Annotation:Watch Where You Tread

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WATCH WHERE YOU TREAD. AKA – “Duck-Shit Polka (The).” English, Polka. D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AAB. Composed by fiddler and melodeon player John Barry of Lewes, England. It was written for a friend whose house had an open door, writes Chris Partington (Tradtunes 3.11.05), a haven of sorts for captive waterfowl who had access to the house and who made use of it for nesting. One day while arriving for a rehearsal the composer chanced on a lodger just leaving the premises. “When you go in—watch where you tread,” he told John, who found ducks in the living room. Duck excrement dotted the living room, leaving John to fairly dance his way around it—and he continued the practice with a cockerel perched on his shoulders, as well!

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