Annotation:New Stepney March

Back to New Stepney March

NEW STEPNEY MARCH. English, March (6/8 time). G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AB. Stepney was a rural suburb of London and boasted a more humble alternative to the pleasure gardens at Vauxhall and Ranelagh. The elites had their galleries and meticulously cultivated gardens, while the common man has Stepney. Stepney has long been absorbed into greater London.

At Stepney now, with Cakes & Ale,
Our Tars their Mistresses regale,
What Humour sits on ev'ry Brow,
John grows Polite, he knows not how;
And marks with meaning grin, below
How Frank, who, extended on the Beach,
Surveys the Port he hopes to reach;
There Kit Admires, with keener taste,
The Trollop, whom he weds in haste
And jovial James, with lifted Glass,
Drinks to and Toasts, his fav'rite Lass,
Mean while the Sounde their fidler Scrapes,
With fist and Elbow, Richard apes:
And equal mirth's, in distant views,
Attracks the eyes of Various Crews.

Source for notated version:

Printed sources: Aird (Selection of Scotch, English, Irish and Foreign Airs, vol. 3), Glasgow, 1788; No. 539, p. 205 [1].

Recorded sources: