Annotation:Naked and Bare

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NAKED AND BARE. Scottish, Jig. Scotland, Unst, Shetland Islands. G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. The title refers to the state of a ship's spars, devoid of rigging. Indeed, the Boys of the Lough recorded it in a medley with "The Full Rigged Ship" (the opposite condition of a sailing ship). It comes from the playing of fiddler John Stickle, Unst, Shetland, great, great grandson of the legendary Friedamman Stickle. He was recorded in the field by collector, composer, dance instructor and musician Pat Shuldham-Shaw in February, 1947. The band Fiddler's Bid also identified it (on liner notes to the 2005 album) as a slow bride's march, which does not preclude the bare-spar meaning of the tune, only that it performed duty as a double-entendre.

Source for notated version:

Printed sources: Barnes (English Country Dance Tunes, vol. 2), 2005; p. 91.

Recorded sources: Flying Fish 070, Boys of the Lough – "Wish You Were Here" (1978). Greentrax 277, Fiddler's Bid – "Naked and Bare" (2005).

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