Annotation:Sawney
X: 1 T:Sawney & Jockey. (p)1679.PLFD1.234 T:Sawney Was Tall. (p)1679.PLFD1.234 T:Corn Rigs. (p)1679.PLFD1.234 M:4/4 L:1/4 Q:1/2=100 S:Playford, Dancing Master,6th Ed.,1679 O:England;London H:1679. Z:Chris Partington. K:C cc/d/ed/c/|B>Ad>G|c>d (e/f/)(e/d/)|cggG| c>ded/c/|B>Ad(c/B/)|A>G (A/B/)(c/A/)|Gcc2:| |:cge/f/g|Bdd>d|cge>d|(c/d/)(e/f/)g>c| cg(a/g/)(f/e/)|(d/c/)(B/A/)BA/G/|A>G|A/B/c/A/|HGcc2:|
SAWNEY. AKA – “Sawney & Jockey,” “Sawney was Tall.” AKA and see "Sandy." Scottish, Air (4/4 time). C Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AAB. The tune is a prototype of the Scottish Measure "Corn Riggs (are Bonny)." The air appears as "Sawney" in three editions of Henry Playford's Apollo's Banquet, beginning with the 5th edition of 1687. However, it had earlier been printed, with directions for a county dance, in his father John Playford's Dancing Master, 6th edition (1679), as "Sawney and Jockey," and continued under that title in the next two Dancing Master editions, which were also published by Henry (John Playford died around 1686). The title of the piece changed to "Sawney was Tall in the Dancing Master beginning with Henry's 9th edition of 1695, and it continued under that title in all subsequent Dancing Master editions through the 18th and final issue of 1728. It was also published by rival London publisher John Walsh in his Compleat County Dancing Master of 1718 (and editions of 1731 and 1754).
As a song air it can be found in D'Urfey's Pills to Purge Melancholy (1719-20) as "Swaney was tall and of a noble race," and it was the vehicle for songs in John Gay's Polly (1729), his successor to his wildly successful Beggar's Opera of the year before. The melody also was heard in the Village Opera (1729) and The Chamber-Maid (1730).