X: 1
T:Ash Grove
R:Waltz
C:Trad.
M:3/4
N: The untitled tune for John Gay's "Cease your funning" in 'The Beggar's Opera', 1728, is "Constant Billy" in vol. III of 'The Dancing Master', 2nd edit., c 1726. However, it is in Eb lydian, rather than G major. Welsh title, Llwyn Onn. Tune first published in Edward Jonesís "The Bardic Museum", 1802. With words, in Bardd Alawís "Welsh Melodies with appropriate English Words", 1809.Much later, patriotic words were written by the poet Talhaiarn (1810-1869), "Gogoniant i Gymru", literally "Glory to Wales", translated by the poet himself as "All hail to thee, Cambria, the land of my fathers". The tune maybe lends itself to poignant words, although as always parodies have appeared,e.g. [in the West of Scotland] "In yonder green valley there lived a wee Tally, and the hair on her dicky-di-do hung down to her knee" or so. ("Tally" = "Italian", a common slang term, quite affectionate; a "tally shop" is one typically kept by Italians, such as one selling fish and chips, ice cream, etc.). The tune just appeared out of the blue, and its origin is unknown, though a connection has been made with an 18th-century tune, "Cease Your Funning", which likewise appeared out of nowhere in "The Beggarís Opera" of 1728. "Llwyn Onn" has always been a favourite song with penillion singers.
The air is considered by some to be an early 18th century melody from Wales, perhaps because it is attributed to that country in Gow’s Strathspey Reels (book 4, pg. 24), where it appears as "Sir Watkin William Wynn." In fact the earliest Welsh printing is not until Jones’s Bardic Museum (1802), where it is given that it was named after ‘Mr. Jones’s mansion near Wrexham’. It appears under different guises in period publications and can be found in Gay’s Beggar’s Opera (1729) and in the repertoire of Irish harper Turlough O’Carolan (1670-1738). “The Ash Grove” was used as a vehicle for English morris dancing, and various words were set to it, bawdy and otherwise. One set begins:
L:1/8
K:D
|:"A"A|"D"d2f2ag|f2d2d2|"G"e2gfed|"A"c2A2A2|"D"d2fedc|"G"B2G2B2|"D"A2d2"
A"c2|"D"d4:||:efg||"D"a2fgab|a2g2f2|"A7"g2efga|g2f2e2|"D"f2defg|"Bm"f2e2
d2|"A"c2a2^"E"g2|"A"a4A|"D"d2f2ag|f2d2d2|"G"e2gfed|"A"c2A2A2|"D"d2fedc|"
G"B2G2B2|"D"A2d2"A"c2|"D"d4:||


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filesizedescription
Tune-26355-2006_03_01_yscolan_archive.abc 2295 ABC music file with the extracted tune(s)
Tune-26355-2006_03_01_yscolan_archive.txt 2295 Plain-text file with the extracted tune(s)
Tune-26355-get.log 3050 Log file, useful mostly for debugging
These files should be available for 24 hours.