Jack Robinson polka

Here’s a jolly little ditty from the playing of Spiers and Boden. Suspect the music is as quintessentially English as the tune title. Does it count as ITM? Whatever-its a fun tune to play. Not sure its a polka though. I’ll get my retaliation in first by saying that I tried the title and the first two bars of ABC in the search engine and nowt came up.

You have mail! ~ 😉

Ignore the first one… 😏

X: 1
T: Jack Robinson
M: 2/4
L: 1/8
R: polka
K: G Major
|: DG F/G/A/B/ | c/B/A/c/ BG | D/F/A/F/ D/F/A/d/ | e/d/^c/e/ d>d |
e/d/^c/e/ dB | c/B/A/c/ BG | DG F/G/A/c/ |1 BG G>E :|2 BG GB/c/ |
|: dd Bd | eA AB/c/ | dd Bd | e/d/c/B/ AD |
GF/G/ AB | c/B/A/c/ BG | DG F/G/A/c/ |1 BG GB/c/ :|2 BG G2 ||

& alternatively ~

K: G Major
|: G>E |
DG F/G/A/B/ | c/B/A/c/ BG | D/F/A/F/ D/F/A/d/ | e/d/^c/e/ d>d |
e/d/^c/e/ dB | c/B/A/c/ BG | DG F/G/A/c/ | BG :|
|: GB/c/ |
dd Bd | eA AB/c/ | dd Bd | e/d/c/B/ AD |
GF/G/ AB | c/B/A/c/ BG | DG F/G/A/c/ | BG :|

Thanks for the tutorial,ceolachan-will try to give more thought to presentation in future. Am migrating in Cyberspace and ain’t got an e-mail address at present.

Since you’ve no email ~ no, sorry dub, the barring you’ve now given, doubling it and the number of measures, is definitely wrong… Please check out the transcriptions given above, 8 measures being your usual ‘country dance’ tune, in this case anyway, AABB = 32 bars, not 64…

Further notes: ~ before dealing with not crediting your sources, there are no full-stops after 1st and 2nd endings, just a space ~

|1 BG G>E :|2 BG GB/c/ || ~ or if as you’ve given it ~

M: 4/4
L: 1/8
|1 B2 G2 G3 E :|2 B2 G2 G2 Bc || (minus the incorrect barring.)

X: 16
T: Up Mill Steps
T: Mind the Floor
T: Jack Robinson
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
Q: 180
N: Mill Steps is a Lane in W.D.
Z: Brian Martin, Winterbourn Downs Morris (rcvd Jan 2003)
K: G Major
G2 [|:
D2 G2 FGAB | c2 A2 A2 G2 | FG A2 FG A2 | Bcde d2 Bd |
e2 e2 d2 B2 | cBAG A2 G2 | D2 G2 FGAB | A2 G2 G4 |]
d2 d2 Bc d2 | e2 A2 A2 Bc | d2 d2 Bc d2 | e2 A2A2 Bc |
d2 B2 c2 A2 | BAGB A2 G2 | D2 G2 FGAB | A2 G2 G2 z2 :|

Just realized he’d missed the repeat sign for the A-part ~

~ | A2 G2 G4 :| ( assumed since he starts it ~ G2 [|: ~ )

The Mandolin & Banjo Pages by Banjolin
http://www.banjolin.co.uk/
Tunes ~
http://www.banjolin.co.uk/tunes/tunes.htm
http://www.banjolin.co.uk/tunes/tunelist.htm ~ #152
http://www.banjolin.co.uk/tunes/abcs/jackrobinson.abc

X: 262
T: Jack Robinson
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: Reel
K: G Major
S: Trad
|: D2 G2 DG B2 | c2 A2 A4 | FG A2 FG A2 | GABc d4 |
edce d2 B2 | cBAB A2 G2 | D2 G2 FGAB |1 A2 G2 G4 :|2 A2 G2 GABc ||
|: d2 B2 cd e2 | e2 A2 A2 Bc | d2 B2 cd e2 | edcB A4 |
GABc d2 B2 | cBAB A2 G2 | D2 G2 FGAB |1 A2 G2 GABc :|2 A2 G2 G4 ||

Origin ~ ?

X: ~
T: Jack Robinson
M: 4/4
R: Reel
L: 1/8
K: G Major
|: D2 G2 D2 BB | c2 c2 A4 | FG A2 FG A2 | GBd^c d3 d | edce d2 B2 |
cBAB A2 G2 | D2 G2 FGAB |1 A2 G2 G2 E2 :|2 A2 G2 G2 Bc ||
|: d2 B2 cd e2 | e2 A2 A2 Bc | d2 B2 cd e2 | edcB AcBA | GABc d2 B2 |
cBAB A2 G2 | D2 G2 FGAB |1 A2 G2 G2 Bc :|2 A2 G2 G3 E ||

References suggest this tune may have been for a particular country dance? Here’s a bit more context for this tune ~

The Fiddler’s Companion ~ Andrew Kuntz
http://www.ibiblio.org/fiddlers/index.html
http://www.ibiblio.org/fiddlers/JA_JACKS.htm

JACK ROBINSON. English, Country Dance Tune. The melody was found by the author of English Folk-Song and Dance in the repertoire of fiddler William Tilbury (who lived at Pitch Place, midway between Churt and Thursley in Surrey), who used, in his younger days, to play the fiddle at village dances. Tilbury learned his repertoire from an uncle, Fiddler Hammond, who died around 1870 and who had been the village fiddler before him.

He did credit the source in his first comment - the playing of Spiers and Boden!

Yes, I caught that. I was really trying to get the ABCs straight before it went to sheetmusic, either 2/4 or 4/4. In the main I was responding to the ABCs and his comment ~ “Not sure its a polka though.” 😏 Crediting sources was the suspicion that this might be just another cut-and-paste, despite the reference to the playing of Spiers and Boden, but even there wanting a bit more to understand the source, such as an album if it was from one, or something about Spiers and Boden. It is good if ‘credit’ goes beyond just the mere mention of a couple of surnames don’t you think? Well, I do anyway… I’d still like to know…

Something like this would be a start ~

http://www.spiersandboden.com/

Their CD which features this tune ~
track 8: .Jack Robinson / Argiers / Old Tom of Oxford

12 tracks of which half are songs…

& includes their own transcription in 4/4 ~ dots:

http://www.spiersandboden.com/bellow.html#Jackrobinson

Which except for the 1st ending of the A-part ~ |1 A2 G2 G3 E :| ~ is identical to the last ABC transcription just previous, the one where the origin is unknown… But, they do also give suggested chords…

General Details, the ‘artists’ ~

John Spiers ~ melodeons & backing vocals

Jon Boden ~ fiddles, stompbox & additional vocals

Benji Kirkpatrick ~ guitar (tracks 4, 8, 12) & bouzouki (track 6)

But all that, basic courtesy to the music and the musicians, including a decent transcription of the tune, was what the original contributor could and ‘should’ have offered, or so I think… A little effort and such considerations are appreciated and respected…

Cut and paste? Wotisit!? My transcription,accurate or otherwise, came straight from the Spiers and Boden c.d. via my wooden ears and wooden fingerboard. I’d be amazed if anybody paying attention to the tune transcription didn’t know of the c.d. Calm your suspicions. Unfortunately I don’t know how to add those tit bits,bout the c.d. it came from, to the details section of the tune. I expected some flak from the ABC police but it was worth it just to pass the tune on and learn a bit more bout ABC.

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

Slower version of X:5