Annotation:Once upon My Cheek

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ONCE UPON MY CHEEK. AKA and see "On the Right Cheek." American, Reel. A Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB (Cole): AABBCC (Phillips). The 'A' part is the same as that of the tune known variously as "Murillo's Lesson," "Morelli's Lesson" or "Morella's Lesson," which can be found in 19th century instrumental tutors. The tune is a member of a large family of hornpipes related primarily in the first strains, which tend to be quite close. The second strains, instead of being grossly different from one another are rather similar structurally and harmonically, with some being closer to others in terms of melody. Versions can be found in Irish repertory ("Merry Man Hornpipe (The)," "Pet of the House (The)," "Stage Hornpipe (3) (A)"), as well as Scottish, but ultimately all seem derived from the English country dance "Harlequin Gambols" dating from a mid-1770's stage production.

See also the nearly identical hornpipe version "Colosseum (The)." The first strain has similarities to the Ozarks breakdown "Tom and Jerry."

Source for notated version: Taylor McBaine (Mo.) [Phillips].

Printed sources: Cole (1000 Fiddle Tunes), 1940; p. 15. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes, vol. 2), 1995; p. 213. Ryan's Mammoth Collection, 1883; p. 39.

Recorded sources: Missouri State Old Time Fiddlers Association 002, Taylor McBaine (b. 1911) - "Boone County Fiddler" (appears as "On the Right Cheek"). RCA Victor ‎– LCP 1044, King Ganam - "King Of The Fiddle."

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