Annotation:Cumberland Long Eight (The)

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CUMBERLAND LONG EIGHT, THE. AKA and see "Within a Mile of Edinburgh." English, Reel. D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. The county of Cumberland is first mentioned in the 10th century and is derived from the name of its inhabitants: the ancient Celtic people called the Brittons who were driven into the hills of the West of England by the Anglo-Saxon invaders-they took to calling themselves the Cymry, or brotherhood, in their time of desperation. The Cumberland Long Eight is the name of a dance (there is also a Cumberland Square Eight). The tune given here is called "Within a Mile" and is played for an English and lowlands Scots set dance--as is sometimes the case, dance tunes may take on the titles of the dances they are played for.

Source for notated version:

Printed sources: Kennedy (Fiddlers Tune Book, vol. 1), 1951; No. 15, p. 8.

Recorded sources:




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