Hey, Johnnie Cope

Scottish Country Dance Instruction

1- 8 1s set, turn 2H, lead down, cross below 3s, cast up to face 1st corners
9-16 1s dance 'Hello-Goodbye' setting ending with petronella turn (pas-de-bas) to 2nd places own sides while 2s+3s cross RH (bars 15-16)
17-20 1s cast (1M down/1L up) to meet in centre while 2M+3M and 2L+3L set, change places RH
21-24 1s turn LH while 2s+3s chase ½ way round them clockwise. 1s finish facing 1st corners
25-32 1s turn corner, partner, corner and cross LH to 2nd place own sides. 213

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

Keith Rose's Crib Diagrams

Hey, Johnnie Cope - Full Size And Key To Symbols

Dance Instruction Videos

Dance Information

The title of this dance, Hey, Johnnie Cope, comes from the Hey, Johnnie Cope - Song written by Adam Skirving to a well known tune.

The song gives an account from the Jacobite viewpoint of the Battle of Prestonpans. In the battle, which took place during the Second Jacobite uprising, Sir John Cope was the commander of the government troops, and was defeated in a dawn attack by the Jacobites.

The song includes several apocryphal incidents, including challenges conveyed by letters between Cope and his rival Bonnie Prince Charlie, as well as accurate accounts of Cope's cowardice. It also includes an account of him fleeing from the battle all the way back to Berwick, being the messenger of his own defeat, which is also true. The battle was a decisive victory for the Jacobites.

Hey, Johnnie Cope Song - Information Video

Sir John Cope (1690-1760), c. 1730

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