Annotation:Carle an' the King come

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CARLE AN' THE KING COME. Scottish, Air (4/4 time). G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB (McGibbon): AA'BB' (Gow). This melody appears in Allan Ramsay's pastoral play The Gentle Shepherd, published 1725. Although the stage production predates Gay's famous Beggar's Opera (1729), it was not performed until after Gay's work became a hit in London. In the Shetland Islands the tune is known as "Carle as da King Come." A carle in Scottish usage is a 'bloke', or common man, but the song itself (of which there are many versions) is an old Jacobean air, a pean to the house Stuart.

Carle, an the king come--
Carle, an the king come,
Thou shalt dance, and I will sing,
Carle, an the king come.
An somebody were come again,
Then somebody maun cross the main;
And ev'ry man shall hae his ain,
Carle, an the king come. ....... [Cunningham, Songs of Scotland, 1825]

Poet Robert Burns 'improved' the song.

Source for notated version:

Printed sources: Gow (Complete Repository), Part 4, 1817; p. 20. McGibbon (Scots Tunes, book III), 1762; p. 53. Oswald (Caledonian Pocket Companion, Book 6), 1760; p. 15.

Recorded sources:

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