Published 1838 | Genre Irish waltz | |
"Old Rosin the Beau" (or "Rosin the Bow") is an American folk song popular in the 19th century, probably of British or Irish origin, first published in Philadelphia during 1838.
Contents
An earlier version, "Rosin the Bow" (not "Beau") refers to rosin with the bow of a violin, but both cover the same general subject (see below: Full lyrics). There are many variations of the song(s), and the tune has been re-used in other songs for political campaign jingles, slave songs, comedy songs, or other folk songs.
Early versions of "Old Rosin the Beau" relate the story of a man who was popular in his youth, then in late life, the ladies refer to him as "Old Rosin, the beau", as he prepares for the grave. As a drinking song, the chorus chimes, "Take a drink for Old Rosin the Beau" and uses dark comedy, with jests about his grave or tombstone, taken in stride while repeating the sing-song melody. The song is structured where soloists can sing a verse, and then the group can join the chorus/refrain portion after each verse.
Partial lyrics
The lyrics depend on which version of the song is considered. The 1838 version of "Old Rosin the Beau" begins with the following verse: The lyrics, as arranged by J. C. Beckell in 1838, are as follows:
The original folk song, "Rosin the Bow" begins as follows:
Early history
Both the tune and early lyrics for "Rosin the Bow" are traditional (with no known author). In 1838, the variation "Old Rosin the Beau" was published as a "Comic Song Dedicated to the Members of the Falcon Club by the Publisher" (Ld. Meignen & Co.), arranged by J. C. Beckell.
Versions as campaign songs
Several US presidential campaign songs were set to the tune of "Old Rosin the Beau", including for William Henry Harrison ("The Hero of Tippecanoe"), Henry Clay ("Harry, the Honest and True") and Abraham Lincoln ("Lincoln and Liberty").
Other versions
The melody tune has been used in "Acres of Clams" (aka "Old Settler's Song"). It is also the melody to "Down in the Willow Garden" (aka "Rose Connelly").
The melody was also used in several Irish rebel songs including "The Boys of Kilmichael", "The Men of the West" and "The Soldiers of Cumann na mBan".
On his album The Irish-American's Song, David Kincaid used the tune as the setting for a Confederate version of "Kelly's Irish Brigade", a song from the American Civil War, earlier set to "Columbia, Gem of the Ocean".
Full lyrics
The full lyrics for the original, traditional folk song "Rosin the Bow" also develop into dark comedy.
So, "Rosin the Bow" ends with talk of the grave, similar to "Old Rosin the Beau".