Annotation:Hoch Hey Johnny Lad
X:1 T:O Hey, Johnny Lad T:Hoch Hey Johnny Lad M:C| L:1/16 R:Strathspey B:Köhler’s Violin Repository vol. 2 (1881-1885, p. 110) Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion K:A E2|A4 (A3c) (B3A)(B3c)|A3F(E3F) BB3 B3c|A4 (A3c) (B3A)(B3c)|A3F(E3F) AA3 A2:|| c2|e3f(a3c) B3A(B3c)|e3f(a3e) ff3f3a|e3a(e3c) B3A(B3c)|A3F(E3F) AA3A3f| e3f(a3c) B3A(B3c)|e3f(f3e) ff3(f3a)|(ea3) (ca3) (B3A)B3c|A3F(E3F) AA3 A2!D.C.!|
HOCH HEY JOHNNY LAD. AKA - "Hey ho Johnie Lad." AKA and see "Clarissa's Gown," "Hech How Johnnie Lad," "Jerry O'Sullivan's," "Lads of Saltcoats (The)," "Oh Hey Johnny Lad." Scottish, Canadian; Air, Reel or Strathspey. Canada, Cape Breton. A Major (Kerr, Laybourn, Stewart-Robertson): B Flat Major (Mackintosh). Standard, ADae or AEae tunings (fiddle). AAB (Laybourn, Stewart-Robertson): AABB' (Kerr): AABBCCDDEEFF (Mackintosh). "Hoch Hey Johnny Lad" (sometimes "Hech How..." or "Hey How"...) is a line from the chorus of a song to the tune. Scottish versions are usually set as a reel, though MacDonald, in his Skye Collection (1887) notes the tune is sometimes played as a strathspey. The 'high-bass' or ADae and AEae tunings are employed on Cape Breton where the melody has been frequently recorded, set as a strathspey. John Glen, in Early Scottish Melodies, notes that this tune is the same as "Lasses of the Ferry/Lassies of the Ferry" in Stewart's Reels (1761-63, p. 33) and "Lads of Saltcoats (The)" (David Rutherford, 1754). The pairing of "Ferry" melody with the "Hoch Hey" lyric has been attributed (by Robert D. Thornton, for one) to poet Robert Burns, in the Scots Musical Museum. Whether Burns actually had anything to do with the lyric (which is substantially that found in David Herd's 1776 manuscript, with a few alterations and an additional verse), is not known, as it is unsigned in the Museum.
See also William Gunn's bagpipe version "Clarissa's Gown." The Irish group Lunasa recorded the tune as "Jerry O'Sullivan's," sourced to contemporary uilleann piper Jerry O'Sullivan (Yonkers, N.Y.).
