Cottage by the Sea (The)

 COTTAGE BY THE SEA, THE. AKA and see "The Red Headed Girl," "Picnic Romp," "The Night We Paid the Rent," "Lady on the Green," "Jack of Diamonds [1]" (Thede), "Hell on the Wabash [1]," "Wake Up Susan [1]" (first strain only). American, Reel. USA, southwestern Pa. D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. Bayard (1944) states that the tune was fairly well known in western Pa. and seemed to be common in the South (a southern form is in Ford, 1940, p. 47 as "Picnic Romp"). In his 1981 work he was undecided whether the tune belongs to a small tune family (see alternate titles) with "divergently evolving cognate tunes", or whether the tunes he cited were original but shared influences or perhaps small parts. He long believed that the main tune group is American-fashioned using strains from old country dance music and said "It is possible that the first part of (this tune) is derived from the opening strain of some version of the old Irish dance and march 'Gearran Buidhe' (The Yellow Horse); cf. for example a version of that air in Petrie, No. 1457" (Bayard, 1944). See also his note for "Hell on the Potomac" (Bayard, 1981; No. 352, pgs. 352-353) for more information. Source for notated version: Mrs. Sarah Armstrong, (near) Derry, Pennsylvania, November 18, 1943 [Bayard]. Printed source: Bayard (Hill Country Tunes), 1944; No. 70.

X:1 T:Cottage by the Sea (The) T:Red Headed Girl (The) M:4/4 L:1/8 S:Sarah Armstrong (1943) B:Bayard -- Hill Country Tunes (1944, No. 70) K:D (d2|d3)D D2D2|A,2 D2D2EF|GFED E2 FE|DEFG A2 Bc| d3D D2D2|A,2 D2D2FG|A2 Bc d2F2|EDEF D2:| DEFG A4|D2 GA B3B|A2Bc d2F2|EDEF D2:||
 * FE|DEFG A3A|D2GA B3=c|B2A2F2D2|EDEF E2FE|

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