X:100
T:Merrily Dance the Quaker
M:6/8
L:1/8
S:Bremner's Coll. of Scots Reels or Country Dances 1760
K:G
GAB D2 B|A2 G "tr"E2 D|GAB D2 D|E3 F3:||
dcB edc|dcB ABc|dcB efg|"tr"B3 d3|
dcB gfe|dcB A2 A|GAB D2 D|E3 G3||
%
% For over a century the name "Merrily Kissed the Quaker" has been
% associated with a tune or Special Dance in Ireland, but no song or
% verse relating thereto has been traced. In "O'Farrell's Pocket
% Companion for the Irish or Union Pipes 1804-10", we find the tune
% with name annotated "New Sett Irish". Continuing the investigation
% we discover that "Merrily Dance the Quaker" (probably the original
% tune) was printed in No. 7 of "Bremer's Collections of Scots Reels,
% or  Country Dances" issued in 1760. The traditional version in North
% Kerry taken from the Rice-Wlash manuscript serves to illustrate how
% far a tune may deviate from the original in a few generations.