Cam Ye O’er Frae France three-two

An old English country dance tune with a strong driving 3/2 rhythm (Northumbrian perhaps?). It doesn’t appear to be in the Playford collection.
I learnt it earlier this month at a Playford-style music workshop in Devon led by Dave Brown, whose website is http://www.dlbmusic.org.uk
It’s been recorded recently in the USA by Liz Donaldson, Colleen Reed and Becky Ross on their album “English Echoes: English Country Dance Favorites”.

Liz Donaldson’s website for this recording is http://www.lizdonaldson.com/recordings.html

I used to sing a song to this one… Damn, now I have to start shaking, dancing and knockin’ my noggin’ all over again in hopes of shaking out old associations, in search of a source… I think I learned it originally up North, Ulster way, possibly from Paddy Tunney? ~ “all for the sake of ~ ?” 😏

X: 2
T: “~ song ~” ~ ???
M: 3/4
L: 1/8
R: song
K: E Dorian
|: GE E^D E2 | GE EG F/G/A | GE E^D E2 | FD D>G FA |
Ee e^d e4 | Ee ef ge | Ee e/d/c d>B | AF DA/A/ BF :|

The scraps of words I’ve been bringing up haven’t given me a result yet… 😏

X: 3
T: “~ song ~” ~ ???
M: 3/4
L: 1/8
R: song
K: E Dorian
|: GE E^D E2 | G>E EG F/G/A | GE E^D E2 | F>D DG FA |
Ee e^d e4 | E>e ef ge | Ee e/d/c d>B | AF DA BF :|

X: 4
T: “~ song ~” ~ ???
M: 3/4
L: 1/8
R: song
K: A Dorian
|: cA A^G A2 | cA Ac B/c/d | cA A^G A2 | BG- Gc B/c/d |
Aa a^g a2 | Aa- ab c’a | Aa a/g/f g2 | [M:4/4] dB Gd eB- B2 :|

You’re probably right. I showed this tune to my tune workshop tutor on Thursday and she said it reminded her of a song, but she couldn’t recall it. Anyway, she pounced on the tune with glee as something ideal to fill in a gap in a set for her band.

bar 3 can also be ~ | cA- A^G A2 | ~

It was an old favourite, but I haven’t done much in the way of singing, or playing ‘country dance’, in a long time… Thanks for the memory, even if it is only half-baked at the moment and struggling to come out…

I meant to add - but hit ENTER by mistake - that many old tunes, if they were singable, probably acquired lyrics at some time or other.

Hallelujah! ~ It came to call!!! 😀

Jacobite!!! ~ & ‘Steeleye Span’ did a take on it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVe-izA-Fj4

play video

http://www.informatik.uni-hamburg.de/~zierke/steeleye.span/songs/camyeoerfraefrance.html

Digital Tradition ~ dots & lyrics
http://sniff.numachi.com/pages/tiCAMFRANC;ttCAMFRANC.html

Unriddling Came Ye o’er frae France? - James Prescott
http://www.telusplanet.net/public/prescotj/data/music/camyeoer.html

The Holohan Sisters ~ !?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALBTdw4LnhI

play video

The Holohan sisters and are from from Dublin Ireland. Jane on vocals and Jenny on guitar and vocals ~ This essentialy Irish traditional duo draw many of their songs from the songbooks of Ewan Mccoll and here they give us there lovely version of “Cam Ye O’er Frae France “ which is probably where they got this song from.

Regards, Jim Clark

Another that took this for a spin ~ “The Corries”

~ & as one example, with other options ~

X: 5
T: Came Ye O’er Frae France?
M: 3/4
L: 1/8
K: C Dorian
|: EC CG, C2 | E>C CE D/E/F/D/ | EC CG, C2 | DB, B,F D/E/F/D/ |
Cc c=B c2 | G>c c<d ec | Gc d/c/B/A/ B2 | FB, B,F G/F/E/D/ :|

X: 6
T: Marchioness of Tweeddale’s Delight
B: “Niel Gow’s 2nd Collection of Reels”, 3rd ed., page 30, 1788
M: 3/2
L: 1/4
R: country dance
K: G Dorian
|: BG- GD G2 | BG- GB A/B/c/A/ | BG- GD G>B | AF Fc A/B/c/A/ :|
|: Gg g^f g2 | dg g>a bg | dg a/g/f/e/ f2 | AF Fc A/B/c/A/ :|

Fiddler’s Companion ~ Andrew Kuntz
http://www.ibiblio.org/fiddlers/

Marchioness of Tweed-dale’s Delight
http://www.ibiblio.org/fiddlers/MARA_MARO.htm

Scottish, Country Dance Tune (3/2 time). ~ Standard. AABB.

The tune, in old hornpipe metre, was published under this title by Niel Gow in his Second Collection, 2nd edition, 1803. It had previously been used as the vehicle for a Jacobite song “Cam’ Ye Ower Frae France,” poking fun at the Hannover king. Emmerson sees in Gow’s treatment of the tune a link between the old hornpipe metre and the modern common time dotted‑rhythm hornpipe. The Marchioness during Gow’s time (although it is not know if she was the Marchioness of the title) was Lady Hannah Maitland, daughter of the 7th Earl of Lauderdale) who married George Hay, 7th Marquis of Tweeddale. They travelled to the Continent in 1802, during a lull in the Napoleonic wars, and were in France when hostilities renewed. Both were imprisoned in the fortress of Verdun, and the Marchioness died there in May, 1804. Emmerson (Rantin’ Pipe and Tremblin’ String), 1971; No. 16, pg. 121. Gow (Second Collection of Niel Gow’s Reels), 1788; pg. 30 (3rd ed.)

Hey hounddog, hetty ~ does anybody have the description of the dance? I’ll see what I can find but my immediate resources, those on hand, are limited, especially after all my graphic files of old dance and music tomes got fried… 😏

C, try contacting Dave Brown (website at start of this thread). He’s an experienced dancer as well as musician and band leader. And one of the finest workshop teachers I’ve ever met.

Cam ye o’er frae France, cam ye doon by Lunnon
Saw ye Geordie Whelps and his bonny woman
Were ye at the place ca’d the Kittle Hoosie
Saw ye Geordie Whelps ridin on a goosie

Geordie he’s a man, there is little doubt o’t
He’s done a’ he can, wha can dae without it
Doon there cam a blade, linkin like my lordie
He wad drive a trade at the loom o, Geordie

Though the claith were bad, blithely may we niffer
Gin we get a wab, it maks little differ
We hae tint oor plaid, bonnet, belt and swordie
Ha’s and mailins braid – but we hae a Geordie

Jocky’s gan tae France and Montgomery’s lady
There they’ll learn tae dance, Madam are you ready
They’ll be back belyve, belted, brisk and lordly
Brawly may they strive tae dance a jig wi’ Geordie

Hey for Sandy Don, hey for Cockalorum
Hey for Bobbin John and his heilan quorum
Mony a sword and lance swings at heilan hurdie
How they’ll skelp and dance o’er the bum o’ Geordie

Sorry, didn’t check out all the links above which have the words already. I somehow don’t think this song would have gone down well as a “Scotch” song in polite Victorian society.

Only five verses Donald? 😉 ~ I was expecting and hoping someone else would actually contribute some take on the lyrics. I wonder if the Victorians used to lay on accents as much as we sometimes tend to do? ~ naturally or affected… Damn, now I have Mary Poppins and the lot dancing and singing the Chimney Sweep song in my head. 😏

Thanks lazyhound, On your recommendation I’ve dropped Dave Brown a line, and also sent out emails to a couple of other contacts caught up in shared passions…

C, I’ve only ever known five verses (although I have never looked further than the two sources I have). But it is supposed to be a bawdy comic song not a 44 verse send-you-to-sleep ballad.
A note for the non Scots: “o’er” rhymes with hour and not with oar.
I certainly adopt different accents for different correspondence. Locally, one/two/three/four is pronounced yin/tway/thra-ee/fow-er. But they might not understand me if I spoke like that in London.

You know a song with 44 verses? ‘Accent’ and its mutability is about communicating. I have those that sneak up on me now and then that could be an embarrassment to someone who wasn’t prepared for them… 😉

I think I remember one or two other verses, but they may have cut too deep or had ruder elements in them than the norm, but not enough to put anyone to sleep. I remember Dick Gaughan belting this one out in a pub in Ireland, and loved it…

Bit late to the party, but there’s a very popular English Country Dance called Key to the Cellar which uses this tune as well.

I don’t believe there are any Scottish Country Dances in 3/2 rhythm, or if there are I have never encountered them. 3/2 is used all the time in ECD, though.