Annotation:Lassie an' Siller an' a's my ain
X:1 T:Lassie an' Siller an' a's my ain N:Christie was a dancing master, fiddler N:and composer from Cuminestown, Aberdeenshire. M:6/8 L:1/8 R:Jig N:”Old” N:”Communicated by J. Allardyce.” Q:"Allegretto Moderato" B:Christie - Collection of Strathspeys, Reels, Hornpipes, B:Waltzes &c. (Edinburgh, 1820, p. 20) Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion K:D A|~F2A ABA|{c}d2A ABA|F2A Agf|{f}e2E (EA).G| ~F2A ABA|ABd {f}e>de|(fe).d (AB).c|{c}d2D D2:| |:g|{g}fef def|gaf efg|{g}fef def|~g2B Beg| {g}fef def|gaf eag|T(fe).d (AB).c|{c}d2D D2:|]
LASSIE AN' SILLER AN' A'S MY AIN. AKA - "Lassie and Silver." Scottish, Jig (6/8 time). D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. "Lassie an' Siller an' a's my ain" is a 6/8 time jig that can be found in Cuminestown, Aberdeenshire, dancing master and fiddler-composer biography:William Christie's 1820 collection. Christie (1778-1849) described the tune as "old" and stated it was communicated to him by J. Allardyce (who also "communicated" a few other old Aberdeenshire tunes in Christie's collection, "Warld's gane o'er me now (The)," "I'll Hae a Piper to My Gudeman," and "Duncan Swine's Wife"). Scottish mathematician and music collector J. Murdoch Henderson noted that the jig is a version of James Oswald's "Saw ye a lassie of fifteen years," which itself is a version of the popular English country dance tune "Would You have a Young Virgin" AKA "Poor Robin's Maggot," printed in John Young's The Second Volume of the Dancing Master (London, 1710). The melody is said to predate even that publication, dating to the time of the reign of Charles II (1660-1685) as "Poor Robin's Maggot". Henderson was referring to the first strain of "Lassie an' Siller", as the second strains of the two tunes are dissimilar, thought generally reminiscent of each other.
The tune was recorded by Cape Breton fiddler Scotty LeBlanc in the 1960's as "Lassie and Silver," appearing on the recording ("Fiddlin' Scotty LeBlanc") as "Lassie Ann Seller."
