here, for more verses).

Subject: RE: Tune Req: Help: Searching for song Nancy Dawson
From: masato sakurai
Date: 16 Dec 04 - 08:01 PM

See also Early American Secular Music and Its European Sources, 1589-1839: An Index:

Nancy Dawson

Piss Upon the Grass

Subject: Lyr Add: NANCY DAWSON
From: masato sakurai
Date: 21 Dec 04 - 01:50 AM

From Notes and Queries, Vol. 10 2nd S. (241) Aug 11 1860, pp. 110-111.

Of all the girls in our town,
The black, the fair, the red, the brown,
That dance and prance it up and down,
There's none like Nancy Dawson!

Her easy mien, her shape so neat,
She foots, she trips, she looks so sweet,
Her ev'ry motion's so complete,
I die for Nancy Dawson!

See how she comes to give surprise,
With joy and pleasure in her eyes;
To give delight she always tries,
So means my Nancy Dawson.

Was there no task t' obstruct the way,
No Shuter droll, nor house so gay,
A bet of fifty pounds I'll lay,
That I gain'd Nancy Dawson.

See how the Op'ra takes a run,
Exceeding Hamlet, Lear, or Lun,
Though in it there would be no fun,
Was 't not for Nancy Dawson.

Tho' Beard and Brent charm ev'ry night,
And female Peachum's justly right,
And Filch and Lockit please the sight,
'Tis crown'd by Nancy Dawson.

See little Davy strut puff--
'P-- on the Op'ra and such stuff,
My house is never full enough,
A curse on nancy Dawson!'

Though Garrick he has had his day,
And forc'd the town his laws t' obey;
Now Johnny Rich* is come in play,
With help of Nancy Dawson.

    * Alias Harlequin Lun.