Annotation:Peeping Tom of Coventry
X:1 T:Peeping Tom of Coventry M:C L:1/8 R:Air B:Edward Riley – “Riley’s Flute Melodies vol. 2” (New York, 1817, No. 53, p. 16) F: https://archive.org/details/flutemelodies0000rile/page/16/mode/2up Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion K:Emin e>f|g>e f>d B2 B>^c|d2 d>f a2 g>a|b>fg>e B2 e>^d|e2 E2E2:| |:f2|(g>fg>)a {ga}b2 (a>g)|(fd).d.f a2 b>a|g>ea>f B2 e>^d|e2 (e>B) g2 (g>a)|b>c'a>f B2 e^d|e2 E2E2||
PEEPING TOM OF COVENTRY. English, Air (whole time). E Minor. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. Edward Riley's melody "Peeping Tom of Coventry" is probably associated to John O'Keeffe's (1747-1833) two-act comic opera Peeping Tom of Coventry, first staged at Covent Garden in 1784. The music for the opera was composed by Samuel Arnold (1740-1802). 'Peeping Tom' is a character in the Lady Godiva legend, in which she rode naked (clothed only in her long hair) through the streets of Coventry, England, to gain remission of an oppressive tax imposed by her husband on his tenants. As the story goes, only one person in the town choose to look as she rode--Peeping Tom. In later versions of the legend, he is struck blind for his disrespect.
