Cock Up Your Beaver
COCK UP THY/YOUR BEAVER. AKA - "Johnny Cock the Beaver," "Watty's Away." English, Scottish; Jig (6/8 or 6/4 time). England, Northumberland. C Major (Seatle/Vickers): G Major (Howe, Kennedy, McGibbon). Standard tuning (fiddle). AB (Howe): AABB (Kennedy): AABBCC (Seattle/Vickers): AABBCCDD (McGibbon). The title refers to a beaver top-hat, popular in the late 18th and early 19th century among fashionable men; to 'cock up' in this sense would be either to wear it at a rakish angle, to tip it or to brush it so as to make it more presentable. A long variation set is found in Playford's Division Violin of 1684. Other versions (mentioned by Margaret Gilmore in her "Concordances" to Playford's volume) are "The Horse-race" and "Newmarkett", although it has little immediately apparant resemblance to the northern English tune called "Newmarket Races." Piper Matt Seattle performed a musical analysis and found that the underlying harmony from the Playford tune and finds it is the same with the Northumbrian "Newmarket Races", only displaced. He concludes that the melodies became separated at an early date and developed independently (noting that Bewick's, Vickers and William Dixon's versions seem to represent a Border piping tradition applied to the melody). The tune appears the Henry Atkinson manuscript of Morpeth (1694, as "Cock Up Thy Beaver, Jem!"), in the 1768 Gillespie Manuscript of Perth. The name of the melody is among those in Henry Robson's list of popular Northumbrian song and dance tunes, which he published c. 1800. Robert Riddell (1794) notes: "This Old Scottish tune has before appeared in print, tho' different from the set here given--"
The "Cock Up Your Beaver" title itself comes from a song, old in Robert Burns' day, which he modified slightly and printed in his Scots Musical Museum. It goes:
When first my brave Johnnie lad
Come to this town,
He had a blue bonnet
That wanted the crown;'
But now he has gotten
A hat and a feather,--
Hey, brave Johnnie lad,
Cock up your beaver!
Cock up your beaver,
And cock it fu' sprush,
We'll over the border
And gie them a brush;
There's somebody there
We'll teach better behaviour-
Hey, brave Johnnie lad,
Cock up your beaver!
Printed sources: Complete Collection of Carolan's Irish Tunes, 1984; No. 204, p. 137 (variations by Turlough O'Carolan). Howe (1000 Jigs and Reels), c. 1867; p. 124. Kennedy (Jigs & Quicksteps, Trips & Humours), 1997; No. 89, p. 22. McGibbon (Scots Tunes, book II), c. 1746; p. 49. Riddell (Collection of Scotch Galwegian Border Tunes), 1794; pp. 4-5. Seattle (William Vickers), 1987, Part 3; No. 455. Thompson (Compleat Collection of 200 Favourite Country Dances, vol. 2), 1765; No. 179.
Recorded source: Maggie's Music MMCD216, Hesperus - "Early American Roots" (1997).
X:1 T:Cock Up Your Beaver M:6/8 L:1/8 R:Jig S:Howe - 1000 Jigs and Reels (c. 1867) Z:AK/Fiddler's Companion K:G g | d2G B>AG | A>BA c2e | d2G (B>AB) | Ggd B>cd | c/B/c/d/e/f/ gdB | A3 c2 e | d2 c BcA | Ggd B2 || d | Ggd (B/c/d)B | AaA c2A |Ggd (B/c/d)B |Ggd B/A/B/c/d/B/| c/B/c/d/e/f/ g/f/e/d/c/B/ | AaA c>de/f/ | g(a/g/).f/.e/ d(B/c/.d).B | Ggd B2 ||
X:2 T:Cock up they Beaver M:6/8 L:1/8 R:Jig S:William Vickers' music manuscript copybook, pg. 134 (1770) Z:AK/Fiddler's Companion K:C g2g afg|cec e2A|g2g ag/f/ a|dfd f2A|g2g ag/f/g|cec efg| faf ege|ded f2A::gcc ecc|gcc e2A|gcc ecc|dfd e2A|gcc ecc| gcc efg|faf ege|ded f2A::c2c ege|cec e2A|c2c ege| dfd f2A|c2c ege|cec efg|faf ege|ded f2A||
X:3 T:Johnny cock thy Beaver M:6/4 L:1/8 B:Thompson's Compleat Collection of 200 Favourite Country Dances, vol. 2 (London, 1765) Z:Transcribed and edited by Fynn Titford-Mock, 2007 Z:abc's:AK/Fiddler's Companion K:F d2|c4F2 A3GF2|G2A2G2 B4d2|c4F2 A3GA2|F2f2c2 A2B2c2|d2c2d2 f2c2A2| G2A2G2 B4d2|c4F2 A4G2|(F2f2)c2 A4F2||(F2f2)c2 ABc2A2|(G2g2)d2 B4G2|(F2f2)c2 ABc2A2| (F2f2)c2 A3Bc2|BA Bcde f3FA2|G2A2G2 B4f2|c4B2 A4G2|(F2f2)c2 A4F2:||
X:4
T:Cock up your Beaver
M:6/8
L:1/8
N:”Andante”
B:Rober Riddell – Collection of Scotch Galwegian Border Tunes (1794)
Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion
K:F
d|c2F A>GF|G>AG !trill!B2d|c2F AGA|Ffc ABc|
dcd fcA|G>AG !trill!B2d|c2F A2G|Ffc A2|||
C|Ffc A/B/cA|Ggtd !trill!B2G|Ffc A/B/cA|Ffc ABc|
B/A/B/c/d/e/ fFA|GAG !trill!B2f|c2B !trill!A2G|Ffc A2||
C|cAF cA/B/c/A/|dBG d/c/B/A/G|cAF c/B/A/B/c/A/|c/B/A/B/c/A/ c/B/A/B/c/A/|
d/c/B/c/d/B/ c/B/A/B/c/A/|G/F/G/A/B/c/ d2f|c>dB/c/ A>BG/A/|Ffc A2||
C|c/B/A/G/F c/B/A/G/F|d/c/B/A/G d/c/B/AG|c/B/A/G/F c/B/A/G/F|c/B/A/B/c/A/ c/B/A/G/A/B/|
c/d/B/c/d/B/ c/B/A/B/c/A/|G/F/G/A/B/G/ B/A/B/c/d/f/|c/B/c/d/B/c/ A/B/c/A/B/G/|Ffc A3||
FFf FFf|GGg !trill!f2g|FFf AAf|fcd c/B/A/B/c/A/|
B/A/B/c/d/e/ fFA|GgG B/A/B/c/d/e/|fg/f/e/d/ cd/c/B/A/|Ffc A2||
C|F>GA/B/ cd/c/B/A/|GAG B2D|F>GA/B/ cd/c/B/A/|cd/c/B/A/ cd/c/B/A/|
Fg/f/e/d/ cd/c/B/A/|GBG B2d|{d}c2B {B}!trill!A2G|Ffc A2||
C|F/E/F/G/A/B/ c/B/A/B/c/A/|G/F/G/A/B/c/ d/c/B/c/d/B/|F/E/F/G/A/B/ c/B/A/B/c/A/|c/B/A/B/c/A/ c/B/A/B/c/A/|
d/c/B/c/d/B/ c/B/A/B/c/A/|G/F/G/A/B/c/ d/c/B/c/d/f/|c/B/c/d/B/c/ A/B/c/A/B/G/|Ffc A2||
“Very Plaintive”
C|F3 A3|G>AG B2D|!trill!F3 A3|Ffc ABc|
dcd fcA|G>AG B2D|F3 A3|Ffc A2||
(3c/d/e/|.f/.e/.d/.c/.B/.A/ .d./c/.B/.A/.G/.F/|!trill!G>AG B2 (3c/d/e/|.f/.e/.d/.c/.B/.A/ .d./c/.B/.A/.G/.F/|(C/F/)(A/F/)(c/F/) (d/c/).B/.A/.G/.F/|
!trill!(B/>A/B/).c/.d/.B/ .A/.f/.e/.f/.a/.f/|(G/>F/G/).A/.B/.c/ !trill!d/>^c/d/).e/.=f/.d/|.c/.a/.b/.g/.a/.f/ .f/.e/.d/.c/.f/.A/|F>GF A2||
X:5 T:Cock up your Beaver M:3/4 L:1/8 R:Air N:"Brisk" S:McGibbon - Scots Tunes, book II, pg. 49 (c. 1746) Z:AK/Fiddler's Companion K:G g2 | d4 G2B3AG2 | A3BA2c4e2 | d4G2"tr"(B3AB2) | G2g2d2B3cd2 | e3 def g2d2B2 | A3BA2c4g2 | d4 c2 (BcdcBA) | G2g2d2B4 :: D2 | G2g2d2 (Bcd2)B2 | A2a2A2 "tr"c4BA | G2g2d2 (Bcd2)B2 | G2g2d2 (BABc)dB | (cBc)(def) g2G2B2 | A2a2A2 cBcdef | g2(agfe) d2 (Bcd)B | G2g2d2B4 :: D2 | G2(Bcd2) d2 (Bcd2) | A2 ABcA "tr"c4e2 | (dcBAB)G (BAB)cdB | G2g2d2BABcdB | (cBc)def g2d2B2 | A3BA2 "tr"c4e2 | dcdedc BcdcBA | G2g2d2B4 :| |: D2 | G2g2d2 BABcdB | A2a2A2 "tr"c4 (BA) | G2g2d2 | BABcdB | G2 (efg)d BABcdB | cBcdef gfefgB | A2a2A2 cBcdef | gfefge dcBcdB | G2g2d2B4 :||