"The Fine Companion"
"A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly; and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother" - Proverbs 18:24
The English Dancing Master published in 1651 by John Playford has been a most excellent preserver of tunes from an ancient stage in time, and has ultimately provided fiddlers and ceilidh players alike with tunes that are enjoyed and played even to the modern day. This country dance was first published in the first edition of the English Dancing Master, which was in 1650, and made its way to the publication we see today which was in 1651; the re-edition. It's a pretty sobering tune in the sense that it really does bring one to ponder their past friendships (or lack of friendships hahah) and misfortunes. I suppose the moral to this blog post would have to be that friends come and go, but Playford tunes will be around for quite a while, it can be said!
