Annotation:Cobbler's Hornpipe (1) (The)

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COBBLER'S HORNPIPE [1], THE. AKA and see "Mr. Eaglesfield's New Hornpipe." English, Triple or 'Old' Hornpipe (3/2 or 3/4 time). D Minor. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. The tune appears in the 11th edition of Henry Playford's Dancing Master of 1701 and all subsequent editions (through the 18th and final, printed in 1728), and Walsh's Compleat Country Dancing Master (vol. i, editions of 1718, 1731 and 1754). A manuscript version appears in the J. Winder MS, compiled in Wyresdale, Lancashire, England, in 1789. Tony Doyle (The Plain Brown Tune Book) notes: "A real Lancashire hornpipe, c. 1700." William Vickers (Northumberland, 1770) gives "Cobbler's Hornpipe" as an alternate title to his "Willy Wilky", but it is a different tune (for which see "Cobbler's Hornpipe (2) (The)").

The Cobbler's Hornpipe was also the name an old English children's game, described by Alice Bertha Gomme ^[1]

The Cobbler’s Hornpipe was danced by a boy stooping till he was nearly in a sitting posture on the ground, drawing one leg under him until its toe rested on the ground, and steadying himself by thrusting forward the other leg so that the heel rested on the ground; the arms and head being thrown forwards as far as possible in order to maintain a balance. The thrust-out leg was drawn back and the drawn-in leg was shot out at the same time. This movement was repeated, each bringing down to the ground of the toe and heel causing a noise like that of hammering on a lapstone. The arms were moved backwards and forwards at the same time to imitate the cobbler’s sewing.

Whether the game was extant in Playford's time, and what, if any, association this might have had with the Playford dance and tune is unknown.

Additional notes

Printed sources : - Callaghan (Hardcore English), 2007; p. 76. Chappell (Popular Music of the Olden Time, vol. 2), 1859; p. 80. Doyle (Plain Brown Tune Book), 1997; p. 6. Elias Howe (Musician’s Omnibus Nos. 6 & 7), Boston, 1880-1882; p. 613. Offord (John of the Green: Ye Cheshire Way), 1985; p. 47. Raven (English Country Dance Tunes), 1984; p. 14. Sharp (Country Dance Tunes), 1912; Set 20, No. 24. Walsh (Complete Country Dancing-Master, Volume the Fourth), London, 1740; No. 116.

Recorded sources : - Telarc 80556, Ensemble Galilei - "Come Gentle Night" (1999). Eliza Carthy - "Rough Music"

See also listing at :
See/hear Eliza Carthy and the Wayward Band play the tune at youtube.com [1]

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↑ Alice Bertha Gomme, The Traditional Games of England, Scotland, and Ireland, vol. I, 1894.

[1] Alice Bertha Gomme, The Traditional Games of England, Scotland, and Ireland, vol. I, 1894.

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