Annotation:Way to Keep Him (The)
X:1 T:Way to keep him, The M:2/4 L:1/8 B:Thompson’s Compleat Collection of 200 Favourite Country Dances, vol. 2 (London, 1765) Z:Transcribed and edited by Fynn Titford-Mock, 2007 Z:abc’s:AK/Fiddler’s Companion K:Gmin B/c/|d d2 ^f|g d2 e|dcBA|G/^F/G/A/ GB/c/| d d2 ^f|g d2 e|dcBA|G3:| |:B/c/|dced|cBdc|BA^FG|A/G/^F/=E/ DB/c/| dced|^fdge|dcBA|G3:||
WAY TO KEEP HIM, THE. English, Country Dance Tune (2/4 time). G Minor. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. The melody appears unique to London publisher Charles and Samuel Thompson’s 1765 country dance collection. There were other, different, period tunes with this title. The Way to get Married *(1796) and The Way to Keep Him (1761) were 18th century comedies, both in five acts. The former was penned by Thomas Morton (1764-1838), while the latter, earlier dated work was written by Arthur Murphy [1] (1727-1805). "The Way to Get Married" plays off of Murphy's highly successful "Way to Keep Him," which was performed frequently for thirty years after its debut at the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane. It is considered one of Murphy's two best comedies, and the equal of Sheridan's The Rivals (1776).
