Annotation:Meggy's Foot

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MEGGY'S FOOT. AKA - "Maggy's Foot." English, March or Reel. England, Northumberland. G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABBCCDDEEFFGGHH. About a donkey, the only surviving words being "Take a peep at Meggy's foot, take a peep at Meggy's foot" (sung to the third part with its repeated intervals of a sixth). Northumbrian concertina player Alistair Anderson says the tune describes a farmer's ride home from market on a lame horse, "one, two, three, clunk!" The staccato-noted tune (when played on the Northumbrian smallpipes, due to the musical silences that occur when all the fingers are 'down' and covering holes in the chanter) plays better as a quick march rather than a reel.

Source for notated version:

Printed sources: Bruce & Stokoe (Northumbrian Minstrelsy), 1882; p. 153. Peacock (Peacock's Tunes), c. 1805; No. 25, p. 9 (the correct title for the collection is A Favorite Collection of Tunes with Variations adapted for the Northumberland small pipes, violin or flute).

Recorded sources: Fellside Records, Nancy Kerr & James Fagan - "Between the Dark and Light" (2002). Front Hall Records FHR-08, Alistair Anderson - "Traditional Tunes" (1976). Topic 12T186, The High Level Ranters - "Northumberland For Ever" (1968). Topic Records 12T186Topic Records TSCD483, High Level Ranters - "Northumberland Forever: Traditional Dance and Song from the North East" (1997. Originally recorded 1968).

See also listing at:
See/hear the tune played on Northumbrian pipes by Ian Lawther on youtube [1]

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