Annotation:I'm like a skiff on the ocean tossed

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Tune properties and standard notation


I'M LIKE A SKIFF ON THE OCEAN TOSSED. AKA and see "One evening having lost my way," "Happy Clown (The)," "Walpole." English, Air (6/8 time). G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. The air appears in John Gay's Beggar's Opera (1729) where it is sung by Lucy in the 3rd Act (to the tune of "One evening having lost my way").

I'm like a skiff on the ocean tost,
Now high, now low, with each billow borne,
With her rudder broke, and her anchor lost,
Deserted and all forlorn;
While thus I lie rolling and tossing all night,
That Polly lies sporting on the seas of delight!
Revenge, revenge, revenge,
Shall appease my restless sprite!

It also appears in the second volume of Playford's Dancing Master (1718), published by John Young in London.

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Tune properties and standard notation