Annotation:Lads of North Tyne

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LADS OF NORTH TYNE. AKA and see "Boys of Bluehill (The)," "Boys of North Tyne." English, Hornpipe. D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. The tune is best-known under the "Boys of Bluehill" title, although the provenance of the tune has still to be determined. It appears that the North Tyne titles may be north-east English title variants, based on the popularity of the tune in the region (along with some condensing of the the titles e.g. 'boys' and 'lads'). So far the "North Tyne" titles do not appear to be of great antiquity, appearing in the mid-19th century. Northumbrian piccolo player Billy Ballantine, recorded by Peter Kennedy in 1954, called the tune "Lads of North Tyne," as did Northumbrian piper Jack Armstrong [1]. The Northumbrian Pipers' Tune Book (first published in 1936) concludes:

A certain amount of borrowing between different areas and even countries must always have taken place. We can see this process going on, even today. There is no doubt in our minds, for instance, that the re-naming of Boys of the Blue Hills as Lads of North Tyne is very recent.

Source for notated version:

Printed sources: Raven (English Country Dance Tunes), 1984; p. 180.

Recorded sources: Folktrax FTX-119, Billy Ballantine - "The Lads of North Tyne" (1954).

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