Annotation:St. Bernard's Well
X:0 T: No Score C: The Traditional Tune Archive M: K: x
ST. BERNARD'S WELL. AKA and see "Barnard's Will," "Shammie Breeches." Scottish, Reel. G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AA'BB'. St. Bernard's Well is a mineral spring by the Water of Leith, on the outskirts of Edinburgh's New Town. It was written in the mid 18th century; two versions were printed in Stewart's c. 1761 5 Reels, entitled "Bernard's Well" and "Shamboe Breeches." Johnson (1984) identifies that the first strain is based on a 16th century Italian chord progression style called passamezzo moderno. The melody was first published by Neil Stewart (or Steuart) in The Newest and Best Reels or Country Dances (1761, p. 25), according to Glen, and also appears in the Gillespie Manuscript of 1768. Bernard's Well was "an Edinburgh landmark for those who took the waters to improve their health. The value was no doubt more psychological than medical, although the water was said to be 'impregnated with iron and sulpher...and highly diuretic" (Alburger, 1983). Sharpe MS., c. 1790, p . 69 [Johnson].
