Not For Joe barndance

It’s not really a barndance, it doesn’t have the rhythm or cadence of a barndance. Seems like more of a polka to me. Is this a trad Irish tune?

It’s one of the most commonly used tunes for English morris dancing. I can’t imagine ever wanting to play it again!!

Ahh, Morris dancing…. I’m not familiar, at all, with the ins & outs of Morris. It could well be what the Morris musicians call a barndance. Anybody able to expand on the finer points?

It seems I’ve found the category ‘dustbin’, where tunes that haven’t got a clear identity within TheSession.Org miasma are segwayed… Whew!, old socks too?

There are at least 4 different tunes to which the title "Not for Joe" is applied, one being the Irish Polka "Gan Ainm" and another being the tune of a music hall song beginning "Joseph Baxter is my name…". They are presumably all tunes which have been used for a Morris dance called "Not for Joe".

The tune posted here is also used for a Border Morris dance called Dilwyn, and so Dilwyn is an alternative title. It is sometimes called "Much Wenlock", but there is a different - and more interesting - tune called "Much Wenlock". I prefer to keep "Much Wenlock" for the other tune and "Not for Joe" or Dilwyn for this one.

I suspect that this has been the air of another musical hall song, or even a nursery rhyme. In the back of my mind it is connected with Flash Company and Lads out on the Town. I’m sure I’ve heard words to it.

The only words I know forthis tune go

Bum titty, bum titty, too-ra-li-do,

Bum titty, bum titty, too-ra-lay,

Bum titty, bum titty, too-ra-li-do,

Play it on the old banjo

Yes, it has got words, but I couldn’t possibly publish them.
http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=35871