Annotation:Lilla's a Lady

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LILLA'S A LADY. AKA - "Lila's a Lady." Scottish, Waltz and Air. G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AAB. The words to the song "Lilla's a Lady" were written by English writer, poet, songwriter and dramatist Thomas Haynes Bayly (1797-1839) as part of his "Songs to Rosa." The words begin:

The church bells are ringing, the village is gay,
And Lilla is deck'd in her bridal array.
She's woo'd and she's won
By a proud baron's son--
And Lilla's a lady.

And see o'er the valley who rides at full speed,
A gallant young knight on a spirited steed,
And why starts the youth
When they tell him the truth--
That Lilla's a lady.

The song was set to a German air.

Researcher Conor Ward has found a version in the music manuscript collection of Leonard-Kernan c. 1844-1850 of Abbeyshrule, Co. Longford, under the title "Lilly Bo."

Source for notated version:

Printed sources: Kerr (Merry Melodies, vol. 3), c. 1880's; No. 303, p. 33. Manson (Hamilton's Universal Tune Book, vol. 2), 1846; p. 68.

Recorded sources:

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