Pretty Polly ~ A Setting o an Olde English Murder Ballad or Solo Double Bass/Untrained (Single Perormer) and LiveProcessed Video by Jackson Volman 2008
Pretty Polly (British/American/Traditional c. Britain 1750) Oh Polly, retty Polly, come go along with me Polly, retty Polly, come go along with me Beore we get married some leasures to see. rode her over hills and valleys so dee rode her over hills and valleys so dee Pretty Polly mistrusted and then began to wee. Oh Willie, oh Willie, m araid o your ways Willie, oh Willie, m araid o your ways The way you ve been acting, you ll lead me astray. Oh Polly, retty Polly, your guess is about right Polly, retty Polly, your guess is about right dug your grave the best art o last night. She knelt down beore me, leading or her lie She knelt down beore me, leading or her lie Please let me be a single girl i can t be your wie. stabbed her in the heart and her heart s blood did low stabbed her in the heart and her heart s blood did low And into the grave Pretty Polly did go. He went to the jailhouse and what did he say He went to the jailhouse and what did he say killed retty Polly, and tried to get away. Oh gentlemen and ladies, bid you arewell Gentlemen and ladies, bid you arewell For killing retty Polly my soul will go to hell.
Notes to erormer or laying Pretty Polly Vocal Range: Written or untrained emale voice, though could be transosed an octave down or male voice. Folkstyle, Broken Grace Notes in the Vocal Line Exale, mm. 204205 Grace notes, which aear oten throughout the iece, are to be sung on the beat o the rimary note that ollows. For instance, the A grace note in the second bar o the exale is sung on the downbeat o the bar, not beore. Grace notes should all be quickly articulated, with a slight accent, and slurred unto the ollowing rimary note. They are meant to mimic the broken grace note common in English, rish and Bluegrass olk singing. *Ta Exression, mm. 10128 Exale, m. 104 For this taing eect, lace your right hand horizontally, alm down, on a resonant art o the ront wood o the bass, near the ingerboard and above the hole. The lower symbol with the wedgeshaed note head indicates a light bu with the leshy, heel o the alm on the ront o the bass that causes resonant thu on the resonating box o the instrument. The higher, xshaed note head indicates a shar ta on the wood with the tis o the ingers. Alternating between the alm thu and the inger ta should create a comortable wavelike motion in the hand. Either mute the strings with the let hand while taing, or do not, as indicated on the score. Ta/Sla Exression, mm. 124128 Exale, m. 124 n this instance, bu bass with right alm as described above, and sla all oen strings in a comortable lace on the end o the ingerboard, and let vibrate. (Sla chord is notated slightly to the right o the ta, but occurs on the same beat).
Double Bass Around q = 100 Dark, Bluesy, Loose Teo arco Pretty Polly ( while bowing uer notes) Jackson Volman 7 sub (continuous ) b (smear!) (grad.) 10 (harmonics sounding 8va) 14 Quasirubato Teo Flourish, Dying Away rit. 5 16 A Teo q = 100 m oco
2 19 sz m A 2 Exclamatory, Bluesy but with Steady Pulse Swing 8ths m Oh Po lly re tty Po lly come go along with me 29 Straight 8ths (molto.) m Oh 4 Po lly re ty Po lly come go along with me (o string) Be 9 lowest notes breathy and itcharoximate ore we get a niente married some leasures or to B Flirtatious, Teasingly, QuasiCadenza... see. m sub
44 b 50 s C Steady Teo (nonrubato) accel. (grad.) 54 q = 140 59 sub. s (continuous ) (short, but onstring) Straight 8ths m D 6 rode her o ver hills and va lleys so dee
4 68 rode her o ver hills and va lleys so dee (detached but nonstaccato) 7 E 75 Pre tty Po lly sub. mis trus ted and then be gan () 79 to wee (continuous ) a niente Sastic m s 8 (Page Turn) Put bow away (on stand or in holster)
F 84 87 Mocking Jazz Caricature A Teo q = 140 Cruely Mocking, n a High (itches arox.) Swing 8ths izz. Wi llie, 90 ways. Oh oh Wi llie Make ainting gesture on ace with right hand across neck while lucking with let Wi llie, Wi llie, 'm a raid o Wi llie! 'm (l.h. izz at neck) m Oh your a raid o ord. izz m your 5 94 ways. Jazz jam, or similar ad. lib o similar length over Emin Low, Breathy, Lowest itches = as ossible The 98 way you've been ac ting, you'll ( ossibile) lead me a stray. (continuous don't rearticulate)
6 10 G Piu mosso q. = 112 *See ntro Notes or exlanation o ta exression 107 (brie ause) Somber, Foreboding, Breathy, Lowest itches = as ossible Oh mute strings w/l.h. Po lly re tty Po lly your guess is 'bout a niente right 111. let strings vibrate m Oh Po a niente lly oh 115 Po lly your guess 119 is H 'bout Dark, Breathy dug right. your gra ve Full the best
122 art o 125 last m night. Sla all strings with let hand (and ) 7 (sim.) 127 sub. Get bow with rt. hand while slaing stings w/l.h. e = e (q = 168) arco 10 15 J Bluesy
8 141 sub. 146 K Driving, Pushing Ahead b 152 157 162 accel. 168 (harm. sounding 2 8va) sub. sub. m She L Urgent Piu mosso (q = 200) m knelt down be ore me b
174 lea ding or her lie m M 179 Stuttering 184 Please uh let me be uh uh a single girl i can't be your wie. 188 m 5 192 N s 197 continuous throughout (while bowing 8th notes) sub. 9
10 202 launch rom gliss/cresc into vocal line: 206 210 m and her heart's More Subdued stabbed O Exclamatory her, stabbed blood her m did stabbed her, stabbed low. and her! her 215 heart's blood did low. (A string harm.) sub. 218 Articulated, quick blues lick (lowest itches = as ossibile) And in to the grave did Pretty Po lly go. izz. Brie Pause (Page Turn)
11 222 P arco 227 20 Q went to e=e the jail oco accel. house and what q. = 142 Cooly Maniacal m did say. m 2 m 26 m went to the jail house and what did say.
12 29 killed Pre tty Pol ly 242 killed Pret ty Po lly said killed Pre tty 245 Po lly and tried to get a way 248 Quasicadenza, rubato te but not too slow R b b b 252 e=e Rubato te: slower, stately, but still driving b E
257 (quick ) 1 S Slightly searated, still on string (etc.) 261 sub. 265 Violent 270 (Subdued Echo) molto vibrato (not harmonic) 275 T Slower, solemn m harmonics = lightly touch strings through m (touch harm.) m 281 m
14 289 sub. m oco rall. U q = 21 296 Driving, ntense A Teo (sim.) 0 08 m sz sz 1 m
17 15 22 V Solemn m Oh gen tle men and la dies 27 Oh gen tle men and la dies 2 bid you bid you are well. 7 Aggressively
16 Rubato Teo, but Driving Ad. lib. brie auses at breath marks 41 W Forceul Moaning Brie Pause For kill ing or izz 48 very hard strum, let strings buzz Calm, Steady, Slower (q=200) 5 X oco my soul my Pre ty Po soul lly very light lucking Sing itch slightly lat = raunchy kill ing my soul 59 m my soul m my soul will go 65 to hell. a niente Bluesy