Annotation:Such a beauty I did grow
X:1 T:Such a Beauty I did Grow M:2/4 L:1/8 R:Air B:Edward Riley – “Riley’s Flute Melodies vol. 3” (1820, No. 160, p. 47) F: https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/ab7b93e0-f959-0139-46b9-0242ac110002#/?uuid=277ff190-2ae4-013a-5cb8-0242ac110003 Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion K:D A|dA AG|GFED|DEFG|A2 zA|Addd|dddd|efge|f2 ed| e2d2|dc BA|dc BA|BAGF|GAB2|a2c2|d4||
SUCH A BEUTY I DID GROW. English, Air (2/4 time). D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). One part. “Such a beauty I did grow” was frequently printed on broadsides and in songbooks in the 19th century, though the words were sufficiently crude as to offend delicate sensitivities. It describes a young boy of unusually unpleasant appearance who is blissfully unaware of the impact of his features on others.
When I was a little boy,
Some sixteen years ago,
I was the pride of mammy’s heart,
She made me quite a show.
Such a beauty I did grow
Such a beauty I did grow.
Straight hair and goggle eyes
And such a roguish leer,
A broad flat nose and mouth likewise
Turn’d up from ear to ear
Such a beauty I did grow
Such a beauty I did grow.
