Annotation:Grass Widow Hornpipe: Difference between revisions
No edit summary |
No edit summary |
||
| Line 3: | Line 3: | ||
<br /> | <br /> | ||
<br /> | <br /> | ||
Anatoly Liberman<ref>Anatoly Liberman, Blog: '''Oxford Etymologist''', Feb. 18th 2009 [https://blog.oup.com/2009/02/grasswidows/]</ref> | Anatoly Liberman<ref>Anatoly Liberman, Blog: '''Oxford Etymologist''', Feb. 18th 2009 [https://blog.oup.com/2009/02/grasswidows/]</ref> cites Thomas Ratcliffe's explanation in '''Notes and Queries''' in 1884: | ||
<blockquote> | |||
''He said that if a man had to work for months on end at a long distance from home and his'' | ''He said that if a man had to work for months on end at a long distance from home and his'' | ||
''wife’s conduct “was not circumspect enough,” she was said “to be ‘out at grass’; and when'' | ''wife’s conduct “was not circumspect enough,” she was said “to be ‘out at grass’; and when'' | ||
''her behavior was such that her next-door neighbors could not any longer bear it, a besom,'' | ''her behavior was such that her next-door neighbors could not any longer bear it, a besom,'' | ||
''mop, or broom was put outside the front door, and reared against the house wall.'' | ''mop, or broom was put outside the front door, and reared against the house wall.'' | ||
</blockquote> | |||
|f_printed_sources=A.S. Bowman ('''J.W. Pepper Collection of Five Hundred Reels, Jigs, etc.'''), Phila., 1908; No. 103, p. 23. | |f_printed_sources=A.S. Bowman ('''J.W. Pepper Collection of Five Hundred Reels, Jigs, etc.'''), Phila., 1908; No. 103, p. 23. | ||
}} | }} | ||
Revision as of 19:19, 5 September 2021
X:1 T:Grass Widow Hornpipe, The M:2/4 L:1/8 R:Hornpipe B:A.S. Bowman – “J.W. Pepper Collection of Five Hundred Reels, Jigs, B:etc.” (Phila., 1908, No. 103, p. 23) Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion K:A E|:AA A/B/c/d/|e/f/e/d/ c/d/e/a/|ff/a/ ee/a/|f/e/d/c/ e/d/B/c/| AA A/B/c/d/|e/f/e/d/ c/d/e/a/|gg/b/ ee/g/|a/f/^d/f/ e/=d/c/B/:| |:^AF ^E/F/G/A/|B/^A/B/c/ d/c/B/=A/|GE ^D/E/F/G/|A/G/A/B/ cA| G/E/F/G/ A/B/c/A/|B/^A/B/c/ d/e/f/g/|a/f/e/f/ e/c/A/B/|1c/d/B/c/ Ac:|2 c/d/B/c/ A||
GRASS WIDOW HORNPIPE. American, Hornpipe (2/4 time). A Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB'. A woman is called a grass widow whose husband had to leave home (for example, obliged to work far away from his family), alternatively, she may be a divorced woman or a woman living apart from her husband. The J.W. Pepper collection appears to be a collection of variety and minstrel stage dance tunes, and, if so, it may be a reference to the spouse of a touring performer. The term "straw widow" is used in Europe.
Anatoly Liberman[1] cites Thomas Ratcliffe's explanation in Notes and Queries in 1884:
He said that if a man had to work for months on end at a long distance from home and his wife’s conduct “was not circumspect enough,” she was said “to be ‘out at grass’; and when her behavior was such that her next-door neighbors could not any longer bear it, a besom, mop, or broom was put outside the front door, and reared against the house wall.
