Annotation:I'm Over Young to Marry Yet (1)

Back to I'm Over Young to Marry Yet (1)

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I'M OVER/OWRE YOUNG TO MARRY YET [1]. AKA and see "Bonny Lad to Marry Me (A)." Scottish, Irish, English, American; Reel. G Major (most versions): C Major (Bremner, McGlashan). Standard tuning (fiddle). AAB (most versions): AABB (Bremner). Similar to "Roy's Wife of Aldivalloch," "Lady Frances Wemys' Reel," "Ruffian's Rant (The)," "Coig na Scalan," "Ben Nevis," "Old Virginia Reel (1)," "Kilt is My Delight (The)." John Glen (1891) finds the earliest appearance of this tune in Robert Bremner's 1757 collection, although it also appears early in print in Neil Stewart's 1761 collection. See also the related tunes "Were You at the Fair," "Pretty Lass (The)," "Donny Brook (1)." The title comes from the Scots poet Robert Burns, who reworked an older (and somewhat bawdy) song called "I'm o'er young to marry" to make it more acceptable. The chorus goes:

I'm o'er young, I'm o'er young,
I'm o'er young to marry yet,
I'm o'er young, 'twad be a sin
To tak' me frae my mammie yet.

New York writer, researcher and musician Don Meade says the tune is "played as a fling in Ireland and is used as the air to many songs, including 'Limerick Races'".

Source for notated version:

Printed sources: Alburger (Scottish Fiddlers and Their Music), 1983; Ex. 67, p. 106. Breathnach (CRÉ II), 1976; No. 198. Bremner (A Collection of Scots Reels), 1757; p. 28. Cole (1000 Fiddle Tunes), 1940; p. 9. Huntington (Willam Litton's), 1977; p. 10. Kennedy (Fiddlers Tune Book), vol. 2, 1954; p. 14. Kerr (Merry Melodies), vol. 1; Set 12, No. 2, p. 9. McGlashan (A Collection of Reels), 1786; p. 46. Raven (English Country Dance Tunes), 1984; p. 162. Ryan's Mammoth Collection, 1883; p. 31. Wilson (Companion to the Ball Room), 1816; p. 33.

Recorded sources:

See also listing at:
Jane Keefer's Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources [1]

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