Annotation:Farewell My Pretty Witty Peggy

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FAREWELL MY PRETTY WITTY PEGGY. AKA - "Bonnay Wattored Meggey," "Farewell my Pretty Moggie." Scottish, Slow Air (4/4 time). G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. The earliest appearance of the air is in Hartburn, Northumberland, musician Henry Atkinson's c. 1694 music manuscript collection under the almost inscrutable title "Bonnay Wattored (Wallored) Meggey" [1], although the tune is a cohesive version of the air later printed by McGibbon and Oswald under more understandable titles. The air was also entered into the c. 1782 music copybook of Seabrook, New Hampshire, musician Jeremiah Brown (as "Farewell My Pretty Witty Paggy").

"Farewell, my bonny, bonny, witty, pretty Maggy" is the first line of Song XXVIII in Alan Ramsay's (1686-1758) Tea-table Miscellany, vol. 2 (1723-37), however, this is a different song (for which see "Welcome from Vigo"). Henry Atkinson's manuscript predates the naval victory at the Battle of Vigo (1702), celebrated in the lyric.

Source for notated version:

Printed sources: McGibbon (Scots Tunes, book II), c. 1746; p. 40. Oswald (Caledonian Pocket Companion, Book V), 1760; p. 8 (as "Farewell my Pretty Moggie").

Recorded sources:

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