Annotation:Sandy o'er the Lea (2)
X:1 T:Sandy o'er the Lea [2]. WCl.71 M:2/4 L:1/8 Q:1/4=90 B:William Clarke MS,Lincoln,1770. R:.Air O:Lincoln A:England N:Pauses marked at bars 20 & 26. "Sy" marked over bar 8, and "so" under N:bar 12. Bars 13 and 14 indistinct.. Z:vmp.Barry Callaghan F:http://www.cpartington.plus.com/Links/Clarke/CLARKE(12-4-16).ABC K:A E|A>BAc|ecec|B>cBd|f3 (f/2g/4a/4)|A>BAc|ec e(f/2g/2)| afec|A3c/2d/2|e>fea|fdec|B~AAa|A3 c| B>ABe|c>BA>c|B>ABe|c2Ac|B>A Be|c^dea| gef>g|He3 (e/4d/4c/4B/4)|(A>B)Ac|ecec|B>cBd| Hf3 (fg/4a/4)|A>BAc|ecfa|B>ABe|A3|]
SANDY O'ER THE LEA [2]. AKA and see “He's aye kissing me (2).” Scottish, English; Air and Country Dance Tune (2/4 time). G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AAB. Allan Cunningham, in his Songs of Scotland, Ancient and Modern (1825, p. 248) explains:
'Sandy o'er the Lea" is one of those compositions which the Muses of the south and the north have agreed to amend, repair, parody, and vary till all the marks of nationality are effaced, and every attempt to localize it is confounded. I have no doubt, however, that the original groundwork of the song is Scottish. I have seen, indeed, a song of a much older stamp, and I may add, of a far grosser character than this; and I believe, as they have many lines in common, that the ruder version is the oldest. It was decidedly of Scottish growth, and the name which it bore was, "He's aye kissing me." It came from the lips of the heroine herself, and she described Sandy as a most attentive and laborious lover.
John Glen (Early Scottish Melodies, 1900) simply calls it Anglo-Scottish in origin, although he says the melody to the song was composed by English composer and organist James Hood (1746-1827). The song proved popular and was included in a number of latter 18th and early 19th century songsters, including The Gold-Finch (1785), The Universal Scots Songster (1781), The Harp of Orpheus (1820) and similar collections.
The words, as printed by Cunningham, go:
I winna marry ony man
But Sandy o’er the lea;
I winna hae the dominie,
Though monie gifts has he:
But I will hae my Sandy lad,
My Sandy o’er the lea;
For he’s aye a kiss—kissing,
And he winna let me be.
I winna hae the minister,
For a’ his godly looks;
I winna hae the lawyer,
For a’ his wily crooks;
Nor will I wed the plowman lad—
Nor yet the dusty miller:
But I will take my Sandy lad
Without a penny siller.
I winna wed the sodger lad,
For he gangs to the war;
I winna wed the sailor lad,
Because he smells o’ tar.
O true love’s like the morning light,
It’s presence wha can fee!—
Sae I will hae my Sandy lad,
My Sandy o’er the lea.
