Annotation:My Dearie Sits Ower Late Up

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MY DEARY/DEARIE SITE OWER LATE UP. AKA - "My Laddie Sits Ower Late Up." AKA and see "My Bonnie Bay Mare and I." English, Scottish; Jig and Air (9/8 time). England, Northumberland. G Major (most versions): A Major (Cocks). Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB (Cocks, Raven, Bruce & Stokoe): ABCDEFFGGHHII (Peacock). "This nursery song is thoroughly local, and dates from about the beginning of last century. There is such an insignificant difference between the above tune and 'Dorrington Lads (1)', that they are usually taken to be the same air. As it is, however, better to err in repetition than in omission, we have included both, premising that we have been unable to settle the question of priority of date" (Bruce & Stokoe). The title appears in Henry Robson's list of popular Northumbrian song and dance tunes ("The Northern Minstrel's Budget"), which he published c. 1800. A humorous song about drinking goes to the air:

My dearie sits ower late up,
My hinny sits ower late up,
My laddy sits ower late up,
Betwixt the pint pot and the cup.

Hey! Johnnie, come hame to your bairn,
Hey! Johnnie, come hame to your bairn,
Hey! Johnnie, come hame to your bairn,
Wiv a rye loaf under your airm.

He addles three ha'pence a week,
Tha's nobbut a farding a day,
He sits wiv his pipe in his cheek,
And he fuddles his money away.

My laddy is never the near,
My hinney is never the near,
And when I cry out "lad cam hame,"
He calls out again for mair beer.

Source for notated version:

Printed sources: Bruce & Stokoe (Northumbrian Minstrelsy), 1882; p. 155. Cocks (Tutor for the Northumbrian Half-Long Bagpipes), 1925; No. 17, p. 11. The Northumbrian Pipers' Tunebook, 1936. Peacock (Peacock's Tunes), c. 1805; No. 24, pp. 8–9. Raven (English Country Dance Tunes), 1984; p. 131.

Recorded sources: Front Hall FHR-08, Alistair Anderson - "Traditional Tunes" (1976).

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