Annotation:Winster Morris Dance

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X:1 T:Winster Processional M:4/4 L:1/8 R:March K:G g2d2d2 ef | g2d2d2 ef | g2d2d2c2 | B2A2G2z2 | g2d2d2 ef | g2d2d2ef | g2d2d2c2 | B4G2z2 || c3e2e2 dc | B2d2d2 cB | A2B2c2d2 | B2G2G2z2 | c2e2e2dc | B2d2d2 cB | g2d2d2c2 | B4G2G2 ||

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Winster morris dancers at the time of Sharp's visit in 1908. Sharp's photographs were taken by T. Lennox Gilmour, leader writer and photographer on the Morning Post

WINSTER MORRIS DANCE/MARCH. AKA "Winster Processional." English, Morris Dance Tune (2/2 time). G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AB (Doyle): AABB (Bacon). The tune was used for a processional dance in the village of Winster, Derbyshire, England, and was collected by folklorist Cecil Sharp with four other dances and tunes when he visited in 1908 (see also "Winster Gallop," "Blue Eyed Stranger (3) (The)," "Morris (The)," and "Reel (2) (The)"). It has since become the standard processional tune for many morris teams in the United States. This ditty is sometimes sung before the dance:

This is it and that is it
And this is morris dancing,
The piper fell and he broke his neck
And he said it was a chance Sir. ... [sometimes "a-chancing" or "trouncing"].

I do not know and I do not care
What fun we had in Brada
A piece of bread and an old cow’s head
And a pudding in the larder.

A savory loaf and an oaken pie
That we had in Brada
A bit for me and a bit for thee
And a bit for the Morris dancers.

The following words were published in a pamphlet (1978 or ’79) by the Winster Morris Dancers:

You don’t know and I don’t know
What fun we had at Brampton,
A roasted pig and a cuddle duck
And a pudding in a lantern!

The first mention of the morris at Winster is in 1863, however, it was considered to have been well-established at the time. Morris dance teams have continued to perform at Winster to the present day, with hiatuses during the World Wars.

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