Old Rosin the Beau

Last updated
"Old Rosin the Beau"
Song
Published1838
Genre Traditional folk

"Old Rosin the Beau" (or "Rosin the Bow") is a traditional folk song popular in America, England, Ireland, and Canada, first published in Philadelphia in 1838 though possibly dating back to the 1700s. It is listed in the Roud Folk Song Index as number 1192. [1]

Contents

An earlier version, "Rosin the Bow" (not "Beau") refers to rosin with the bow of a violin, but both cover the same general subject (see below: Full lyrics). There are many variations of the song(s), and the tune has been re-used in other songs for political campaign jingles, slave songs, comedy songs, or other folk songs.

Early versions of "Old Rosin the Beau" relate the story of a man who was popular in his youth, then in late life, the ladies refer to him as "Old Rosin, the beau", as he prepares for the grave. As a drinking song, the chorus chimes, "Take a drink for Old Rosin the Beau" and uses dark comedy, with jests about his grave or tombstone, taken in stride while repeating the sing-song melody. As with many folk songs, the song is structured where soloists can sing a verse, and then the group can join the chorus/refrain portion after each verse.

Prominent recorded versions include versions by A.L. Lloyd, Lou Killen, The Clancy Brothers, and Gordon Bok. [1]

Partial lyrics

The lyrics depend on which version of the song is considered. The 1838 version of "Old Rosin the Beau" begins with the following verse: [2] The lyrics, as arranged by J. C. Beckell in 1838, are as follows:

I have travell'd this wide world over,
And now to another I'll go.
I know that good quarters are waiting,
To welcome old Rosin the beau.

CHORUS
To welcome old Rosin the beau...
To welcome old Rosin the beau
I know that good quarters are waiting
To welcome old Rosin the beau.

The original folk song, "Rosin the Bow" begins as follows: [2]

I've always been cheerful and easy,
And scarce have I needed a foe.
While some after money run crazy,
I merrily Rosin'd the Bow.

Some youngsters were panting for fashions,
Some new kick seemed now all the go,
But having no turbulent passions,
My motto was "Rosin the Bow."

Early history

The melody commonly referred to in the United States as "Old Rosin the Bow" was originally written under the title of "Eoghan Coir" by Irish poet and songwriter Riocard Bairéad sometime in the late 18th Century. [3] Following the Irish Rebellion of 1798, William Rooney adapted the melody into an Irish rebel song called "The Men of the West" for the centenary celebrations of the event. [4]

Other texts

Several US presidential campaign songs were set to the tune of "Old Rosin the Beau", [5] including for Abraham Lincoln ("Lincoln and Liberty"). [6] William Henry Harrison was the subject of three separate songs set to the tune: "The Hero of Tippecanoe", [7] "Tyler and Tippecanoe", [8] and another, similar, song by the same name. [9] Henry Clay, Whig candidate in 1824, 1832, and 1844, was the subject of many more, in keeping with the Whig tradition of the time to glorify their candidates in song. George Hood's Henry Clay Minstrel, compiled in 1843, lists six: Harry, The Honest And True; The Ladies' Whig Song; The Whig Rifle Tune; The Saint Louis Clay Club Song; How Many Clay Men Are There, and Come All Ye Good Men Of The Nation. [10]

A 19th-century American hymn by Seymour Boughton Sawyer, "How bright is the day when the Christian", was set to the tune and published as "Sawyer's Exit" in the Sacred Harp edition of 1850, in a three-part arrangement attributed to John Massengale. [11] [12]

The tune has been used in "Acres of Clams" (aka "Old Settler's Song"). It is also the melody to "Down in the Willow Garden" (aka "Rose Connolly"). [13] Randy Sparks later used it for the song "Denver", performed by The New Christy Minstrels on their 1963 live album, The New Christy Minstrels – In Person.

The melody was also used in several Irish rebel songs including "The Boys of Kilmichael" " and "The Soldiers of Cumann na mBan ".

On his album The Irish-American's Song, David Kincaid used the tune as the setting for a Confederate version of "Kelly's Irish Brigade", [14] a song from the American Civil War, earlier set to "Columbia, Gem of the Ocean". [15]

Full lyrics

The full lyrics for one version of "Rosin the Bow" develop into dark comedy. [2]

I've always been cheerful and easy,
And scarce have I needed a foe.
While some after money run crazy,
I merrily Rosin'd the Bow.

Some youngsters were panting for fashions,
Some new kick seemed now all the go,
But having no turbulent passions,
My motto was "Rosin the Bow."

So kindly my parents besought me,
No longer a roving to go,
And friends whom I thought had forgot me,
With gladness met Rosin the Bow.

My young day I spent all in roving,
But never was vicious, no, no;
But somehow I loved to keep moving,
And cheerfully Rosin'd the Bow.

In country or city, no matter,
Too often I never could go,
My presence all sadness would scatter,
So cheerful was Rosin the Bow.

The old people always grew merry,
Young faces with pleasure did glow,
While lips with the red of cherry,
Sipped "bliss to old Rosin the Bow."

While sweetly I played on my viol,
In measures so soft and so slow,
Old Time stopped the shade on the dial,
To listen to Rosin the Bow.

And peacefully now I am sinking,
From all this sweet world can bestow,
But Heaven's kind mercy I'm thinking,
Provides for old Rosin the Bow.

Now soon some still Sunday morning,
The first thing the neighbors will know,
Their ears will be met with the warning,
To bury old Rosin the Bow.

My friends will then so neatly dress me,
In linen as white as the snow,
And in my new coffin they'll press me,
And whisper "poor Rosin the Bow."

Then lone with my head on the pillow,
In peace I'll be sleeping below,
The grass and the breeze shaken willow,
That waves over Rosin the Bow.

Related Research Articles

"Scarborough Fair" is a traditional English ballad. The song lists a number of impossible tasks given to a former lover who lives in Scarborough, North Yorkshire. The "Scarborough/Whittingham Fair" variant was most common in Yorkshire and Northumbria, where it was sung to various melodies, often using Dorian mode, with refrains resembling "parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme" and "Then she'll be a true love of mine." It appears in Traditional Tunes by Frank Kidson published in 1891, who claims to have collected it from Whitby.

"Lily of the West" is a traditional British and Irish folk song, best known today as an American folk song, listed as number 957 in the Roud Folk Song Index. The American version is about a man who travels to Louisville and falls in love with a woman named Mary, Flora or Molly, the eponymous Lily of the West. He catches Mary being unfaithful to him, and, in a fit of rage, stabs the man she is with, and is subsequently imprisoned. In spite of this, he finds himself still in love with her. In the original version, the Lily testifies in his defense and he is freed, though they do not resume their relationship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Sash</span> Irish Loyalist Ballad

"The Sash" is a ballad from Northern Ireland commemorating the victory of King William III in the Williamite War in Ireland in 1690–1691. The lyrics mention the 1689 Siege of Derry, the 1689 Battle of Newtownbutler near Enniskillen, the 1691 Battle of Aughrim, and the 1690 Battle of the Boyne. It is popular amongst Ulster loyalists and many other unionists in Northern Ireland, it also remains a popular folk ballad in parts of Ireland and Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Turkey in the Straw</span> American folk song

"Turkey in the Straw" is an American folk song that first gained popularity in the 19th century. Early versions of the song were titled "Zip Coon", which were first published around 1834 and performed in minstrel shows, with different people claiming authorship of the song. The melody of "Zip Coon" later became known as "Turkey in the Straw"; a song titled "Turkey in de Straw" with different music and lyrics was published in 1861 together with the wordless music of "Zip Coon" added at the end, and the title "Turkey in the Straw" then became linked to the tune of "Zip Coon".

"We Wish You a Merry Christmas" is an English Christmas carol, listed as numbers 230 and 9681 in the Roud Folk Song Index. The famous version of the carol is from the English West Country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camptown Races</span> 1850 minstrel song by Stephen Foster

"De Camptown Races" or "Gwine to Run All Night" is a minstrel song by American Romantic composer Stephen Foster. It was published in February 1850 by F. D. Benteen and was introduced to the American mainstream by Christy's Minstrels, eventually becoming one of the most popular folk/Americana tunes of the nineteenth century. It is Roud Folk Song Index no. 11768.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Dan Tucker</span> Traditional song performed by Virginia Minstrels

"Old Dan Tucker," also known as "Ole Dan Tucker," "Dan Tucker," and other variants, is an American popular song. Its origins remain obscure; the tune may have come from oral tradition, and the words may have been written by songwriter and performer Dan Emmett. The blackface troupe the Virginia Minstrels popularized "Old Dan Tucker" in 1843, and it quickly became a minstrel hit, behind only "Miss Lucy Long" and "Mary Blane" in popularity during the antebellum period. "Old Dan Tucker" entered the folk vernacular around the same time. Today it is a bluegrass and country music standard. It is no. 390 in the Roud Folk Song Index.

"Streets of Laredo", also known as "The Dying Cowboy", is a famous American cowboy ballad in which a dying ranger tells his story to another cowboy. Members of the Western Writers of America chose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.

"Old MacDonald Had a Farm" is a traditional children's song and nursery rhyme about a farmer and the various animals he keeps. Each verse of the song changes the name of the animal and its respective noise. For example, if the verse uses a cow as the animal, then "moo" would be used as the animal's sound. In many versions, the song is cumulative, with the animal sounds from all the earlier verses added to each subsequent verse.

"The Broomfield Hill", "The Broomfield Wager" "The Merry Broomfield", "The Green Broomfield", "A Wager, a Wager", or "The West Country Wager" (Child 43, Roud 34) is a traditional English folk ballad.

The Farmer's Curst Wife is a traditional English language folk song listed as Child ballad number 278 and number 160 in the Roud Folk Song Index.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Our Goodman</span> Song

"Our Goodman" is a Scottish and English humorous folk song. It describes the efforts of an unfaithful wife to explain away the evidence of her infidelity. A version of the song, "Seven Drunken Nights", was a hit record for The Dubliners in the 1960s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Moonshiner</span>

"The Moonshiner" is a folk song with unknown origins. In Ireland and America, it is sung with similar lyrics but different melodies. It is catalogued as Roud Folk Song Index No. 4301. The song's structure is very similar to The Wild Rover, but instead extolling the virtues of moonshining.

The song "All Around my Hat" is of nineteenth-century English origin. In an early version, dating from the 1820s, a Cockney costermonger vowed to be true to his fiancée, who had been sentenced to seven years' transportation to Australia for theft and to mourn his loss of her by wearing green willow sprigs in his hatband for "a twelve-month and a day", the willow being a traditional symbol of mourning. The song was made famous by Steeleye Span, whose rendition may have been based on a more traditional version sung by John Langstaff, in 1975.

"Old Settler's Song (Acres of Clams)" is a Northwest United States folk song written by Francis D. Henry around 1874. The lyrics are sung to the tune "Old Rosin the Beau." The song also goes by the names "Acres of Clams", “Lay of the Old Settler,” “Old Settler’s Song,” while the melody is known as “Rosin the Beau,” "Old Rosin the Beau," "Rosin the Bow," "Mrs. Kenny," "A Hayseed Like Me," "My Lodging's on the Cold, Cold Ground." The Sacred Harp song "338 Sawyer's Exit" also uses the tune. The tune was also used for the song "Denver", which was recorded by The New Christy Minstrels in their 1962 live performance album The New Christy Minstrels - In Person.

"Katie Cruel" is a traditional American folksong, likely of Scottish origin. As a traditional song, it has been recorded by many performers, but the best known recording of the song is by Karen Dalton on the album In My Own Time. The American version of the song is said to date to the Revolutionary War period. The song is Roud no. 1645.

"Angelina Baker", sometimes sung as "Angeline the Baker" is a song written by Stephen Foster for the Christy Minstrels, and published in 1850. The original laments the loss of a woman slave, sent away by her owner. The lyrics have been subjected to the folk process, and some versions have become examples of the "Ugly Girl" or "Dinah" song.

"Lincoln and Liberty Too" was a campaign song supporting Republican Abraham Lincoln in the 1860 United States presidential election.

"The Unfortunate Lad", also known as "The Unfortunate Rake", is a ballad, which through the folk process has evolved into a large number of variants, including allegedly the country and western song "Streets of Laredo".

"The Unfortunate Lad" is the correct title of a song printed without a tune on a number of 19th century ballad sheets by Such of London and Carrots and possibly others.

References

  1. 1 2 "Rosin the Beau / Rosin the Bow (Roud 1192; G/D 3:698; Henry H698)". mainlynorfolk.info. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
  2. 1 2 3 "anonymous - Public Domain Music", pdmusic.org, 2010, web: PDM-38or.
  3. ↑ "Eoghan Coir, Songs from Co. Mayo in the West of Ireland". Mayo, Ireland. Archived from the original on July 4, 2022. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
  4. ↑ Various (2010). The Ninety-Eight Songbook. Dublin, Ireland: The Irish Book Bureau. pp. 7–11.
  5. ↑ Ray Broadus Browne (January 1979). The Alabama Folk Lyric: A Study in Origins and Media of Dissemination. Popular Press. p. 404. ISBN   978-0-87972-129-9.
  6. ↑ George Washington Bungay (1860). Hutchinson's Republican songster, for the campaign of 1860. O. Hutchinson, Publisher, 67 Nassau Street. p.  71.
  7. ↑ Anthony Banning Norton (1888). Tippecanoe Songs of the Log Cabin Boys and Girls of 1840. A. B. Norton & Company. p. 51.
  8. ↑ Charles Adams (1840). Log Cabin and Hard Cider Melodies (PDF). p. 17.
  9. ↑ Oscar Brand. "Tyler and Tippecanoe".
  10. ↑ George Hood (1843). The National Clay Minstrel: And True Whig's Pocket Companion, for the Presidential Canvass of 1844. O. Hood, Publisher, 15 North Sixth Street.
  11. ↑ Shaping the Values of Youth: Sunday School Books in 19th Century America (UMiss website)
  12. ↑ Steel, David Warren. "Rosin the Beau".
  13. ↑ Wilgus, D.K. (Apr–Jun 1979). "'Rose Connoley': An Irish Ballad". The Journal of American Folklore. 92 (364). American Folklore Society: 173. doi:10.2307/539387. JSTOR   539387.
  14. ↑ Kincaid, David (January 19, 2013). "The Stories Behind the Songs: 'Kelly's Irish Brigade'". The Wild Geese Today. GAR Media.
  15. ↑ "Kelly's Irish Brigade". Big Canoe Records. 1995. Archived from the original on 2012-06-17.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.