Annotation:Steer her up and had her gan
X:1 T:Steer her up and had her gan M:C| L:1/8 R:Scots Measure B:McGlashan – Collection of Scots Measures (178?) Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion K:D af|d2d2f3e|defg a2AG|F2A2A2GF|E2E2 c3e| d2d2f3e|defg a2ga|bagf e2dc|d4D2 :| |: fe|d2A2F3A| dAGA GFED| E2 =c4 E=F| G=FED C2fe| d2A2F3E|DEFG Aagf| efgf ecAc| d4D2 :|
STEER HER UP AND HAD HER GAN. AKA - "Stir her up and hold her ganging." AKA and see "Stolen Kiss (The)." Scottish, Scots Measure (cut time). D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. Charles Gore explains the title "Steer her up and had her gan" has a nautical connection and translates as: "Bring her (the boat) up (to wind) and let (hold) her go(ing)." The tune and title are old and both appear in early manuscript collections: the Skene Manuscript (c. 1615-20), the Guthrie Manuscript (c. 1670-1680, p. 299), the Gairdyn Manuscript (1700-1735), and David Young's MacFarlane Manuscript (1740, p. 266). It was printed in London in Henry Playford's collections of the late seventeenth century and in particular in his collection of Scottish dance tunes of 1700.
The melody was also employed as the vehicle for songs. Cellist-composer James Oswald used the tune for his "Stolen Kiss (The)", song No. 2 in "Colin's Kisses" (1742), set to verses by R. Dodsley. It begins:
On a mossy bank reclin'd.
