Annotation:Wasp's Frolick (The): Difference between revisions
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''A Wasp took a Frolic and met Johnny Bull,''<br> | ''A Wasp took a Frolic and met Johnny Bull,''<br> | ||
'' | ''Who always fights best when his belly is full.''<br> | ||
''The Wasp thought him hungry by his mouth open wide,''<br> | ''The Wasp thought him hungry by his mouth open wide,''<br> | ||
'' | ''So, his belly to fill, put a sting in his side"''<br> | ||
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Revision as of 02:49, 13 June 2012
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WASP'S FROLICK, THE. American, Jig. G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABC. A composition of Charles P.F. O'Hara, who published a collection of tunes in New York in 1813. America was then at war with Great Britain, and several of O'Hara's compositions honor naval victories and American politicians. The bulk of his collection, however, contains traditional Irish melodies.
The American victory of the sloop-of-war Wasp [1] over the brig-sloop HMS Frolick in October, 1812, was heralded as a triumph in America. This despite the fact that both ships were badly damaged after the engagement and barely seaworthy. A British frigate soon came along and recaptured both vessels, but American gunnery had proved decisive in the original engagement.
This rhyme accompanied the period political cartoon at left:
A Wasp took a Frolic and met Johnny Bull,
Who always fights best when his belly is full.
The Wasp thought him hungry by his mouth open wide,
So, his belly to fill, put a sting in his side"
Source for notated version:
Printed sources: O'Hara (The Gentleman's Musical Repository), 1813.
Recorded sources:
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