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RYE TWIST (R5x32)
Sue McKinnell RSCDS Book 48
1- 4
1M dances ½ LSh reel of 3 across with 2s
5- 8
1M dances ½ RSh reel of 3 across with 3s whilst 1L dances ½ RSh reel
of 3 across with 2s (2s finish in 1
st
place)
9-12
1M dances ½ LSh reel of 3 across with 4s whilst 1L dances ½ LSh reel
of 3 across with 3s (3s finish in 2
nd
place)
13-16
1M dances ½ RSh reel of 3 across with 5s whilst 1L dances ½ RSh reel
of 3 across with 4s (4s finish in 3
rd
place)
17-20
1M dances out end, casts up behind 5L’s place & dances across set to
4M’s place whilst 1L dances ½ LSh reel of 3 across with 5s (1L
finishes in 4L’s place, 5s in 5
th
place)
21-24
1s+5s dance ½ LH across & cross LH
25-32
All set, cross RH, set, cross RH 2 3 4 5 1
This dance is a homage to Carolyn Hunt’s dance “Coming Through the Rye” from The San Francisco Collection Vol.
2, using a new twist on the progressive half reels.
"Comin' Thro' the Rye" is a poem written in 1782 by Robert Burns (1759–96). It is well known as a traditional
children's song and the song itself, in some form or other, was known long before Burns.
The protagonist, "Jenny", is not further identified, but there has been reference to a "Jenny from Dalry" and a
longstanding legend in the town of Dalry, North Ayrshire, holds that "comin thro' the rye" describes crossing a ford
through the Rye Water at Drakemyre to the north of the town, downstream from Ryefield House and not far from
the confluence of the Rye with the River Garnock. When this story appeared in the Glasgow Herald in 1867, it
was quickly disputed with the assertion that everyone understood the rye to be a field of rye, wet with dew. An
alternative suggestion is that "the rye" was a long narrow cobblestone paved lane, prone to puddles of water.
O, Jenny's a' weet, poor body,
Jenny's seldom dry:
She draigl't a' her petticoatie,
Comin thro' the rye!
Chorus:
Comin thro' the rye, poor body,
Comin thro' the rye,
She draigl't a' her petticoatie,
Comin thro' the rye!
Gin a body meet a body
Comin thro' the rye,
Gin a body kiss a body,
Need a body cry?
(chorus)
Gin a body meet a body
Comin thro' the glen
Gin a body kiss a body,
Need the warl' ken?
Gin a body meet a body
Comin thro' the grain;
Gin a body kiss a body,
The thing's a body's ain.
Ilka lassie has her laddie,
Nane, they say, ha’e I
Yet all the lads they smile on me,
When comin' thro' the rye.
