Annotation:Beggar Boy (The)

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X: 1 T:Beggar Boy. (p)1651.PLFD1.007, The M:6/4 L:1/4 Q:3/4=100 S:Playford, Dancing Master,1st Ed.,1651. O:England;London H:1651. Z:Chris Partington. F:http://www.john-chambers.us/~jc/music/book/Playford/Beggar_Boy_1651_PLFD1_007_The_CP.abc K:Am AAA f2 f|ec2 d2 c|A F2G2 G|A2 _B c A2:| |:AAA f2 f|ec2 d2 c|A c2ede|f A2 G3| Acc e>dc|dfg/f/ efd|cAF G2 G|A2 _B cA2:|

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BEGGAR BOY, THE. English, Country Dance Tune (6/4 time). C Major (Chappell): D Minor (Barlow, Johnson): G Minor (Barnes, Sharp). Standard tuning (fiddle). ABB (Sharp): AABC (Chappell): AABB (Barlow, Barnes, Johnson). The air appears in its earliest printing in John Playford's first edition of his English Dancing Master (1651), and continued to be included in the long-running series through the seventh edition (1686). Chappell (1859) notes several ballads were written to the tune, as was the convention of the period with a popular melody. Graham Christian suggests the title may be associated with Richard Broome's play The Court Beggar, which played at the Cockpit Theatre in 1640, a few years before the Cromwellian closing of the theaters. The play was a social satire having to do with "the projector," what we would now call a speculator or entrepreneur, explains Graham. There was dancing involved, particularly at the end when five men give a display to win the hand of a merry widow, who joins in a final dance. "In one of these dances, the other characters tear off the outer layers of the projectors' clothing to reveal ragged clothing beneath--hence their genuine 'beggary'."

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