Annotation:Weymouth Quickstep (The)
X:1 T:Weymouth Quickstep, The M:6/8 L:1/8 K:D f/e/|d2A AFA|d2e f2g|a2f def|g2e e2f| d2A AFA|d2e f2g|a2f ede|f2d d2:| |:A|d3 cBc|dAF DFA|d3 cBc|d2f d2A| d3 cBc|dAF DFA|d3 cBc|d3 d2:| |:A|B3 dcB|B2A A2F|E2F GFE|F2G A3| B3 dcB|B2A A2G|FGF EDE|D3 D2:| |:A|d3d3|e3d3|cBc ABc|d2e f2A| d3 d3|e3 d3|cBc ABc|d3 d2:|]
WEYMOUTH QUICKSTEP, THE. AKA – “Weymouth Fleet.” AKA and see "Argyll Rout (The)," "Emelia's Favorite," "New Sheep (??) Quick March." English, Quickstep or March (6/8 time). D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABBCCDD. Weymouth, on the Dorset coast, has long been popular as a seaside resort. King George III came to bathe is the sea at Weymouth as a cure for his nervous disorder, and between 1789 and 1805 the King and members of the Royal Family spent fourteen holidays there. Weymouth features a fine sand beach that sweeps around the bay. The melody appears in the music manuscript collections of James Winder (1835, Wyresdale, Lancashire) and James Haslingden (Midlands?, 1827). The former had it as an untitled quick march, while the latter called it “Weymouth Fleet.”
An earlier version of the tune was printed in J. Gray's annual collection of 24 country dance tunes for the year 1812 under the title "Argyll Rout (The)" (referring to a dance or ball). The tune appears in the 1835-41 music manuscript collection of E. and J. Winder (Lake District) under the improbable title "New Sheep (??) Quick March."
Fr. John Quinn finds the tune in Boston music publisher Elias Howe's 1000 Jigs and Reels under the title "Emelia's Favorite."
