Cock of the North
Notation:
Standard Notation
ABC Notation
Mandolin Tablature
Violin Tablature
traditional
PDF Files:
--- choose file type ---
Standard Notation
Mandolin Tablature
Violin Tablature
Tune Sheet
Scottish
Play
MIDI
No audio
available
Transcription: by Darryl D. Bush
"Cock of the North", also known as "Auntie Mary" (Ireland, Newfoundland), "Joan's Placket<br> (Is Torn)" (England) or "Jumping John" is a Scottish, English and Canadian jig in<br> 6/8 March and Morris dance tune. It is known in Canada in Cape Breton, Prince Edward Island and<br> Newfoundland. It is played in A Major (Hunter, Johnson, Kennedy, Miller & Perron, Perlman,<br> Raven) or G Major (Bayard, Bullen, Kerr, Sweet, Wade).<br> The "Cock o' the North" was an honorary title of the (fifth and last) Duke of Gordon, who<br> held sway over the northern part of the Scottish Highlands. David Murray, in Music of the<br> Scottish Regiments (Edinburgh, 1994), writes: "While most of the great magnates of the Highland<br> had a Gaelic patronymic, the Duke of Gordon's was 'The Cock of the North', for although he<br> owned vast estates in the Highlands, Gaelic was not widely spoken in Aberdeenshire, where his<br> influence was the strongest".<br> Chappell alleges the earliest reference to the tune (under the title "Joan's Placket") is in an<br> entry in Pepys' diary for June 1667. Bayard (1981) and Kidson (1915) both trace the tune to<br> the 17th century, where they find the titles for this tune were "Jumping John/Joan" and<br> "Joan's Placket (Is Torn)".<br> It was published by Oswald (vol. 10) c. 1758, by Feuillet in Recueil de Contredanses (1706) in<br> Paris. <br> It was printed in Bacon's A Handbook of Morris Dances (1974), Bayard's Dance to the<br> Fiddle (1981), Hunter's The Fiddle Music of Scotland (1988), Jarman's The Cornhuskers Book of<br> Old Time Fiddlin' Tunes (1938), Jarman's Old Time Dance Tunes (1951), Johnson's<br> Kitchen Musician No. 7: Michigan Tunes (1986–87), Kennedy's Fiddler's Tune-Book,<br> vol. 2 (1954), Kerr's Merry Melodies, vol. 2, McDonald's The Gesto<br> Collection of Highland Music (1895), Miller & Perron's New England Fiddler's<br> Repertoire (1983), Moffat's Dance Music of the North (1908), Perlman's The Fiddle Music of<br> Prince Edward Island (1996), Raven's English Country Dance Tunes (1984), Ross's Army Manual<br> of Bagpipe Tunes, book 1 (1934), Sweet's Fifer's Delight (1964/1981) and Wade's<br> Mally's North West Morris Book (1988).<br> It was recorded by Seamus Ennis, Pádraig O’Keeffe, Boys of the Lough, Pady Maloney and others.<br>
Click
here
for a full page view.