Annotation:Beilby's Hornpipe
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X:0 T: No Score C: The Traditional Tune Archive M: K: x
BEILBY'S HORNPIPE. English, Hornpipe. The tune is a member of a large tune family (see note for "Curlew Hills Polka (The)") that, in Northumberland, goes by the name "Beilby's Hornpipe," or sometimes "Bielbie's Hornpipe." The name is used in the early 18th century slang term "Beilby's Ball," referring to a hanging: "He will dance at Beilby's ball, where the sheriff plays the music" (A Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, 1811). It is possible that to dance 'Beilby's hornpipe' meant the same thing. At any rate, no one knows who Beilby/Bielbie was.
