Annotation:Malbrook

Back to Malbrook

---

MALBROU(C)K. AKA - "Malbrook." AKA and see "Marlbrough," "Marlbrouk," "Molly Brooks," "We Won't Go Home Until Morning." French (originally), English; Jig. C Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABA. This is the tune for the well-known songs "We Won't Go Home Till Morning" or "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow." The title honors John Churchill, first Duke of Marlborough, a famous military figure and intriguer during the reigns of three monarchs; James II, Willaim III and Queen Anne. It was first printed by Valleyre between 1762 and 1778, according to Fuld (1966), in a collection of French street songs, Chansons, Vaudevilles et Ariettes Choisis par Duchemin where it appears as "La Mort de M. de Marlb'roug." It was a favorite of Marie Antoinette, according to Kidson (1915) who learned it about 1781 from a peasant woman called in to nurse her first child; by 1783 it had become fashionable and a number of printings of "Marlbourouck," "Malbrouk," "Adir de Marlbourouck" and other variants occurred. Fuld also notes the melody "Calino Casturame," which appears in the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book, is quite similar. Several writers have speculated on earlier origins for the tune. A famous legend has it that it was learned during the crusades in Jerusalem and was brought back to France by a soldier; Fuld traces this unsubstantiated story to Chateaubriand. Other speculations posit an 18th century hunting song, an ancient Arabic or Spanish song, and an old song called the "Duke de Guise."

It was a popular English country dance tune that appears in a number of printed dance collections and instrumental tutors, the earliest being Longman, Lukey and Broderip's Bride's Favourite Collection of 200 Select Country Dances, Cotillons (London, 1776). It continued to be included in collections through the second decade of the 19th century.

The melody appears in a few music manuscript copybooks in America during the War of Independence (and post-) era, as for example in those of Captain George Bush (see below), John Hoff (a Pennsylvania flute manuscript, 1797-1799), John Curtiss (a Connecticut commonplace book c. 1800), and Henry Livingston, Jr., to name a few. Livingston purchased the estate of Locust Grove, Poughkeepsie, New York, in 1771 at the age of 23. In 1775 he was a Major in the 3rd New York Regiment, which participated in Montgomery's invasion of Canada in a failed attempt to wrest Montreal from British control. An important land-owner in the Hudson Valley, and a member of the powerful Livingston family, Henry was also a surveyor and real estate speculator, an illustrator and map-maker, and a Justice of the Peace for Dutchess County. He was also a poet and musician, and presumably a dancer, as he was elected a Manager for the New York Assembly's dancing season of 1774-1775, along with his 3rd cousin, John Jay, later U.S. Chief Justice of Governor of New York. Source for notated version: the music manuscript of Captain George Bush (1753?-1797), a fiddler and officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolution [Keller].

Source for notated version: A Selection of Cotillions' (Boston, 1808, p. 8) [Morrison].

Printed sources: Aird (Selection of Scotch, English, Irish and Foreign Airs, vol. 3, 1788; No. 661, p. 179. Longman, Lukey, & Broderip (Bride's Favourite Collection of 200 Select Country Dances, Cotillons), 1776; Part IV, p. 92 (appears as "La Malbro"). Howe (Complete Preceptor for the Accordeon), 1843; p. 30. Keller (Fiddle Tunes from the American Revolution), 1992; p. 22. Morrison (Twenty Four Early American Country Dances, Cotillions and Reels for the Year 1976), 1976; p. 51. Thompson (Compleat Collection of 200 Favourite Country Dances, vol. 5), 1788; p. 37.

Recorded sources:

---