Meg Tam's Auld Grey Mare
Scottish Country Dance Instruction
Meg Tam's Auld Grey MareMaggie and Duncan Keppie Burns Night In The Annapolis Valley:
32 bar Jig
Round-the-room dance Circle, (two couples facing two couples in a line of 4 women on right hand side of partner)
1-8 CIRCLE: all circle and back;
9-16 RIGHTS AND LEFTS: dance rights and lefts in groups of 4;
17-24 LADIES' CHAIN;
25-32 ADVANCE, RETIRE AND PASS THROUGH: the opposite line of 4 to meet the next line of 4.
Repeat with next line of four.
(Dance crib compiled by the devisers, Maggie and Duncan Keppie)
Dance Information
"Tam's Grey Mare", also known as "Meg Tam's Auld Grey Mare", is a traditional Scottish folk song associated with the character Tam from Robert Burns' Tam O' Shanter - Poem".The poem tells the story of Tam, who encounters witches and warlocks while riding his grey mare, Maggie, after a night of drinking. The mare plays a crucial role as Tam flees from the supernatural creatures pursuing him.
A better never lifted leg,-
Tam skelpit on thro' dub and mire,
Despising wind and rain and fire;...
The melody is often played as a reel, which is a lively type of folk dance tune commonly found in Scottish traditional music. The tune was composed by Joseph Lowe and appears in his collection of reels and jigs published in the mid-19th century.
Tam O' Shanter Poem - Information Video
Tam's Grey Mare, Joseph Lowe, Lowe's Collection Of Reels, Strathspeys And Jigs, Book 4, c. 1844–1845; P. 15.
Dance information licensed under this Creative Commons Licence 3.0.
Text from this original Tam O' Shanter (Poem) article on Wikipedia.
Text from this original Tam O' Shanter (Cap) article on Wikipedia.
Image copyright Joseph Lowe (public domain).
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