Annotation:Paddington Pound

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PADDINGTON POUND. English, Air (4/4 time). F Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AB. The melody is mentioned in a traditional English folksong called “The Maypole”:

“Begin,” says Harry,
“Ay, ay,” says Mary,
Let’s lead up Paddington-pound,
“Oh, no,” says Hugh,
“Oh, no,” says Sue,
Let’s dance St. Ledger [Sellinger's Round] round.
Then every lad did take
His hat off to his lass;
And every maid did curtsey, curtsey,
Curtsey on the grass.

Paddington Pound was an area of London and takes its name from the area (or 'pound') around the Paddington Tree, the name of a hangman's gibbet. There is an old air and lute tune dating to the reign of Queen Elizabeth with the very similar title "Packington's Pound," although that triple time melody and duple time Geoghegan's "Paddington Pound" are quite different. However the similarity of the titles and the various spellings (Chappell also gives "Paggington's Pound" for the Elizabethan melody) means the two would often be confused. It seems likely, for example, that the melody referenced in the folksong "The Maypole" was the older "Packington's Pound."

Source for notated version:

Printed sources: Geoghegan (Compleat Tutor for the Pastoral or New Bagpipe), c. 1745-46; p. 33.

Recorded sources: Dorian Records, Various artists – “Elizabeth’s Music” (1999). Virgin Veritas 482079-2 138m DDD, The Musicians of Swanne Alley – “In the Streets and Theatres of London.”




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