Peacock Follow The Hen slip jig

This tune is English, or so I’ve always understood. I don’t know where I got it.

I believe it is of Northumbrian origin - at least, it appears in some old manuscripts of Northumbrian pipe tunes. A setting of it also appears (as The Peacock and the Hen) in O’Neills, however.

It most certainly is Northumbrian (and thats not the same as English) and its one of our oldest tunes.
It was widely played in the 18th century, so its origins are likely to be even older.
There are doggerel words to this which start “aal theneet ower and ower, aal the neet ower again” (in English,all the night,over and over, all the nightover again).You can guess the gist of the rest.
Noel Jackson
Angels of the North

A lot of places have laid claim to this tune but it is very much Northumbrian. Kathryn Tickell plays a long piper’s version with variations which appear in John Peacock’s “A Favourite Collection (of tunes with variations)” according to the inlay of “On Kielder Side”. Nancy Kerr and James Fagan also do a “fiddlesinging” version of the Borders song “Gan to the Kye” set against the tune on their album “Steely Water”.

…The Lydian feel to the B-part is mentioned in the discussion thread on Lydian, Phrygian and Locrian modes, Nov 2002. Also Noel, Aa’m shooah ye knaa fine weel that “aal the neet ower and ower” *is* the prop’a Queen’s English, and that your version in brackets is just some posh stuff like 🙂

I’ve read that in Scotland this was known as “Brose And Butter”. The version posted here by Cuch is the most widely known setting that appears in the minstrelsy. In Vickers (1770), it appears under the title of “Cuddle Me Cuddy” (part of the words to a song). The only difference to the posted setting is the ends of the parts. The A-part ends …|Bcd gdc B2G:| and the B-part ends …|fdd gdc B2G:|

Apart from the slip jig dance settings, this tune is still played in the form of an elaborate pipe variations set by smallpipes players, probably best transcribed in 9/4. These settings are usually based on the one that appeared in John Peacock’s tunebook from the early 1800s. The abc for that 7-part setting is below (with a minor note value correction in the 1st bar of the 3rd part, and change of time sig from 9/8 to 9/4):

M:9/4
K:Ador
|:c4e2 cBABcA cBABcA|c4e2 cBABcA B4G2|
c4e2 cBABcA cBABcA|B4d d2g2d2 B4G2:|
|:c4e2 gfefge gfefge|c4e2 gfefge f4d2|
c4e2 gfefge c2efge|f4d2 d2g2d2 B4G2:|
|:cBcde2 c2A2g2 c2A2g2|cBcde2 c2A2g2 B4G2|
cBcde2 c2A2g2 c2A2g2|B2G2g2 B2G2g2 B4G2:|
|:g2c2g2 c2efge g2c2e2|g2c2g2 c2efge dcBAG2|
g2c2g2 c2efge g2c2e2|f4d2 d2g2d2 B4G2:|
|:c2e2g2 c2e2g2 c2e2g2|c2e2g2 c2e2g2 Bcd2g2|
c2e2g2 c2e2g2 c2e2g2|f4d2 d2g2d2 B4G2:|
|:c4e2 cAcege cAcege|c4e2 cAcege B4G2|
c4e2 cAcege cAcege|BGBdgd BgBdgd B4G2:|
|:g2c2e2 e2cde2 e2cde2|g2c2e2 e2cde2 d2Bcd2|
g2c2e2 e2cde2 g2g2e2|f4d2 d2g2d2 B4G2:|

There is another version that goes by the title of “Yellow Stockings” without the lydian B-part:

M:9/8
K:Em
|:G2B GEE GEE|G2B GEE FED|G2B GEE GEE|FGA ABG FED:|
|:G2c BGd BGd|G2c BGd cBA|G2c BGd BGd|ecA ABG FED:|
|:B/c/BA GEE GEE|BdB GEE FED|B/c/BA GEE GEE|FGA ABG FED:|

This is from O’Neil. I play this as part of a set starting with Hunting the Hare and ending with Jack on the Green.

It seems in the repertoire of Scottish pipers. Hamish Moore recorded it as “Brose and Butter,” with the Gaelic title “Uileam’s Calum’s Morag’s.”

sounds a lot like Bugga Fe Hosa to me.

The following is an approximation of the Dr Faustus arrangement of this tune and harmonies, in Em, as found on “The First Cut”.

T: Peacock Follow The Hen
M: 9/8
R: slip jig
K: Em
“Em”GAB GEE GEE| GAB GEE “D”F2D|“Em”GAB GEE GEE|“D”FGA AdA F2D:|
“G”GAB dBB dBB|GAB dBB“A”^c2A|“G”GAB dBB dBB|“D”ABA A2G FED:|
“Em”efg eBB eBB | efg eBB “D”d2B |“Em” efg eBB eBB |“Em” A3~fef az2:|
“G”GAB dBB dBB|GAB dBB“A”^c2A|“G”GAB dBB dBB|“D”ABA A2G FED:|
“Em”GAB GEE GEE| GAB GEE “D”F2D|“Em”GAB GEE GEE|“D”FGA AdA F2D:|
“G”DFG BGG BGG | DFG BGG “A”A2F |“G” DFG BGG BGG |“D” ABA A2G FED:|

T: Peacock Follow The Hen (seconds)
M: 9/8
R: slip jig
K: Em
GAB GEE GEE| GAB GEE F2D|GAB GEE GEE|FGA AdA F2D:|
GAB dBB dBB|GAB dBB^c2A|GAB dBB dBB|ABA A2G FED:|
GAB GEE GEE| GAB GEE F2D|GAB GEE GEE|FGA AdA F2D:|
DFG BGG BGG | DFG BGG A2F | DFG BGG BGG | ABA A2G FED:|
EFG EB,B, EB,B, | EFG EB,B, D2B, | EFG EB,B, EB,B, | D3~EDE Az2:|
GAB dBB dBB|GAB dBB^c2A|GAB dBB dBB|ABA A2G FED:|

I think there is a confusion over the title of this tune:

Both the tune printed here and the tune ‘The Peacock Follows the Hen’ appear in Katryn Tyckell’s ‘on Kielder side’ album, why not check them out?

http://www.geocities.com/matalzi/priests2.html
wher I ‘found’ this:
<<…Fragments of songs of similar
import still obtain and are heard occasionally, as--

By bairn’s a bonny bairn, a canny bairn, a bonny bairn,
My bairn’s a canny bairn, and never looks dowly;
My bairn’s a canny bairn, a canny bairn, a bonny bairn,
By bairn’s a bonny bairn, and not a yellow-yowley.

All the neet ower and ower,
And all the neet ower again:
All the neet ower and ower,
The peacock follows the hen.

A hen’s a hungry dish,
A goose is hollow within:
There’s no deceit in a pudding;
A pie’s a dainty thing. >>

http://www.ke1th.com/trad/up_and_down_again.mp3

X: 1134
T: The Peacock Followed the Hen
T: Brose And Butter
T: Mad Moll
T: Cuddle Me Cuddy
M: 9/8
L: 1/8
R: slip jig
K: E Dorian
|: D |
GAB GEE G2 E | GAB GEE FDD |
GAB GEE GEE | FGA ABG F2 :|
|: D |
GAB dBB d2 D | GG/A/B dBB c>BA |
GAB dBB dBB | F>GA ABG F>E :|

& a take more straight and in agreement ~

K: E Dorian
|: D |
GAB GEE GEE | GAB GEE F2 D |
GAB GEE GEE | FGA A2 G F2 :|
|: D |
GAB dBB dBB | GAB dBB c2 A |
GAB dBB dBB | FGA A2 G F2 :|

~ another for Sarah & anyone else who values octave limited melodies ~

Discussion: What One Octave Tunes in D exist?
# Posted on September 19th 2007 by Sarah the Flute
https://thesession.org/discussions/15202

I found this fine little slip jig in Petrie’s. The title shows up in the index of O‘Neill’s 1001, but refers to a tune in that book called “Up and Down Again”. This tune (the O’Neill’s one) is similar in most respects (although it’s in a different key), and seems to be a variant of the older version found in Petrie’s. I just prefer the “danciness” of the older version. it works well transposed up two semitones to B Minor & down five semitones to E Minor, respectively. Enjoy!

Brose and Butter: https://thesession.org/tunes/1145

Common Scottish session tune, ‘Brose and Butter’. We play it followed by ‘Andrew Carr’ and ‘Moon and Seven Stars’

Gives a nice laid back set.

AKA The Peacock followed the Hen
Though there’s a couple of accidentals in the B part that I’d do differently.
Already here under all these names….
https://thesession.org/tunes/1145

This is a nice, less protracted and more biting take on the 9/4 version in A posted by Dr.Dow. She plays the first 4 parts twice slow before playing the 5th that she uses as a bridge to some fast jigs.

X: 1
T: The Peacok follows the Hen
M:9/8
L: 1/8
R: jig
K:E dor
G2B G/F/E/F/G/E/ G/F/E/F/G/E/|G2B G/F/E/F/G/E/ F2D|
G2B G/F/E/F/G/E/ G/F/E/F/G/E/|F2A AdA F2D:||
G2B d/c/B/c/d/B/ d/c/B/c/d/B/|G2B d/c/B/c/d/B/ c2A|
G2B d/c/B/c/d/B/ GB/c/d/A/|F2A AdA F2D:||
G/F/G/A/B GEd GEd|G/F/G/A/B GEd F2D|
G/F/G/A/B GEd GEd|FDd FDd F2D:||
dGd EB/c/d/B/ dGB/e/|dGd EB/c/d/B/ A/G/F/E/D|
dGd EB/c/d/B/ dGB|c2A AdA F2D:||
G2B G/E/G/B/d/B/ G/E/G/B/d/B/|G2B G/E/G/B/d/B/ F2D|
G2B G/E/G/B/d/B/ G/E/G/B/d/B/|F/D/F/A/d/A/ F/d/F/A/d/A/ F2D:||

I like to follow this with: https://thesession.org/tunes/10841 which is in the same key but a little brighter in mood.
(Kathryn’s version is almost dark: she plays the whole tune in Gmin against the persistant G+D drones. My favourite set on On Kielder Side.)

It’s an old Scottish song tune. As Burns printed it in “The Merry Muses of Caledonia”, the chorus goes

Gie my love brose, brose
Gie my love brose an butter
For nane in Carrick wi him
Can gie a c--t its supper.

The sheet music version here is in G. The version in my book - Kennedy Slip Jigs and Walzes - is in C. The only difference being the F in the second part. It sounds out of place as a natural in the melody but fits with the chord which is given as a G7. Which is preferred Fsharp or Fnatural?

Just to add a bit more to the rich history of this tune already noted — it appears as tune #101 in Petrie’s “Complete Irish Music” under the title “Here we go up, up, up”, with the added note that it is called “Mad Moll” in the 17th Edition of the Dancing Master 1721.

this is the tune used for the verses of Arthur O’Bradley, by the full English - winner of the BBC2 folk awards 2014 for best album
video here http://www.bbc.co.uk/events/e24mxj
loves it !

it does, of course, appear in Playford’s 1698 edition, as Mad Moll. Recognisable as the same tune posted.
http://www.izaak.unh.edu/nhltmd/indexes/dancingmaster/

From Bodega’s album Bodega.

This version is from the Aidan album in 2013, “The Time Is Right” (https://thesession.org/recordings/6030). It’s a pretty different version, plausibly not even the same tune (they list it as “The Peacock And The Hen”). But as I couldn’t find their version anywhere, and it’s at least conceptually and rhythmically close to this tune, and this tune already has pretty wide variation, figure it makes sense to add it here.

There’s a Welsh slip jig called “Y Facsen Felen” which is different but kind of reminds me of this tune, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it was created off of this one.

Source: Fidil
Transcription (of the second turn) : Gian Marco Pietrasanta
https://youtu.be/xneWF9dA5Ik

play video

This is the version of ‘Up and Down Again’ which we used to play often many years ago. There’s a version in O’Neill’s, and other settings amongst those here:- https://thesession.org/tunes/1145