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The Quaker polka

There are 7 recordings of this tune.

The Quaker has been added to 2 tune sets.

The Quaker has been added to 27 tunebooks.

Download ABC

One setting

1
X: 1
T: The Quaker
R: polka
M: 2/4
L: 1/8
K: Gmaj
|:BB A/G/F/E/|ED DD/E/|FF F/E/F|A G/F/ G B/c/|
d e/d/ cB|AE Ec|B/A/G/F/ EF|1 G3 G/A/:|2 G3 F/G/||
K:D
|:AA BB|A/G/F/G/ A F/A/|G/F/E/F/ G E/G/|F/E/D/E/ F F/G/|
AA BB|A/G/F/G/ AF|G/F/E/F/ G/A/B/c/|1 d3 F/G/:|2 d2 =c2||

Five comments

The Quaker

Please note that this tune has no connection whatsover with the tune “Merrily Kissed the Quaker’s Wife” already posted to session.org.

It’s a tune that I’ve known for years, but I’ve no idea of its origin.

I’ve submitted it in GMaj, but note that the second part of the tune is in DMaj.

The tune “goes around in a circle”, so you wouldn’t want to finish a set with it!

This is a Cotswold morris tune, I believe. I can’t see why it wouldn’t work for a polka set, though - after doubling the tempo, at any rate.

Thanks for the info, Creadur. Yes, over the years our ceilidh band has used the tune occasionally (played as a polka) at barn dances.

And - to add further weight to what you say - on reflection, I think this particular tune originally got into the repertoire at the suggestion of a fiddler who was playing with us back in the 1980s. And that particular fiddler was also a musician with a local Morris side!

Our ceilidh band’s being going quite a while now (a total of about 70 musicians have played in it since it started) and a result we’ve accumulated quite a wide variety of traditional material, including Irish, Scottish, English, American and French tunes.

A polka? A 2/4 march, more like~ It certainly has ‘Morris dancing’ written all over it (A dance only fit for bears! And they performed under duress! The Quaker wouldn’t aprove.) It “goes around in a circle”? God help us!

Re: The Quaker

Great tune! love it.