Annotation:Barney Leave the Girls Alone

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X:1 T:Barney Leave the Girls Alone M:C L:1/8 R:Air B:Edward Riley – “Riley Flute Melodies vol. 2” (New York, 1817, No. 160, p. 47) F: https://archive.org/details/flutemelodies0000rile/page/46/mode/2up Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion K:D d>a ag fd d2|Be {f}ed cA A2|a>bag f<d df|B>d c>e d>ef>g| abag f<d’d2|B<d ed c<e A2|a>b a>g f<d’ d>c|B>d c>e df d2| f>d g>e fddf|Be {f}ed cAA g|f>d g>e fd f>g|B>d c>e d2 de| f>d g>e f<a d<f|be {f}ed cAA g|f<d g<e f<a d<f|B>d c>e d<f d2||

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Herring I, John Frederick; Barney, Leave the Girls Alone; York Museums Trust; http://www.artuk.org/artworks/barney-leave-the-girls-alone-8169

BARNEY LEAVE THE GIRLS ALONE. AKA and see "Polly Put the Kettle On (1). Irish, Air (whole time). D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. "Barney leave the girls alone" is the name of a comic song usually set to the tuneo fo "Polly Put the Kettle On (1)," though also sung to the air for "Rakes of Mallow (The)." The first couple of stanzas go:

Judy leads me such a life,
Oh Judy leads me such a life,
The devil never had such a wife,
What can the matter be?

Chorus:
Barney leave the girls alone,
Barney leave the girls alone,
Barney leave the girls alone,
And let them quiet be.

Shall I sing a little song
'bout Judy put the kettle on?
She's barking at me all day long,
What can the matter be?

Barney you're a wicked boy,
Barney you're a wicked boy,
And what's more you will kiss and toy
With all the girls you see.

There is an interesting story that sounds apocryphal concerning the song's association with Commodore Joshua Barney of the early United States Navy. According to the Daughters of the American Revolution Magazine:

Captain Barney not only had all the elements of an excellent officer but at an early date showed the traits of an efficient and tactful diplomat. The very year of the success of the [American warship] Hyder-Ally [1782], Barney was selected to convey important dispatches to Benjamin Franklin in Paris and bring back a quantity of bullion lent by the French king to the United States. It was on this trip that a kiss was publicly bestowed on him at a Court function by Queen Marie Antoinette, which was the origin of the old song, “Barney leave the girls Alone,” composed by an Irish officer who witnessed the affair.

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