Annotation:Bride's a Bonnie Thing (The)
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BRIDE'S A BONNIE THING, THE. AKA - "Bride is a Bonny Thing (The)," "Bride has a Bonny Thing (The)," "Bride is a Boanie Ting (Da)." AKA and see "Scotland." English, Scottish, Shetland; March or Jig. A Major. AEae or Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB (Bremner, Brody, Cooke): AAB (Gow). A Scottish tune played on the Shetland Island of Unst as a march; it is a variation of the tune of the same name printed in early Scottish collections. John Stickle played the tune in the key of G; Tom Anderson in A (AEae). It was the traditionally played to welcome the bride into the ben (best) room after the wedding, and thus has had some renewed currency in modern times as a wedding processional among trad enthusiasts (see also note for "Farder Ben da Welcomer (Da)"). The piece appears in James Oswald's collection, but Glen finds it first printed by Robert Bremner in his 1757 Scots Reels. That volume was issued the same year that London publishers Charles and Samuel Thompson printed the tune in their Compleat Collection of 200 Favourite Country Dances, vol. 1 (1757), albeit under the much more risqué title "The Bride has a Bonnie Thing." James Oswald again printed the tune a few years later in his Caledonian Pocket Companion (Book VIII, p. 21, London, 1760) with the same title the Thompson's employed (which appears to have been the original one).
Source for notated version: Tom Anderson and Aly Bain (Shetland) [Brody]; John Stickle (Unst, Shetland) [Cooke].
Printed sources: Anderson & Swing (Haand Me Doon da Fiddle), 1979; No. 29. Bremner (Scots Reels), c. 1757; p. 34. Brody (Fiddler's Fakebook), 1983; p. 57. Carlin (The Gow Collection), 1986; No. 413. Cooke (The Fiddle Tradition of the Shetland Isles), 1986; Ex. 31, p. 84. Gow (Complete Repository), Part 3, 1806; p. 25. Thompson (Compleat Collection of 200 Favourite Country Dances, vol. 1), 1757; No. 28.
Recorded sources: Philo 2019, Tom Anderson and Aly Bain- "The Silver Bow." Shanachie 79002, "The Boys of the Lough" (1973). Trailer LER 2086, Boys of the Lough- "First Album."