Annotation:Sally Growler
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 ||
SALLY GROWLER. American, Hornpipe. 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.