The Princess Royal barndance

Let’s try this again.

And I looked around, and I’m surprised that this one isn’t on here yet… This version anyway. Really, this tune is almost nothing like the original tune composed by Turlough O’Carolan. If anything, this is a wacky version of Rodney’s Glory.

A lovely, lovely tune, no? I’m quite the fan of this meself. Apparantly this tune is a favorite of Tim Britton, and the only Carolan tune he likes. Technically, it’s not a Carolan tune anyway so… Yeah =P

Cheers,
Armand

The following is the version that I learnt in a nicely traditional manner. I learnt it directly from the fiddle playing of the late Peter Kennedy (great fiddler, great melodeon player, great friend) and he learnt it directly from Johnny Doherty - good, uh? (And I’m not even sorry about the name drops, ha!)


X:1
T:Princess Royal (Johnny Doherty version)
M:4/4
R:
K:Ador
ed | c2 B2 A2 e=f | ed cB A2 (3efg | f2 d2 d2 gf | ed cB c2 BA |
~B2 g2 ~B2 G2 | AB AG E2 ed | cB Ac B2 ^G2 | 1 A4-A2 :| 2 A4 AB ^cd ||
e2 a2 ag ab | ag ed e3 d | ea gf g2 e2 | dc BA G2 AB | c2 c2 d2 d2 |
ef (3gfe a3 g | f2 A2 f3 g | e2 A2 d2 ed | c2 B2 AB cd | e2 E2 E2 ed |
cB Ac B2 ^G2 | 1 A4 AB ^cd :| 2 A4-A2 ||

I’ll post some more about this tune shortly.

… and there’s this calling on song, which goes into an English Morris tune version of the Princess Royal, which I would have thought was already on the site, but maybe not …

Anyway, here’s the calling on song to be going on with:

X:1
T:Bold Nelson’s Praise
M:4/4
R:
K:Ddor
AG | F2 D2 D2 AG | F2 D2 D4 | B2 GG-GA B2 | A2 F2 F3 A |
G2 F2 E2 D2 | C2 D2 A,2 AG | F2 ED E2 A,2 | D2 D4 AA |
d2 A2 d2 A2 | d2 A2 d2 B2 | c3 d c2 A2 | G2 F2 E4 |
D2 DE F2 G2 | A2 A2 d4 | cA3 B4 | AD3 G4 | F2 E2 D2 D2 |
A2 A,2 A,2 AG | FE D2 E2 F2 | D4 D2 ||

Words:

Bold Nelson’s Praise I’m going to sing
Not forgetting our glorious king
He always did glad tidings bring
For he was a bold commander

There was Sydney Smith and Duncan too
Lord Howe and all his glorious crew
These were the men who proved true blue
Full of care
Yet I swear
None with Nelson could compare
Not even Alexander

… and here’s the morris tune version:

X:1
T:Princess Royal (morris version)
M:4/4
R:
K:D
AG | F2 E2 D2 AG | FG EF D2 A2 | B2 G2 GA BG | A2 F2 F3 A |
G2 F2 E2 D2 | CD EC A,2 AG | FE DF E2 C2 | D4 D2 :| A2 |
B3 A B3 A | B2 c2 d3 c | d2 c2 B2 A2 | FE DF E3 A, |
D2 D2 E3 E | FE D2 d3 c | d2 A2 B3 B | A2 F2 G3 F |
G2 F2 E2 D2 | CD EC A,2 AG | FE DF E2 C2 | D4 D2 :|

Add capers at will …

I’ve learn’t this from Pete Cooper’s book/cd. His version is near enough the posted one. I wish I could get it going at the local session, but I have to solo it if I try 🙁 (Lovely tune.)

Key signature: Gminor
Submitted on August 19th 2002 by cj.
https://thesession.org/tunes/905

Does anybody bother checking first?

Key signature: e minor
Submitted on May 6th 2007 by gaitazampogna_32.
https://thesession.org/tunes/7148

The two last you’ve linked to, ceolachan, are *very* closely related (despite the nonsensical barlines of the second one). But they represent a different ‘strand’ as it were, of this tune.

I like best the Johnny Doherty version of Armand’s posting (my abcs above), and the second part is reasonably distinct.

I agree with you that people should check, but, in this case, I quite welcome having a lot of different versions, complete with sheet music, because it’s interesting *just* how different some of these have become.

btw, Armand, I don’t get the similarity to Rodney’s Glory at all …

The b part has similar ish phrases to Princess Royal.

AND I did indeed post this tune knowing that Carolan’s original version of the tune was on this site.. But if you compare them, they’re pretty distinct from each other. This tune might as well NOT be the Princess Royal, but that’s what everyone calls it.

Cheers,
Armand

I’ve heard the tale beforer that ProincessRoyal is an O’Carolan composition but its seems highly unlikely from a stylistic point of view. Does anyone have any evidence to support the idea or is this an urban myth.
Noel

In all my years involved in dancing & playing for Morris I have never come across any reference to Carolan, but who know?

we used to sing a short verse before playing the Adderbury version of ‘Princess Royal’ I know nothing of it’s origins.
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
K: G
G2 BB A2 c2 | B2 d2 d4 | e2 e2 d2 B2 | A2G2 A4 | G2 BB A2 c2 | B2 d2 d2 ef | g2 d2 B2 G2 | A4 G2 ||
"Old Mrs Harvey, old Joe Hunt, went to Newnham on a punt, lost the punt and down they went (pronounced "wunt") and they never got to Newnham"
Newnham being a village/town on the River Severn. one can travel from the Cotswolds to Tewkesbury/Evesham/Bredon and then by river all the way to Newnham.

I like the many variations and ways with an air too, that history of it finding itself in different hands for different uses. You just reminded me I forgot to add this link to those… 😉

Just in case it is seen otherwise, as has happened previously, I have saved all of the above…

Angelina Carberry recorded this version of the tune on the banjo. Very haunting.

Pat and Eoghan recorded this on their recent (and I must say quite delicious) album Converstions at the Crossroads. Very spooky sounding. Great stuff.

Like some others I will admit, with trepidation, that I am a morris dancer, and I’ve heard this tune for over 20 years in that context (danced as a jig with 1 or 2 dancers and a musician, usually played pretty slow to match the capers and other moves), and the first time I heard it in a session, I did a tremendous musical double take.

TED

Setting as played at the Golden Guinea pub session, Bristol, UK.

A variant of Princess Royal known as "Nelson’s Praise".

Verena Commins & Julie Langan on their album "Fonnchaoi" ("Funky") play a version close to most shown here but without accidentals and nowhere near Carolan’s Number 87 Miss MacDermott also known The Princess Royal. The first phrases ARE similar but Cummings & Langan do the tune in Cm Dorian (two flats). The tune works out well one sharp (Am Dorian) using Am, D, and an occasional G

"Princess Royal" and "Bold Princess Royal" - am I right thinking these are 2 different tunes?

Yes indeed. There seem to be several tunes called ‘(The) Princess Royal’ - I know of the one attributed to O’Carolan and two or three from the English Morris tradition*. ‘The Bold Princess Royal’ is the title of a song about a ship that manages to escape from an attack by a pirate. It’s in ‘The Singing Island’ (ed. P Seeger & E MacColl. Mills Music. 1960).
* See http://www.rudemex.co.uk/library/Alphabetical/01tunelib_alphabetical.php for transcriptions.