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Description: | This is a classic Border tune found in both fiddle and pipe settings. It seems to have flourished more in Northumberland than in the Scottish Borders, though it was recorded in Scotland by Bremner. It is one of a family of tunes which are characterised by having alternate strains opening in A minor and C major (e.g. Cuckold Come Out Of The Amrey, The Peacock Follows The Hen). Curiously all other versions except this one put the C major strain first, which contradicts the norm for this type of tune. The Sunniside title comes from Robert Topliff, whose version was included in the Northumbrian Minstrelsy. John Bell also has a version of the tune, for which he collected these lyrics - (Chorus) Old wives booses gin, The lasses booses brandy; Give the lasses what ye will, But dinna give them brandy. 1 Up the bank to Winlaton, The lasses booses brandy; Old wives booses gin, The lasses booses brandy. 2 Will you go to Sunnyside, To Mr Gare's garden? You may eat till you be full, And need not pay a farden. - His title for the song, The Lasses Booses Brandy, is also an alternate title of another Vickers tune, No. 370.This tune forms part of the The William Vickers' manuscript, dated 1770. The Index to the manuscript shows that part of the book is now missing, but the very substantial surviving part contains 580 tunes, or 'Country Dances' as the author calls them. It is not easy to pinpoint Vickers's location as his name is not uncommon, but he may be the William Vickers who shows up in genealogical records as an 'Officer of Exise' [sic] in Newcastle. It is fairly safe to assume that the collection was made in North East England because although it contains a lot of Scottish and English tunes it has local material which is not found in other sources. ; 18th century tune book compiled by William Vickers | Rights holder: | rights holder : Society of Antiquaries | Temporal: | start=1761;end=1800; | Source: | Folk Archive Resource North East | Identifier: | farne:R0302302 | Go to resource |
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