Annotation:Black but Comely

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X:1 T:Black but Comely M:C L:1/8 R:Reel N:”Very Old” B:John McLachlan - Piper’s Assistant (1854, No. 106, p. 64) Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion K:Amix B|d2 fe AAfe|d2 fd B2 AB|d2 fe AAfe|d2dB AAA:| B|Aaaf edef|daad B2 AB|Aaaf edef|d2 dB AAAB| Aaaf edef|daad B2 GB|d2 af e2 fe|d2 dB AAA||

BLACK BUT COMELY. AKA and see AKA and see "Black Laddie My Darling," "For a' that and a' that," "Gille Dubh Mo Laochan (An)," "Lady Mackintosh (1)," "Lady Mackintosh's Reel (1)," "Mo loachan," "Strawberry Blossom (2)." Scottish, Reel. D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AB (Gow, Surenne): AABB'. The title is a biblical reference: the Shulamite woman in Song of Solomon (who some say was the Queen of Sheba) referred to herself as "black, but comely." An air version of the tune is to be found in "Gille Dubh Mo Laochan (An)," employed by Robert Burns for his song "Man's a Man for a' That (A)."

Additional notes

Source for notated version: - https://tunearch.org/wiki/TTA

Printed sources : - Gow (Complete Repository, Part 3), 1806; p. 37. Kerr (Merry Melodies), vol. 2; No. 152, p. 18. Köhlers’ Violin Repository, Book 2, 1881-1885, p. 126. MacDonald (The Skye Collection), 1887; p. 52. Stewart-Robertson (The Athole Collection), 1884; p. 97. Surenne (Dance Music of Scotland), 1852; p. 159.

Recorded sources: -

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