Annotation:Winchester Christening
X:0 T: No Score C: The Traditional Tune Archive M: K: x
WINCHESTER CHRISTENING. AKA and see "Flaunting Two," "London Gentlewoman," "London Maid," "Sun Has Loos'd His Weary Teams (The)," "Hemp Dressers (1) (The)," "De'il's Awa wi' the Exciseman (The)." English, Air. The air appears under the title "A new song set to a pretty country dance, called 'The Hemp-dresser'" in Thomas D'Urfey's A Third Collection of New Song, the words by Mr. D'Urfey (1685). John Playford included it in his third book of Choice Ayres and Songs with the further prefix of "The Winchester Christening: The Sequel of the Winchester Wedding. A new song." It can also be found in all the editions of Pills to Purge Melancholy, according to the 19th century anitquarian William Chappell. The words are set to the air of a country dance, "Hemp Dressers (The)," printed in John Playford's English Dancing Master (1651). A Scottish song (by Robert Burns) to the same tune is "De'il's Awa wi' the Exciseman (The)", and John Gay employed the melody as the vehicle for his song "First time at the looking glass (The)" in The Beggar's Opera (1729, Air XXIX). Chappell finds it in other ballad operas as well: Penelope (1728) and Love and Revenge, or The Vintner Outwitted.