Annotation:Gray Bob (The)
X:1 T:Bogta liath, Am T:Grey Bob, The M:C L:1/8 R:Reel B:William Gunn - The Caledonian Repository of Music B:Adapted for the Bagpipes (Glasgow, 1848, p. 12) Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion K:Amix a|cAeA cAAe|g2 dB g2 ea|cAeA cAAe|aece a2 ga| cAeA cAAe|g2 dB g2 ea|c<ccA BGGB|A<Aag a2e|| f|a2 ec aece|g2 dB g2 fg|a2 ec aece|A<Aag a2 ea| c<cag aece|g2 dB g2 ea|c<ccA BGGB|A<Aag a2e|| a|ceAe ceAe|g2 dB g2 ea|ceAe ceAe|aece a2 ga| ceAe ceAe|g2 dB g2 ea|c<ccA BGGB|A<Aag a2e|| f|aece aece|g2 dB g2 fg|aece aece|A<Aag a2 ea| c<cag aeef|g2 dB g2 ea|c<ccA BGGB|A<Aag a2e||
GRAY BOB. AKA - "Am Bogta liath," "Grey Bob (The)." Scottish, Cape Breton; Pipe Reel. A Mixolydian. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB, ABCD (Winston Fitzgerald). The tune was published by Glasgow Highland piper, pipe teacher and pipe-maker William Gunn (1795-1867) in his Caledonian Repository of Music Adapted for the Bagpipes (1848). A 'bob' (or bobee, bawbee) was slang for a shilling piece worth 12 old pennies, however, it had other meanings. In this case "Grey Bob" refers to a grey horse with a docked tail (either cut short or gathered up and tied in a knot), a practice carried out on draught horses to prevent them soiling their tails whilst pulling wagons. Bobbed horses can also be seen sometimes in modern dressage events and in cavalry parades.
