Annotation:Romeo's First Change
X:1 T:Romeo's First Change C:Andy De Jarlis M:6/8 L:1/8 Z:abc by Bruce Osborne - bosborne@kos.net K:D fg|a2 ^g a2 b|afd Adf|g2 f g2 b|afd Adf|! a2 ^g a2 b|afd Adf|gec ABc|d4 z:|! |:B|AFA dcB|ABA [F2 A2] [F A]|GEC A,CE|DFB A2 A|! DFA dcB|ABA [F2 A2] [F A]|GFG ABc|d4:|!
ROMEO'S FIRST CHANGE. AKA - "Romeo's Jig." Canadian, Jig (6/8 time). D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. The tune is generally attributed to Woodridge, Manitoba, Métis fiddler Andy de Jarlis [1] {1914-1975}, however, Canadian music researcher Anne Lederman noted that the tune seems to have been well-known among Métis fiddlers before DeJarlis recorded it, and was a standard first-change tune (see also "House Party Jig"). The title "Romeo's First Change" for the tune is DeJarlis's, however, and his influential version is more 'square' than other Métis versions of the tune. Lederman points out the similarity of the opening measures with Canadian 6/8 'down-east' standards "Bride of the Wind" and "Little Burnt Potato." 'First Change' in the title refers to its being played for the first figure of a dance.
An alternate claim for the composition, per Peter Corfield's Tunes from New Brunswick, is that it was the work of Moncton, New Brunswick, fiddler Lionel Poirier (1934-1970), who, according to New Brunswick fiddler Eddie Poirier (no relation to Lionel), composed it for his brother as "Romeo's". It is still a staple of New Brunswick fiddle repertory. Canadian radio and TV fiddler and entertainer Don Messer recorded the tune in 1956 with his band as "Romeo's Jig" (backed with "Carnival Hornpipe") on 45 and 78 RPM, and helped popularize it, and it is known that Messer collected some of Poirier's tunes. DeJarlis's and Messer's recordings both date to 1956, and, so far, no record of the tune prior to that has surfaced. Corfield points out that while Eddie was a young man (age 22) when these recordings were released, he had been playing professionally when quite young, and made an appearance on the Don Messer Show.
Many Washington and Idaho fiddlers used to call the tune "Romeo's Last Chance."
