Annotation:Kafoozalum

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KAFOOZALUM. AKA and see "Katie Bairdie," "London Bridge (1)," "Old Mrs. Huddledee," "Sherrifmuir," "Will You Go to Sheriff Moor?," "Will You Go to Sherriff Morr?." Scottish, Highland Fling, Highland Schottische. D Major (Kerr): A Major (Balmoral, Milne). Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. The tune is quite similar to "The Stewart's March" and "London Bridge is Falling Down" family of tunes. The title is from a humorous stage piece called "Ka Foozle-Um" which was written by S. Oxon and published in New York in 1866. The song is a mock-Oriental piece like "Abdulla Bulbul Ameer" which became popular in college songsters of the 1870's and 1880's. It is curious, Cazden (1982) points out, since it is so derivative of the Scottish original, that the melody became known by the American title in Britain in the later 19th century and was so published in Kerr's collection; Peter Kennedy's volume 100 English Folk Dance Tunes (1951) gives the title "London Bridge (Ka-foo-zalum)". Oxon's words begin:

In ancient days there liv'd a Turk,
A horrid beast, e'en in the East,
Who did the Prophet's holy work,
As barber of Jerusalem.
He had a daughter fair and smirk,
Complexion fair, and light brown hair,
With naught about her like a Turk,
Except her name, Kafoozalem!

CHO:
My own Kafoozalem, Kafoozalem,
My own Kafoozalem, The daughter of the Barber!

There are numerous parodies extent, some quite bawdy. One, played independently by English trad. musicians Scan Tester and Walter Bulwer was called "Old Mrs. Huddledee" from the rhyme sung to it:

Old Mrs Huddledee,
Come to bed to cuddle me.
Cock your leg right over me,
To keep your belly warm.

Source for notated version:

Printed sources: Kerr (Merry Melodies, vol. 1), c. 1880; No. 15, p. 20. J. Kenyon Lees (Balmoral Reel Book), c. 1910; p. 16. Milne (Middleton’s Selection of Strathspeys, Reels &c. for the Violin), 1870; p. 35.

Recorded sources: "Bob Smith's Ideal Band, Better than an Orchestra" (1977).

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