Friday 9 July 2021
Tune of the Day: Fairly Shot of Her
Traditional Scottish tune
The earliest appearance of this tune is in the Drummond Castle Manuscript, inscribed “A Collection of Country Dances written for the use of his Grace the Duke of Perth by David Young, 1734”. London publications included the melody soon afterward, starting with Walsh's Third Book of the Compleat Country Dancing-Master (1735). Frank Kidson (Musical Times, 1911) traces the melody to the old Scottish song tune “O gin' I were fairly shut of her”. The word “shot” in the title may have several meanings, but the one which appears to fit has the sense of being depleted, exhausted, or “done with”.