Annotation:Young Widow (The)

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YOUNG WIDOW. American, Country Dance Tune (6/8 time). G Major ('A' part), D Mixolydian ('B' part) & D Major ('C' part). Standard tuning (fiddle). AABC (Songer): AABBC (Barnes, Morrison). The tune dates to c. 1788 and it, as well as dance instructions, appear in numerous American musicians' and dancers' manuscript collections from the last decade of the 18th century. It has not been traced to British antecedents and appears to be an American invention. Morrisson (1976) remarks: "The unusual method of progression is its most distinctive feature."

Source for notated version:

Printed sources: Barnes (English Country Dance Tunes), 1988. Morrison (Twenty-Four Early American Country Dances, Cotillions & Reels, for the Year 1976), 1976; p. 45. Songer (Portland Collection), 1997; p. 213. Sweet (Fifer’s Delight), 1965/1981; p. 31.

Recorded sources: Sage Arts 1301, Rodney Miller Band - “Greasy Coat” (1990).

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