Berwick Johnnie

Scottish Country Dance Instruction

BERWICK JOHNNIE (J8x32) 3C (4C set) Book of Graded SCDs

1- 8 1s+2s set, dance ½ RH across, set and dance ½ LH across
9-16 1s lead down the middle and back to top
17-24 1s+2s dance Allemande 1s end facing 1st corners
25-32 1s turn 1st corners RH, partner LH, 2nd corners RH and partner LH to 2nd places

(MINICRIB. Dance crib compiled by Charles Upton, Deeside Caledonian Society, and his successors)

Keith Rose's Crib Diagrams

Berwick Johnnie - Full Size And Key To Symbols

Dance Instruction Videos

Berwick Johnnie - Scottish Country Dancing Instruction Video

Dance Information

Berwick-upon-Tweed is a town on the Northumbrian coast of England with a population of around 13,000. It is as far north as one can go without entering Scotland. In fact, it sits just a few steps south of the Scottish border. So far, one still does not need a Canadian passport to cross from one country to the other - Brexit notwithstanding. It was not always that easy.

Originally an Anglo-Saxon settlement, Berwick first became English in the 10th century. But during the following 400 years of border wars between England and Scotland, it changed hands with some frequency. Its location at the mouth of the River Tweed seemed to have such significant value to either kingdom.

One could imagine the constant grief brought down on the heads of Berwick's citizens throughout the centuries, not really knowing whether they were English or Scottish, and for how long, and when the next change of government might occur. This situation came to an end in the late 15th century when England was finally able not only to take but also to keep control over this part of what is still called Northumbria.

So, enough about Berwick! Who was Johnnie? Well, Berwick Johnnie is the name of a Scottish song, written, I believe, in the late 1700s Go To Berwick, Johnnie - Song.

It leads off as follows...

Go to Berwick, Johnnie;
Bring her frae the Border;
Yon sweet bonnie lassie,
Let her ga'e nae farther.

The words that follow seem to suggest another attempted takeover of Berwick by the Scots as in...

...Drive them ower the Tweed,
And show our Scottish banner...

As far as the dance is concerned, there is no record of its deviser. It is a 32-bar jig from the First Book of Graded SCDs which was published by RSCDS and devised for children and beginners.

Let me close with an anecdote about when I happened to arrive in Berwick-upon-Tweed some years ago. Kathryn and I were driving down from Edinburgh on our way to Derby, my birthplace in England, and I was heading for the M1. We drove into the town late on a summer afternoon and a refreshing drink was called for before seeking a B and B for the night.

Having entered a local hostelry, just a few hundred yards down from the Scottish border, I sauntered up to the bar as Kathryn took a seat. As is my wont, I was interested in a local ale and Kathryn had ordered a soft drink, the well-known carbonated Irn-Bru which is made at Cumbernauld, just outside Glasgow.

I gave the barman my order. He looked me up and down, backed off from his bar, smirked at his other patrons on either side of me, and said to me, "Irn Bru? We don't stock that stuff! Laddie, you are in England now!"

Berwick folks clearly have a very long memory.

The Barry Pipes Canon 087- October, 2016.

Go To Berwick, Johnnie Song - Information Video

Go To Berwick, Johnnie - From Page 80 Of 'The Glen Collection Of Printed Music, Scotish Minstrel', 1823-1824

Image copyright (cropped) https://digital.nls.uk/special-collections-of-printed-music/archive/91347209 under this Creative Commons Licence 4.0.

Back to the top of this Scottish Country Dancing Instructions 'Berwick Johnnie' page