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"La Bastringue" is a Canadian (originally) and American reel in D Major ('A' part) and D
Mixolydian ('B' part). The parts are played AABB (Miller & Perron, Perlman, Sweet) or
AABB' (Brody).
"La Bastringue" has its origins in an old French tune from the 17th or 18th century. It appears set in 6/8 time in a number of English collections in the 19th century, such as Wilson's Companion to the Ballroom (1816) under the title "Voulez Vous Danser/Voulez-vous danser, Mademoiselle". In French Canada it became a "party song" which tells of an older man who wants to dance "La Bastringue" with a girl. He soon finds he isn't up to the pace, however and, to save face, tries to beg off by feigning concern for the woman's stamina. She proves equal to the task, though and he finally just has to give up. The first verse goes: Mademoiselle, voulez-vous danser La Bastringue,Transplanted French-Canadian fiddler Omer Marcoux {1898-1982} (Concord, N.H.) recalled it as one of the first dance tunes he learned and related that his father played it for the first tune of the evening, to get everyone moving in the house. A third part is infrequently played after the familiar first two parts. Vermont fiddler Louis Beaudoin played the first strain of "Moneymusk" as his third part. It was printed in Brody's Fiddler's Fakebook (1983), Miller & Perron's New England Fiddlers Repertoire (1983), Miskoe &Paul's Omer Marcoux (1994), Perlman's The Fiddle Music of Prince Edward Island (1996), Sweet's Fifer's Delight (1964/1981) and Welling's Welling's Hartford Tunebook. It was recorded by Alan Mills and Jean Carignan, Jackie Daly, Seamus & Manus McGuire on Buttons and Bows (1984), Jean Carignan on French Canadian Fiddle Songs, Les Franco-Américains on Mademoiselle, voulez-vous danser? (1999), Yankee Ingenuity on Heatin' Up the Hall (1989), Frank Ferrelon Fiddle Tunes and Jackie Daly (et al) on The Big Squeeze. |