Annotation:Highland Man that Kissed His Grannie (1)

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HIGHLAND MAN THAT KISSED HIS GRANNIE [1], THE. AKA - "Highland Man Who Kissed His Granny," "Highlandman Kiss'd his Mother (The)," "Highlandman Kissed His Love." AKA and see "Around the World (1)," "Cavan Reel (The)," "Cottage in the Grove (2) (The)," "Down with the Mail," "Gravel Walk (The)," "Gravel Walks (The)," "Gravelled Walks to Granny (The)," "Faraway Wedding (1) (The)," "Highland Man Kiss'd His Mother (The)," "In and Out the Harbor (1)," "Jakie Stewart's Reel," "Jenny Tie Your Bonnet," "Jenny Lace Your Tight," "Jolly Seven (The)," "Lassie Tie Your Bonnet," "Lassies Tie Your Bonnets," "Lizzie's Bonnet," "Miss Kelly’s," "Miss Percy's Reel," "Rambler's Rest (The)," "Stenson's No. 1," "Tailor's Thimble (2) (The)," "Tie the Bonnet," "Upstairs in a Tent (1)." Scottish, Irish; Reel. C Major ('A' part) & A Dorian ('B' part) {most versions}: D Major {Doyle, Kennedy, Manson}. Standard tuning (fiddle). AB (Gow, Surenne): AAB (Manson): AABB (most versions). As will be see by the number of associated titles, "Highland Man that Kissed His Grannie" is a member of a large and rather amorphous tune family in both Scotland and Ireland. John Glen (1891) finds the earliest printing of the tune in Robert Bremner's 1757 collection (as "The Higlandman kiss'd his mother"). See also the Irish derivative reels "Gravel Walks (The)," "Maid in the Cherry Tree (1) (The)" and "Curragh Races (1)," and "Highlandman (2) (The)," a highland (the parts are sometimes reversed from the Scottish tune). Surenne, evidently finding the title a bit too risqué for early-Victorian sensibilities, edits the title down to "The Highlandman." Charles and Samuel Thompson printed the tune as "Jakie Stewart's Reel" in their Compleat Collection of 200 Favourite Country Dances, vol. 2 (London, 1765). Related tunes are "Jolly Seven (The)" and "Around the World (1)" (O'Neill, Ryan/Cole).

Source for notated version: fiddler Tommy Peoples (Donegal, Ireland) [Brody, Boys of the Lough]; a c. 1847 music manuscript by Ellis Knowles, a musician from Radcliffe, Lancashire, England [Plain Brown Tune Book].

Printed sources: Boys of the Lough, 1977; p. 2. Bremner (A Collection of Scots Reels), 1757; p. 10 (appears as "The Highlandman Kiss'd his Mother"). Brody (Fiddler's Fakebook), 1983; p. 135. DeVille (The Violin Player's Pastime), p. 22. Doyle (Plain Brown Tune Book), 1997; p. 47. Gow (Complete Repository, Part 1), 1799; p. 21. Howe (Musician's Omnibus), No. 2, p. 116. Huntington (William Litten's Fiddle Tunes, 1800-1802), 1977; p. 11. Kennedy (Traditional Dance Music of Britain and Ireland: Reels and Rants), 1997; No. 66, p. 18 (appears as "The Highlandman Kissed His Love"). Kerr (Merry Melodies, vol. 1), c. 1880; Set 8, No. 2, p. 7. Levey (2nd Collection), No. 25 (appears untitled). MacDonald (The Skye Collection), 1887; p. 105 (appears as "The Highlandman Kiss'd His Mother"). Manson (Hamilton’s Universal Tune Book, vol. 1), 1854; p. 136. Stewart-Robertson (The Athole Collection), 1884; p. 51 (appears as "The Highlandman Kissed His Mother"). Surenne (Dance Music of Scotland), 1852; p. 37 (appears as "The Highlandman"). Wilson (Companion to the Ballroom), 1815; p. 73 (appears as "Highlandman kiss'd his mother").

Recorded sources: Philo 1042, Boys of the Lough – "Piper's Broken Finger" (1976. Learned from Donegal fiddler Tommy Peoples).

See also listing at:
Alan Snyder's Cape Breton Fiddle Recordings Index [1]

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