The Cobbler's Jig (Playford, 1679), on mandolin

This is an English country dance from the 1679 Edition of Playford's "Dancing Master" (first in the supplement to the 6th Edition), which I play on my Mid-Missouri M-0W mandolin.

The entry for this tune in "The Fiddler's Companion" is:

COBBLER'S JIG [1], THE. AKA and see "Engels Lapperken," "Cold's the wind and wets the rain." English, Dutch; Sword Dance (2/2 time), Country Dance (4/4 time) or Polka. D Major (Chappell, Karpeles, Raven): C Major (Miller & Perron). Standard tuning. AB (Chappell, Karpeles, Raven): AABB (Miller & Perron). The air appears in Bellerophon (1622), Nederlandtsche Gedenck-Clanck (1626), and Playford's Dancing Master (1686) [actually 1679]. Samuel Bayard (in his article "A Miscellany of Tune Notes," Studies in Folklore, pg. 170) finds the tune in Walsh's Dancing Master of 1731 and as the first air on page 105 of the second volume of Nicholas Bennett's Alawon fy Ngwlad (1896). It has been used for the second figure in the sword dance from the area of Sleights, England. An old song was set to the tune, having nothing to do with a cobbler, which begins:

***

Cold's the wind and wet's the rain;

St. Hugh be our good speed!

Ill is the weather that bring-eth no gain,

Nor helps good hearts in need.

Chorus:

Hey down, a-down, hey down a-down

Hey derry derry down a-down;

Ho! well done, To me let come,

Ring compass, gentle joy. (Kines)

***

Chappell (Popular Music of the Olden Time), vol. 1, 1859; pg. 279. Karpeles & Schofield (A Selection of 100 English Folk Dance Airs), 1951; pg. 28. Kines (Songs From Shakespeare's Plays and Popular Songs of Shakespeare's Time), 1964; pg. 73. Miller & Perron (100 Polkas), 1978; No. 101. Raven (English Country Dance Tunes), 1984; pg. 73.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• John Playford
• Dancing Master
• English country dance
• folk dance
• fiddle tune
• violin
• folk music
• session tune
• dance tune
• instrumental
• solo
• mandolin
• Mid-Missouri

[mj10008]

@billkilpatrick

Thanks, Bill! I'm trying out a few of the more obscure Playford tunes from the complete edition of all 500+ tunes produced by Jeremy Barlow. I think this one is a good one, as is "Thomas You Cannot", which I've just uploaded. I'll keep my Playford tunes in a separate playlist for easy reference.

[billkilpatrick]

like it ... me too!