OYSTER GIRL [1]. English, Jig and Morris Dance Tune. England; Northumberland, North-West. G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB (Hall & Stafford, Sweet): AABBC (Kennedy, Raven, Wade). Tune used for a single step dance in the North-West (England) morris dance tradition. James Manson (1846) noted the "The comic song, 'Going out a-shooting', is sang to this air."
The Oyster Girl, by Karl Gussow, 1882 The melody was entered into several English musicians' copybooks, including those of James Blackshw (North Shropshire, 1837), James Winder (Lancashire, 1835-41), and R. Hughes (Whitchurch, Shropshire, 1823). It was entered in the mid-19th century music manuscript of William Winter, a shoemaker and violin player who lived in West Bagborough in Somerset, southwest England. Sussex musician wikipedia:Scan_Tester (1887-1972) used the tune as the vehicle for the Sussex Four Handed Broom Dance.
Additional notes
Printed sources : - Hall & Stafford (Charlton Memorial Tune Book), 1956; p. 14. Kennedy (Fiddlers Tune Book, vol. 1), 1951; No. 78, p. 38. Manson (Hamilton's Universal Tune Book, vol. 2), 1846; p. 21. Raven (English Country Dance Tunes), 1984; p. 124. Sweet (Fifer's Delight), 1965/1981; p. 35. Wade (Mally's North West Morris Book), 1988; p. 23. Geoff Woolfe (William Winter’s Quantocks Tune Book), 2007; No. 76, p. 36 (ms. originally dated 1850).
Recorded sources : - Topic TSCD 669, Arthur Marshall (et al) - "Ranting and Reeling: Dance Music of the north of England" (1998. North Yorkshire accordion player Marshall was born in 1896).
See also listing at : See/hear the tune played on youtube.com [1], and by Lester Bailey [2]
