Annotation:New Rigged Ship (1) (The)
X:1 T:New-Rigged Ship (jig) [1], The T:Miss Finlay's Delight R:Jig O:Shetland O:Scotland M:6/8 L:1/8 K:D A|\ d2d def|d2d def|ecA ABA|ecA ABc| d2d def|d2d def|ecA ABc|d3 d2:| |: f|a2f a2f|d2d dfa|b2g b2g|e2e efg| a2f a2f|d2d ecA|Bcd ecA|d3 d2:|
NEW RIGGED SHIP [1], THE. AKA and see "Chapel Hill Serenade" (old-time), "Charley Over the Water (1)," "Coleman Killed His Wife," "Coquette Sett (2) Figure 6," "Miss Findley's Delight," "Mrs. Finley's Delight," "Miss Finlay's Delight," "Noddin' Boy," "Old Hickory," "Over the River to Charley's" (old-time), "Piper's Fancy (1)," "Raw Recruit (The)." Scottish, English, New England; Jig and Country Dance. England; Shropshire, Dorset. D Major (most versions): C Major (Emmerson, Gow, Hunter, Lowe, Manson, Skye, Wilson): G Major (Ashman). Standard tuning (fiddle). AB (Wilson): AAB (Emmerson, Gow, Hunter, Lowe, Manson, Skye): AA'B (Kerr): AABB (most versions): AABBA'B' (Karpeles). A popular and old English/Scottish country dance melody. It was suggested by the antiquarian Stenhouse that the ancient duple-time tune "John Come Kiss Me Now" survives in the second part of "New Rigg'd Ship," however, when Emmerson (1971) compared both melodies he thought them dissimilar enough to amend that "New Rigg'd Ship" was perhaps only a set of the older tune, and closer in spirit and tone then actuality. John Glen (Early Scottish Melodies, 1900) called Stenhouse's assertion simply "fallacious."
The English novelist Thomas Hardy (Return of the Native, The Mayor of Casterbridge) grew up in a musical family and was an accomplished dance fiddler and accordion player from early youth. He was influenced by his father (himself a locally famous dance fiddler), an uncle and a cello-playing grandfather, all of whom played for a church band in addition to more secular amusements. Young Thomas played with his father at village dances and, at the age of twelve, was reported to have played "The New Rigged Ship," a favorite dance, for nearly three quarters of an hour before his hostess stopped him for fear he might burst a blood vessel (Allison Thompson, Dancing Through Time, pp. 182–183). "New Rigged Ship" also appears in the manuscript collection of Northamptonshire poet and fiddler John Clare and the 1850 music manuscript collection (p. 71) of shoemaker and fiddler William Winters (West Bagborough, Somerset, southwest England). The tune was recorded by the English traditional "revival" band Oak (Rod and Danny Stradling, Tony Engle, Peta Webb) in the early 1970's, at the beginning of the resurgence of interest in English traditional dance music played for English dances. New Rigged Ship is also one of the core Scottish Country Dances [1].
Older American versions can be found in Edward Murphy's music copybook (c. 1790, Newport) and in Ann Winnington's music manuscript book, c. 1810 (No. 28, set in the key of 'C'). The inscription inside the front cover of the latter book indicates she lived in New York. Boston music publisher used the jig as the last figure of his quadrille set under the title "Coquette Sett (2) Figure 6." A six-eight time version survived in the repertoire of Missouri fiddle Art Galbraith, who knew it as "Over the River to Charley's." However, "New Rigged Ship" has been more popular in the United States in a reel-time setting, called "Green Willis (1)" or "Raw Recruit (The)." See also the American old-time variants "Chapel Hill March," "Noddin' Boy," the first part of "Oklahoma Run," and the second strain of "Down on the Big Sandy."
