Annotation:Good Night and Joy be with Ye a' (2)
X:1 T:Good night and Joy be wi' you a' [2] N:William Christie (1778-1849) N:Christie was a dancing master, fiddler N:and composer from Cuminestown, Aberdeenshire. M:3/4 L:1/8 R:Air Q:"Andante" N:"Very Old" B:Christie - Collection of Strathspeys, Reels, Hornpipes, B:Waltzes &c. (Edinburgh, 1820, p. 36) Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion K:Gmin D|G>A ~G3D|G>G ~G3A|B>c {Bc}d3c|{c}B>G |F2 zD| G>G {G}B3 (c/B/)|AF3 {A}c2 ~B>c|{Bc}d>G {G}B3G|{G}F>D D2z:| (d/e/)|f>g f3 ~d|f>f f3 d|g>a {ga}b3g|{g}f>d {d}c2 ~B>c| d<f {e}d2 (cB)|A<F {A}c2 ~B>c|{Bc}d>G {G}B3G|{G}F>D D2z|]
GOOD NIGHT AND JOY BE WITH YE A' [2]. AKA - "Gude nicht, an' Joy be wi' Ye a'." Scottish, Slow Air (3/4 time). The tune was included in A Collection of Strathspeys, Reels, Hornpipes, Waltzes &c. (1820), by biography:William Christie (1778-1849), a dancing master, fiddler-composer and postmaster from Cuminestown, Aberdeenshire. According to Christie's son, also named William Christie, the melody "which appears to be ancient" was obtained by him in Buchan. William Christie the younger was an Episcopal cleric and an avid song-collector. In 1881 he issued two volumes of Traditional Ballad Airs, in which the song "Gude nicht, an' Joy be wi' Ye a' " appears. He used the melody collected by his father (which had been used for the song "The Last Guid night" when he learned it) but married it to words by Carolina Oliphant, Baroness Nairne, who anonymously penned "Gude nicht, an' Joy be wi' Ye a'," as well as "Land of the Leal," "Caller Herrin'," "The Lass o' Gowrie" and "The Laird o' Cockpen," among others. She was the daughter of Oliphant of Gask, in Perthshire, a staunch Jacobite who came out for Bonnie Prince Charlie Stuart in 1745 (naming his daughter Carolina after Prince Charlie). On the losing side, he was among those attainted and it was not until King George IV visited Scotland in 1822 that he was persuaded to support restoration of lost honors and privileges. In 1824 Carolina's spouse, Major Nairne, was restored to his rank, and she became Baroness Nairne. She died in 1845 at the age of 75.
The words to the song, printed by William Christie Jr., begin:
The best o' joys maun hae an end,
The best o' friends maun part, I trow;
The langest day will wear away,
And I maun bid fareweel to you.
The tear will tell when hearts are fu';
For words, gin they hae sense ava,
They're broken, faltering, and few;
Gude nicht, an' joy be wi' ye a'.
