Annotation:Disappointed Widow (The)
Tune properties and standard notation
DISAPPOINTED WIDOW. AKA - "Slow Men of London." English, Air and Country Dance (6/8 time). F Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AAB. The tune (and country dance) early appears under this title in John Young's Vol. III of the Dancing Master (London, 1726), Walsh's New Country Dancing Master, Book 3 (1728), and in John Gay's (1685-1732) ballad opera Polly (1729), a disappointing sequel to his hugely successful Beggar's Opera (London, 1728). However, it is based on an earlier song called "Slow Men of London", from Beaumont and Fletcher's play With Without Money (revived for the London stage in 1708).
Source for notated version:
Printed sources: Howe (1000 Jigs and Reels), c. 1867; p. 127. Wilson (Companion to the Ball Room), 1816; p. 92.
Recorded sources: