Annotation:Romeo's First Change

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ROMEO'S FIRST CHANGE. AKA - "Romeo's Jig." Canadian, Jig (6/8 time). D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. The tune is generally attributed to Manitoba Métis fiddler biography:Andy DeJarlis [1] {1914-1975}, however, Canadian music researcher Anne Lederman noted that the tune seems to have been well-known among Métis fiddlers before DeJarlis recorded it, and was a standard first-change tune (see also "House Party Jig"). The title "Romeo's First Change" for the tune is DeJarlis's, however, and his influential version is more 'square' than other Métis versions of the tune. Lederman points out the similarity of the opening measures with Canadian 6/8 'down-east' standards "Bride of the Wind" and "Little Burnt Potato." 'First Change' in the title refers to its being played for the first figure of a dance.

Canadian radio and TV fiddler and entertainer Don Messer recorded the tune with his band as "Romeo's Jig" (backed with "Carnival Hornpipe") on 45 and 78 RPM, and helped popularize it. It is still a staple of New Brunswick fiddle repertory.

Many Washington and Idaho fiddlers used to call the tune "Romeo's Last Chance."

Additional notes

Source for notated version: - learned by fiddler Vic Kibler (Hamilton County, New York) from a Rod Dorman (Canada) recording [Bohrer].

Printed sources : - Bohrer (Vic Kibler: Adirondack Fiddler), 1992; No. 18, p. 18 (appears as "Romeo's Jig"). DeJarlis (Canadian fiddle tunes from the Red River Valley Book 1), 1958; No. 1

Recorded sources: - Apex 9-26438 (45 RPM), Don Messer and His Islanders. Banff RBS 1067, Gerry Robichaud - "Fancy Fiddlin' with Gerry Robichaud" (1960). Falcon FP 287, J.B. Ledoux - "Old Native and Métis Fiddling in Manitoba, vol. 2" (1987. Various artists). London Records EB 40, "Square Dance With Andy Dejarlis." Quality 532, Andy DeJarlis (1956). Liette Remon - "Comté de Gaspé Sud" (2004).

See also listing at:
Hear Andy DeJarlis's 1956 recording on youtube.com [2][3]
Alan Snyder's Cape Breton Fiddle Recordings Index [4]