Annotation:Grant of Strathspey (The)

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X:1 T:Grant of Strathspey T:Rothiemurchies Rant M:C| L:1/8 R:Reel S:William Vickers' music manuscript collection (Northumberland, 1770) Z:AK/Fiddler's Companion K:C EDEC E/F/G G2|cGAG cGAc|EDEC E/F/G G2|AcGc ED D2:| |:{f}e2 de dedA|cdec d/c/B/A/ cG|A/A/A ag e2 dc|AcGc ED D2:| |:egga gagd|eaag afag|egde cdec|eagf ed d2:| |:Addc de a2|gfed {d}c2A2|GABd e2dc|AcGc EDD2:| |:e2 dede a2|gfec c2Ge/g/|aegd e2 dc|AcGc ED D2:||


GRANT OF STRATHSPEY, THE. AKA and see "Graf Spee (The)," "Grant's Strathspey." Scottish, English; Reel. England, Northumberland. C Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABBCCDD' (Campbell): AABBCCDDEE. "I have not found this tune in any Scottish collections, but it is known in Ireland as the 'Graf Spee,' a curious corruption of the original title into the name of a German 1st World War battleship" (Seattle). The title derives from its publication in the c. 1790 collection of Donald Grant, thus "Grant's Strathspey." "Grant of Strathspey" is a corrupted title. Cape Breton fiddlers play the tune as "<incipit title="load:Rant" width=850 link="https://tunearch.org/wiki/Rothiemurchus Rant">Rothiemurchus Rant</incipit>." See also the American derivative "<incipit title="load:Spy" width=850 link="https://tunearch.org/wiki/Grand Spy (1) (The)">Grand Spy (1) (The)</incipit>" and the Irish derivative "<incipit title="load:Graf" width=850 link="https://tunearch.org/wiki/Graf Spee (The)">Graf Spee (The)</incipit>."

Robert Burns used the tune as the vehicle for his 1794 song "Lassie wi' the lint-white locks," a pentatonic version of "Grant/Rothiemurchus", ending of the second degree of the scale. The opening stanzas go:

Lassie wi' the lintwhite locks,
Bonie lassie, artless lassie,
Wilt thou wi' me tent the flocks,
An wilt thou be my Dearie O.

Now Nature cleeds the flowery lea,
And a' is young and sweet like thee,
O wilt thou share its joys wi' me,
And say thou'lt be my Dearie O.


Additional notes

Source for notated version: - William Vickers 1770 Norumbrian music manuscript collection [Seattle].

Printed sources : -Joshua Campbell (A Collection of New Reels & Highland Strathspeys), Glasgow, 1789; p. 18. Riley (Flute Melodies, vol. 4), 1826; p. 1 (as "Lassie wi' the lint-white hair"). Seattle/Vickers (Great Northern Tune Book, part 3), 1987; No. 572.

Recorded sources: -

See also listing at:
Alan Snyder's Cape Breton Fiddle Recordings Index [1]
See/hear Karen Mathieson sing Burns' song "Lassie wi' the lint-white locks" on youtube.com [2].


Back to Grant of Strathspey (The)

X:1 M:C L:1/8 K:C G|E>DE>C EG G2|c>GA>G c>G A<c|E>DE>C E<G G>c|A<c G>c E<DD:|

X:1 M:4/4 L:1/8 K:D FEFD FA A2 | dABA dABd | FEFD FA A2 | BdAd FE E2 :|

X:1 M:C| L:1/8 K:C EDCD EG (3GGG|AGcG AGcG|EDCD EG (3GGG|AGcG ED (3DDD:|


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