Annotation:Good Night and Joy be with Ye a' (3)
X:1 T:Good Night and Joy be wi' ye a' [3] M:C L:1/8 S:Gow - 2nd Repository (1802) Z:AK/Fiddler's Companion K:C ed|c2~c2 G3c|A2A2 a3g|(eg)ag egag|e2c2c2:| ze|{e}dcde {e}d2 cA|GAcd {cd}e2 dc|~dcde ~fefg|{fg}a2d2 d3e| f>efg {fg}a2 gf|edef {ef}g2 fe|(de)fa (g<e)d>e|c2A2A2||
GOOD NIGHT AND JOY BE WITH YE A' [3]. Scottish, Air (whole time). G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AB. The song is by poet Robert Burns who wrote it on what he imagined was to be his last day on Scottish soil, before setting sail in the morning for Jamaica. He was being sued by his future father-in-law, James Armour, for the pregnancy of his daughter Jean Armour and Burns saw emigration as a solution to that problem as well as his poverty. However, to his surprise, his first published poems were suddenly successful, allowing him to reconsider his plans. He recited the song in a farewell speech to the St. James's Mason Lodge in Tarbolton in 1796. His song begins:
The night is my departing night,
The morn's the day I maun awa',
There's no a friend or fae o' mine,
But wishes that I were awa'.
What I hae done for lack o' wit
I never never can reca'
I trust ye're a' my friends as yet,
Gude night and joy be wi' you a'.
