Annotation:For a' that and a' that
X:1 T:For aw that and aw that M:C L:1/8 S:William Vickers' music manuscripts, p. 147 (1770) Z:AK/Fiddler's Companion K:Dmix f|d/d/d dA Bdeg|fdad ~B3d|d/d/d dA Bdeg|fedB A2:| |:f|gbag geeg|fdad ~B2 B[df]|abaf geeg|fedB A2:||
FOR A' THAT AND A' THAT. AKA - "A Man's a Man." AKA and see "Black but Comely," "Black Laddie My Darling," "Gille Dubh Mo Laochan (An)," "It's Bonny o'er the Hill at Night," "Lady MacIntosh's Reel (1)," "Mo loachan," "Strawberry Blossom (2)," "There's nae luck aboot the hoose (1)." Scottish, English; Reel. England, Northumberland. D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB (Gow, Vickers): AABB' (Kerr). The song "For a' that and a' that" was made famous by poet Robert Burns ("Man's a Man for a' That (A)"), although he adapted the words and tune of an existing older piece, a version of "Up and Waur Them A' Willie (1)." The tune was entered in the music manuscript copybook of American musician M.E. Eames, frontispiece dated Aug. 22nd, 1859 (p. 179).
Matt Seattle finds also that William Vickers' entered a related tune in his 1770 collection as "Over the Moor -- A New Way," which also appears in one of Kelso musician Thomas Calvert's collections as "O'er the Moor for a' that." Seattle also finds concordances with "It's Bonny o'er the Hill at Night," "Lady McIntosh's Rant," and "Prince's Reel (The)."
