Annotation:Colleen Rue (1)

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COLLEEN RUE [1]. AKA and see "As I Roved Out on a Summer Morning," "I'd roam through Asia," "Kind Sir Be 'Aisy'," "Pretty Brown Girl (1)," "Red Haired Girl (3) (The)," "Red-Haired Maiden," "Sails were unfurled." Irish, Air (3/4 time). D Major/Mixolydian. Standard tuning (fiddle). AB. Francis O'Neill remembered the tune from his Bantry, west Cork, boyhood being sung by his parents. The air printed by O'Neill is similar to Frank Roche's "Pretty Brown Girl (1) with the exception of the strong and distinct resting note at the beginning of the fourth measure.

The title and one of the alternate titles come from the words of a song set to the air:

I'd roam through Asia, likewise Arabia,
Or Pennyslvania looking for you;
Through the burning regions, like famed Orpheus,
For one embrace of you, Colleen rue.

See also O'Neill's earlier versions as "Red Haired Girl (4) (The)," "Red Haired Girl (3) (The)."

Source for notated version:

Printed sources: O'Neill (O'Neill's Irish Music), 1915; No. 21, p. 20.

Recorded sources:

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