Annotation:Now ponder well ye parents dear
X:1 T:Now ponder well M:3/4 L:1/8 Q:"Very slow" B:Gay - Beggar's Opera (1729, Air XII) Z:AK/Fiddler's Companion K:F G2|AG F3G|AG F3A|Bd c3A|G4 A2| Bd c3B|cA F3 c|!fermata!df A2G2|F4||
NOW PONDER WELL, YE PARENTS DEAR. AKA and see "Children in the Wood (The)," "Norfolk Gentleman (The)," "Two Children in the Wood." English, Air (3/4 time). D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). One part. The air was published by John Gay in his Beggar's Opera of 1729 as the vehicle for his song "Oh ponder well, be not severe" [1]. It also appears in D'Urfey's Pills to Purge Melancholy (1709). The tune and ballad are quite a bit older, however, dating from at least 1595 [Roud Number: 288]. See note for "Annotation:Children in the Wood (The)" for more. The tune was sometimes used in broadsides for the ballad "Chevy Chase," but it appears under the "Children in the Wood" title (or "Now ponder well...") in several ballad operas of the early 18th century.
