An ABC Library of Morris Tunes
This is a library of morris tunes as used by dances in the
traditions of
a number of different English villages.
A quick browse shows that I have just about everything
for Adderbury
and much of Bledington.
These are the principal traditions danced by
Seabright. The remaining selection of tunes is
inspired by the favorite dances of other
teams in the SF Bay area, the West Coast,
Minnesota, Virginia, and anywhere else that I've had contact.
Many of these tunes are derived from published collections. Others are
transcribed from tapes of performances. Some tunes exist in multiple
versions that demonstrate subtle differences between the performances
of different musicians, or changes over time.
In an effort to be sensitive to any rights of collectors, publishers,
and performers, this library is intentionally provided in the form of
individual tune files, not as a single file. Obviously a programmable
WWW browser can snarf the entire lot; if you do so please do not
redistribute them en masse.
Each tune is stored in a dialect of the
abcformat
developed by Chris Walshaw.
Tunes in abc format are human-readable
ASCII text, and each consists of
roughly 200 to 1000 bytes. See my page of notes on
abc philosophy and applications for more information.
The tunes should be served as the
IANA-registered MIME type
text/vnd.abc (and if our WWW server is still working
correctly that will be the case).
All WWW browsers are capable of being
configured to recognize
these links and display them as ASCII text, as sheet music, and/or as
audible sound.
Beaux of London City, Bacon (News) transposed from F to G
Beaux of London City, Seabright
The Bell, Seabright
The Black Joke, Gereg Blaiddlwyd
The Black Joke, Bacon (MDT)
The Black Joke, Rob Powell
The Black Joke, Radford
Blue Bells of Scotland, Seabright
Brighton Camp, Bacon (RD ex Blunt MSS)
Brighton Camp, Radford
The British Grenadiers, Seabright as used for The Three Musketeers
The Buffoon, Bacon (MDT) transposed from F to G
Candlemas Eve, Hymn 126 Arr. R. Herrick from an old church-gallery book
Candlemas Eve soprano alto tenor bass up one octave, Hymn 126 Arr. R. Herrick from an old church-gallery book
Candlemas Eve, Robert Hill/Ruth Temple as used for The Three Musketeers
Cobb's Horse, Seabright Chris Leslie
Cobb's Horse, Radford Chris Leslie
Constant Billy, Kathryn Johnston
Constant Billy, Bacon (MDT) transposed from A to G
The Cuckoo's Nest, Seabright as taught by Evan Shepherd (c.f. Sherborne)
The Cuckoo's Nest, Radford
The Flowing Bowl, Bacon (RD ex Blunt)
The Bell, Seabright
Greencoats, c.f. The Rose Tree (Bampton)
Happy Man, Bacon (RD ex Blunt MSS)
Haste to the Wedding (Rory O'More), Bacon (News) transposed from F to G
I Can Hew, Seabright song by David Dodds dance by Nat Case
I Can Hew, Seabright song by David Dodds dance by Nat Case
Jockey to the Fair, Bacon (RD ex Blunt)
Lads-a-Bunchum, Bacon (MDT) transposed from F to G
Lads-a-Bunchum, Seabright & Bruno
The Lollipop Man, Seabright
The 17th of May, Radford
The Postman's Knock, Julia Schult W.T. Wrighton & L.M. Thornton Key of A for singing. Original music & words circa 1858.
The Postman's Knock, Bacon (RD ex Blunt MSS)
Princess Royal, Bacon (BC (CJS)) T. Carolan transposed from Dm to Em
The Rambling Sailor, SF Bay Area Teams used for dance The Three Musketeers, &c.
Shepherd's Hey, Bacon (News - RKS) transposed from F to G
Shepherd's Hey, Seabright
South Australia, Digital Folk Tradition Database hacked DigiTrad SongWright code
South Australia, Holy Gr'Ale
South Australia, Holy Gr'Ale
Stourton Wake, Seabright Paul Turner &c. 2 parts for playabc
Stourton Wake, Seabright a rough approximation of Paul Turner's version
Stourton Wake, Seabright
Stourton Wake, Radford
Sweet Jenny Jones, Bacon (MDT) transposed from C to D
Sweet Jenny Jones, Seabright
Sweet Jenny Jones, Seabright
Waltzing Matilda, used for Adderbury A.N. Other
Washing Day, Bacon (RD ex Blunt MSS) transposed up from Ab
Hacking & Hewing, RJJ ex NTMM Davis Sweet Lummoxshire Lead Miners
The Newt, RJJ ex NTMM Davis Sweet Lummoxshire Lead Miners
Truffles, RJJ ex NTMM Davis Sweet Lummoxshire Lead Miners
Ascott Under Wychwood
The Banks of the Dee, Bacon (Williams MSS)
Shepherd's Hey, Bacon (CJS (MSS))
Valentine, Holy Gr'Ale as danced by Mayfield Morris & Sword
Valentine, Bacon (From E. Spring (RD))
Badby
Beaux of London City, Bacon (MDT)
Broad Cupid, as played by the City of Auckland Morris Dancers
Old Black Joe, Bacon (MDT)
Bampton
Bacca Pipes, Bacon (MDT)
Banbury Bill, Bacon (Jour 1956)
Banbury Bill, Bacon (Jour 1956)
Bonny Green Garters, Bacon (MDT) commonly used as A part of recessional
Bonny Green Garters, West Coast Teams As used for recessional
The Flowers of Edinburgh Jig Knuckle Down, Bacon (RD from Arnold Woodley)
The Fool's Jig, Bacon (MDT)
Froggies First Jump, Over the Water Dave Whetstone
The Furze Field, Bacon (Michael Blandford)
Glorishears, Bacon (MDT) transposed from A
Glorishears, Bacon (MDT) transposed from A
Highland Mary, Holy Gr'Ale
Highland Mary, Bacon (MDT) transposed from A to G
Highland Mary, West Coast Teams
Jamaica Farewell Island Mary, West Coast Teams a substitute for Highland Mary
Jogging to the Fair, Bacon (EDS 1951) EFDS News 1956 has slight differences in rhythm and decoration
Under the Old Myrtle Tree, Bacon (Sharp MSS)
The Nutting Girl, Bacon (Jour EFDS, 1928) fixed end of B part
The Nutting Girl, Bacon (Jour EFDS, 1928; alt. C, Rollo Woods)
The Nutting Girl, Bacon (Jour EFDS, 1928) seeking good ABC idiom
The Nutting Girl, Bacon (Jour EFDS, 1928) iteration 1 with stepping
The Nutting Girl, Bacon (Jour EFDS, 1928) iteration 2 with stepping
The Nutting Girl, Bacon (Jour EFDS, 1928) iteration 3 with stepping
The Nutting Girl, Bacon (Jour EFDS, 1928) iteration 4 with stepping
The Nutting Girl, Bacon (Jour EFDS, 1928) iteration 5 with stepping
The Nutting Girl, Bacon (Jour EFDS, 1928) iteration 6 with stepping
Old Tom of Oxford, Bacon (EDS 1951)
Princess Royal, Bacon (MDT)
The Quaker, Bacon (Jour 1956)
The Quaker, Bacon (Jour 1956) key change made explicit
The Rambling Sailor, Roll Out the Bear'Ale as used for Simon's Fancy
The Rose Tree, Bacon (Jour 1956)
Shave the Donkey, Bacon (RD)
Bidford
Abraham Brown, Bacon (JG)
Morris Off, Bacon (CJS (MSS) & JG)
Bidford Town Morris Morris On, Bacon (JG (CJS MSS ex Ferris))
Balance the Straw, Bacon (Jour 1934 (RKS))
Billy Boy, Bacon (RKS from Benfield (1925))
Billy Boy, Bacon (Col. by TM from Charles Benfield (BC)) transposed from F to G
Billy Boy, Ruth Temple and Paul Turner as played for Seabright
The Black Joke, SF Bay Area teams
Bonnets O' Blue, Bacon (Col. by TM from Benfield (BC))
The Cuckoo's Nest, Bacon (Benfield (Rollo Woods))
The Cuckoo's Nest, Bacon (Benfield (Rollo Woods)) transposed from GDor to ADor & rearranged
Donkey Riding, as played by Chris Newberry, Squash Beetle Morris
Flowers of Edinburgh, Bacon (CJS-'CD Tunes)
The Gallant Hussar, Bacon (MDT)
The Gallant Hussar, Bacon (MDT) C rearranged
General Monk's March, Bacon (CJS from Benfield (RD))
Glorisher, Bacon (MDT) transposed up from Bb
Glorisher, Seabright from Minnesota via Schult & Temple
Hey Diddle Dis, Bacon (Jour 1932)
Highland Mary, Bacon (Jour 1934 (RKS))
Hook, Line and Sinker, Beverly Buchanan Dance by Andy Klapper (klapper@cs.uky.edu) and SBM
Idbury Hill, Bacon (BC (RKS from Benfield, 1925)) transposed from DDor to EDor
Ladies' Pleasure, Bacon (MDT) transposed from F to G
Lillibulero, Seabright according to the tradition
Lillibulero, Seabright the way we do it
Lumps of Plum Pudding, Bacon (MDT) transposed from A to G
Lumps of Plum Pudding, Bacon (MDT) rearranged by SLA
Maid of the Mill, Bacon (CJS from Benfield, 1909 (MSS))
Maid of the Mill, Bacon (BC (RKS MSS) (1925))
Three Musketeers, as played by Chris Newberry tune is ``La Marseillaise'', transposed to G
Morning Star, Bacon (BC (RKS & DNK from Benfield, 1925)) transposed from F to G
Old Peculier, Peter T. Kleeman 1985, presented to Jim Morrison
The Old Woman Tossed Up, Bacon (CJS from Bond (RD))
The Old Woman Tossed Up, Bacon (DK & RKS from Benfield (RD))
The Old Woman Tossed Up, Bacon (RKS from Hathaway (RD))
Over the Water, Bacon (Jour 1934) transposed from A to G
Over the Water, Bacon (Jour 1934) transposed from A to G
Princess Royal, Bacon (from George Hathaway (RKS 1937) (SC)) transposed from GDor to ADor
Princess Royal, Bacon (from Michael Blanford, ex RMS collection)
Saturday Night, Bacon (RKS MSS (BC)) transposed from F to G
Trunkles, Bay Area Teams
Trunkles, Bacon (MDT) Transposed from A to G
Trunkles, Seabright our D part is variant
Valentine, Bacon (From E. Spring (RD))
William and Nancy, Bacon (MDT) transposed from F to G
William and Nancy, Seabright reinterpretation by SLA
Young Collins, Bacon (CJS from Benfield & Bond, 1909)
Border
Bad Boys of Dunkirk, Bordering on the Absurd
Bobby Shaftoe, Bordering on the Absurd Craven Stomp
Highland Mary, Bordering on the Absurd Hunt the Dragon
Humours of Tollykrine Bedlam I, Bordering on the Absurd
Jenny Lind, Bordering on the Absurd
Not for Joe, Bordering on the Absurd
Portobello Hornpipe, Bordering on the Absurd Ragged Crow
Rochdale Coconut Dance, Bordering on the Absurd for dance Craven Stomp
Roxburgh Castle, Bordering on the Absurd What Ho
Theme Vannitaise, Bordering on the Absurd Twiglet -- dance from Planet Morris 1995
Three Handed Reel Fanny Frail, Bordering on the Absurd Trad.
Three Jolly Black Sheepskins, Bordering on the Absurd 12 bars A + 12 bars B for chorus. Figs 8 + 8
Trumpet Hornpipe, Bordering on the Absurd Black Pig (Captain Pugwash)
Upton on Severn, Bordering on the Absurd Stick Dance
Upton on Severn, Bordering on the Absurd Stick Dance
Brackley
Maid of the Mill, Sharp from Timothy Howard 1909 Sep 8 from Howard Mitchell of Manchester MM, from Roger Nichols of Bedford MM
The Old Woman who Carried a Broom, Bacon (MDT)
Bromsberrow Heath
Three Handed Reel, Bacon (EDS, Sept. 1959 (RW)) Trad. Originally entered by Rich Holmes, 1996 Sept.
Three Handed Reel Fanny Frail, Dommett Trad. originally entered by Rich Holmes, 1996 Sept.
Bucknell
The Blue-Eyed Stranger, Bacon (CJS (MSS))
Hyla Lassie, Bacon (Carey MSS) Tune from The Old Frog Dance (Oddington)
Old Black Joe, Bacon (Butterworth (MSS))
The Queen's Delight, Bacon (MDT)
Rabbits in Australia, Berkeley Morris (1988 May 1)
Constant Billy, Chingford MM
Cuckold out o' Nest, Chingford MM
Down the Jubilee, Chingford MM based on Ashling
Follow the Drum, Chingford MM
The Eighteenth of March, Chingford MM based on Lillibulero
Morning Star, Chingford MM
No Room for the Cuckoo, Chingford MM
The Old Woman Tossed Up In A Blanket, Chingford MM
Prince Albert's Farewell, Chingford MM based on The Barley Mow
Princess Royal [illegible] Lawrence's Gallop, Chingford MM FAX close to unreadable
Chingford Processional, Chingford MM based on Bartholomew Fair
Shooting, Chingford MM based on St. Patrick's Day
The Stick Dance i.k.a. Upton on Severn, Chingford MM
unknown tune upper left of page 1, Chingford MM this tune possible missing chunks and nearly illegible on FAX
unknown tune upper right of page 1, Chingford MM this tune missing the A on FAX
Cliffords Mesne
The Morris Call, The Morris Book
The Morris Call, Morris On
Ducklington
The Lollipop Man, Holy Gr'Ale
The Lollipop Man, Bacon (Carey)
The Lollipop Man, Seabright
Evesham
Hanky Dance Bonnets So Blue, Dommett Trad. originally entered by Rich Holmes, 1996 Sept.
Stick Dance Fanny Frail, Dommett Trad. originally entered by Rich Holmes, 1996 Sept.
Eynsham
Eynsham Poacher, Bristol Morris Men Unknown
Balance the Straw, SF Bay Area Teams
Balance the Straw, Bacon
The Blue-Eyed Stranger, Bay Area Teams as used for The Stork (cf. Bucknell)
The Blue-Eyed Stranger, Ruth Temple as used in Minnesota and MidWest
The British Grenadiers, Roll Out the Bear'Ale as used for The Three Musketeers
Constant Billy, Bacon (CJS (MSS) from Daniel Lock) triplets in this tune are impossible for both abc2mtex v1.3 and playabc v1.1
Constant Billy, Bacon (CJS (MSS) from Daniel Lock) abc2mtex v1.3 cannot typeset the triplets in this tune, playabc works
Constant Billy, Bacon (CJS (MSS) from Daniel Lock) triplets re-notated because abc format v1.3 cannot handle them
Dearest Dicky, Berkeley
Dearest Dicky, Bacon (MDT)
Glorisher (Leapfrog), Bacon (MDT)
Grandfather Clock, Berkeley Morris dance by Anton Cepernich
Grandfather Clock, Roll Out the Bear'Ale dance by Anton Cepernich
The Idiot, Berkeley Morris (1988 May 1) Stan Rogers
Mash'Em, Berkeley Morris c.f. Constant Billy and None So Pretty
None So Pretty, Bacon (MDT)
The Nutting Girl, Bacon (RKS (MSS))
The Nutting Girl, Bacon (RKS (MSS))
The Old Woman Tossed Up, Bacon (RKS (Jour.))
Old Molly Oxford (Step Back), Bacon (MDT)
Pagans and Puritans, Bruno Stacy Trevenon obtain permission to perform from Pipe & Bowl
Pagans and Puritans, Roll Out the Bear'Ale Stacy Trevenon obtain permission to perform from Pipe & Bowl
Princess Royal, Berkeley (1988 May 1) c.f. Bampton and the 2nd Bledington in Bacon
Princess Royal, Bacon (RKS (Jour.)) added a rest to start the B
The Rose, Bacon (MDT) transposed from A to G
Shepherd's Hey (Hankie), Bacon (MDT)
Trunkles, Bacon (CJS (MSS)) Col. from Daniel Lock at Minster Lovell, 18.9.11
The Walk of the Two Penny Postman Gary Owen, Bacon (RKS (MSS))
Headington
Bacca Pipes, Bacon (MB)
Bacca Pipes, Morris On
Bean Setting, Bacon (MDT)
Bonny Green Garters, Bacon (MDT) commonly used as B + C parts of recessional
Getting Upstairs, Bacon (MDT)
The 29th of May, Bacon (6MDJ) c.f. Lads-a-Bunchum (Adderbury)
Soldier O., Roll Out the Bear'Ale dance by Ed Stern
Soldier Oh, Ruth Temple dance by Ed Stern
Ilmington
Bumpus O' Stretton, Bacon (Carey MSS) rationalized A/B transitions, transposed from F to G
Evesham,
The Jubilee Dance, Bacon (RKS MSS)
The Maid of the Mill, Bacon (RKS MSS) ending of A part rationalized
The Old Woman Tossed Up in a Blanket, Bacon (MDT)
Shepherds' Hey, Bacon (MDT)
Lichfield
Ring O' Bells, Bacon (Jour EFDSS)
Vandals of Hammerwich, Bacon (Jour EFDSS)
Vandals of Hammerwich, West Coast Teams
Longborough
The British Grenadiers, Bacon (CJS MSS)
Much Wenlock
Jig, Bacon (MK MSS) Trad. originally entered by Rich Holmes, 1996 Sept.
Not for Joe, Bacon (MK MSS)
Oddington
The Old Frog Dance, Bacon (Carey MSS) Bacon parts (A1, A2) are here (A, Z)
Sherborne
I'll Go and Enlist, Bacon (MDT)
I'll Go and Enlist, Bacon (MDT) transposed from Gm to EDor
How d'Ye Do?, Bacon (CJS MSS)
The Sherborne Jig My Lord of Sherborne's Jig, Bacon (MDT)
Lads a-Bunchun, Bacon (MDT) transposed from F to G
Orange in Bloom, Berkeley (1988 May 1)
Orange in Bloom, Bacon (CJS MSS)
Orange in Bloom, Seabright as taught by Evan Shepherd
Stanton Harcourt
Greensleeves, Bacon (Williams MSS)
The Nightingale, Bacon
Princess Royal, Bacon (Williams MSS) T. Carolan
Bash the Carp, Ruth Temple and Julia Schult
Wheatley
Bobbing-a-Joe, Bacon (CJS MSS)
Constant Billy, Bacon (CJS MSS) added a rest to start the B
Oh Dear, What Can the Matter Be?, Bacon (the common song tune)
The Wheatley Processional, Bacon (MDT)
Room for the Cuckoo, Bacon (CJS MSS)
Shepherd's Hey, Bacon (CJS MSS)
Trunkles, Bacon (CJS MSS)
White Ladies Aston
White Ladies Aston, Bacon (RD (from MK))
Winster
The Morris March (Winster Processional), Bacon (MDT)
The Morris March (Winster Processional), West Coast Teams as used on tours
Circle And Horn
Not exactly morris, but related.
The Circle Dance from Abram, Ruth Temple Collected by Maud Karpeles
Horn Dance (well maybe), Bruno loosely inspired by Abbots Bromley
Sword
Sword dances are traditionally done in winter.
The North Skelton Sword Dance Lass O' Dallogill ? The Oyster Girl The Keel Row, J. Winspear from Douglas Kennedy's description in the EFDSS
Papa Stour Sword Dance, George Petersen from Jim Morrison in Over the Water and SMS workshop 1995 June 28
Papa Stour Sword Dance, George Petersen based on Jim Morrison's tape transcribed by Paul Friedman at Pinewoods, 1978 July
Papa Stour Sword Dance, George Petersen from Jim Morrison's tape of GP, CD (Over the Water), and SMS workshop 1995 June 28
Playford
These are English country dance tunes, but Cecil Sharp was involved
in this, too.
Gathering Peascods, Playford Trad. DM I: 1651-1690, transposed from A to G
Rufty Tufty, Playford Trad. DM I: 1651
Wassail
For the festive, dark, and cold season of the year.
The Berkeley Wassail descant, descant Jon Berger Copyright (c) Jon Berger
The Berkeley Wassail melody, melody only Jon Berger Copyright (c) Jon Berger
The Berkeley Wassail bass, bass only Jon Berger Copyright (c) Jon Berger
The Berkeley Wassail descant melody bass, Jon Berger Copyright (c) Jon Berger
The Berkeley Wassail, Jon Berger Copyright (c) Jon Berger
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Steve Allen <sla@ucolick.org>