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Boo! Happy Halloween! I'm Singing Rosin the Bow
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It is always fun singing and playing the old Celtic song Rosin the Bow. So, just for Halloween, I decided to make a cartoony video to convey the true meaning of the song. Of course, my version is a little different than the traditional lyrics, since I am a woman singing this old time drinking song. I hope you like my singing zombie lady performing with me singing Rosin the Bow with the dancing skeletons in the graveyard. Happy Halloween!
The melody commonly known as Old Rosin the Bow"has a long history. It was originally written in the 1700's by Irish poet and songwriter Riocard Bairead under the title Eoghan Coir. After the Irish Rebellion of 1798, William Rooney adapted the melody into the Irish rebel song The Men of the West. The melody was first published in Philadelphia in 1838 under the title Old Rosin the Beau by J.C. Beckell. This version is more familiar and is often a raucous drinking song. The melody has been borrowed for many other uses, including: Several 19th century political campaigns, including Abraham Lincoln's Lincoln and Liberty, the song Denver by the 1963 New Christy Minstrels, and the song Old Settler's Song, also known as Acres of Clams, which I first heard of when enjoying the salmon cuisine at Ivar's in Seattle.
The melody has supported more different sets of lyrics than nearly any other folk tune.
Rosin the Bow is a play on words. The term rosin a bow refers to applying rosin, a solid form of resin obtained from pines and some other plants, to a violin bow to generate friction between the strings and the bow. This improves the resonance when the fiddle is played.
Thanks for listening! -- Mary Kay
