Annotation:Sally Growler

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X:1 % T:Sally Growler M:2/4 L:1/8 R:Hornpipe S:Ryan’s Mammoth Collection (1883) Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion K:G (3d/e/f/ | .g.f.e.d |{d}c/B/c/e/ d/B/G/D/ | E/G/c/e/ D/G/B/d/ | ^c/b/a/f/ d/^d/e/f/ | .g.f.e.d |{d}c/B/c/e/ d/B/G/D/ | E/G/c/e/ d/B/G/A/ ||1 B/d/c/A/ G :|2 B/d/c/A/ Gz || |: g/d/B/d/ G/B/d/g/ | b/g/d/g/ B/d/g/b/ | a/f/d/f/ A/d/f/a/ | c'/a/f/d/ c/A/F/D/ | g/d/B/d/ G/B/d/g/ | b/g/d/g/ B/d/g/b/ | c'/a/f/d/ ^c/d/e/f/ |1 gbg z :|2 gbg ||

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SALLY GROWLER. American, Hornpipe (2/4 time). G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. A composition credited to Harry Carleton in Ryan’s Mammoth Collection (1883). Nothing is known of the elusive Harry Carleton, who contributed several tunes to Ryan’s, and the name may be a pseudonym. The title is in quotation marks in Ryan’s, and the meaning of the title is obscure. There is a particularly unattractive Atlantic coast bottom-dwelling fish named the Sea Raven, popularly called a “Sally Growler” ('horsehead' or 'toadfish') although what connection this might have is unknown. Don Meade believes the names of both the tune and the fish derive from another, now-obscure source. As with several tunes from the Ryan's/Cole's collections (for decades the only large source for fiddle tunes) the hornpipe was picked up by fiddlers around the United States, particularly in Texas where it was absorbed into 20th century Texas fiddling repertoire. It occasionally surfaces in American fiddle contests.