Annotation:O Mother Roger

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O MOTHER, ROGER. AKA - "O Mother! Roger with his kisses." English, Air and Country Dance Tune (cut time). C Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AB (Walsh): AABB (Playford). The melody and dance directions were first published in Henry Playford's Theater of Musick, 1686 (Part Third, p. 25) and in his Dancing Master [1], 9th Edition (London, 1695). It was retained in subsequent editions of the Dancing Master through the 18th and last edition of 1728 (then published by John Young, heir to the Playford publishing concerns). The dance and tune were also published by John Young in The Compleat Country Dancing Master (1718, and subsequent editions of 1731 and 1754).

As a song air it was a popular playhouse piece printed in The Loyal Garland (1686) and other songsters, and on broadsheets. It was the vehicle for a song in Edward Phillips' opera The Mock Lawyer (1733), and was the indicated air for other ballads, including "The London Cuckhold," "The Mother's Answer" and "Dick the Plow-man turn'd Doctor; or, The Love Sick Maiden Cured".

Source for notated version:

Printed sources: Walsh (Complete Country Dancing-Master, Volume the Fourth), London, 1740; No. 56.

Recorded sources:

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