Annotation:Cobbler's Reel (1)

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COBBLER'S REEL [1] (Reel du cordonnier). AKA - "Reel du p'tit cordonnier." AKA and see "You Married My Daughter but Yet You Didn’t." Canadian, New England; Reel. G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. Perhaps the original title for the tune, however it has had longevity as a Québec folk-song under the title "Tout d'un coup tu maries ma fille." "Cobbler's Reel", or "Reel du p'tit cordonnier", was popularized by the playing and singing of accordion great Tommy Duchesne (1909-1986, originally from Saguenay, Quebec), Oscar Tiffault and others. The chorus goes:

Tout d'un coup tu maries ma fille,
Tout d'un coup tu la maries pas;
Tout d'un coup tu pars en Egypte,
Tout d'un coup tu restes au Canada.

The reference to Egypt could stem from the 1956 Suez Canal crisis, in which Canadians formed some of the peacekeeping force established by the U.N., or to late 19th/early 20th century Anglo-Franco Colonial excursions to Egypt and the Sudan.

Source for notated version: Danny Gardella [Phillips].

Printed sources: Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes, vol. 1), 1994; p. 55.

Recorded sources: Tommy Duchesne - "De l'Accordéon à La Manière de Tommy Duchesne."

See also listing at:
See Frank Mackay's article "Qui se souvient de l'ingénieur Percy Girouard?" [1] for more on the Egypt reference.
Hear Oscar Tiffault's recording at Le plus grand site folklorique [2]
Hear Tommy Duchesne's recording on youtube.com [3]

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