Annotation:Johnny's Grey Breeks (1)
Tune properties and standard notation
JOHNNY'S GREY BREEKS [1]. Scottish, March. C Major (Carlin, Hardings, McGlashan): D Major (O'Farrell). Standard tuning (fiddle). AAB (McGlashan): AABB (Carlin, Hardings, O'Farrell). Breeks = pants ('britches'). This was the original air to which the poet Robert Burns set his song "Bonnie Lass O' Ballochmyle (The)," although it has since been supplanted in some collections by a more modern one by William Jackson. It may be that the title refers to a soldier in the 90th Light Infantry, the Perthshire Volunteers, raised in 1794 and who, because the rank and file wore light grey pantaloons with their traditional red coats, were dubbed the "Perthshire Grey Breeks."
Source for notated version:
Printed sources: Carlin (Master Collection), 1984; No. 186, p. 107. Hardings All Round Collection, 1905; No. 22, p. 7. McGlashan (Collection of Scots Measures), 177?; p. 3. O'Farrell (Pocket Companion, vol. II), c. 1806; p. 129.
Recorded sources: