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Mr. W. Chappell’s valuable Collection of English National Airs contains a few curious parodies. Of “The Hunt is up,” a very old ballad, he remarks:—
“Musick’s Delight on the Cithern, from which our copy of the music is taken contains many very old and popular tunes, such as ‘Trip and go,’ and ‘Light o’ Love’ which we have, found in no other printed collection. The words also are evidently much older than ‘Merry Drollery,’ being parodied in ‘Ane compendious Booke of Godly and Spirituall Songs, collectit out of Sundrie of Partes of Scripture, with Sundrie of other Ballates changed out of prophaine Sanges for avoyding of Sinne and Harlottrie, &c.;’ reprinted in Edinburgh, by Andro Hart, in 1621, the original edition having been published in 1590.
“A ‘Hunt is up,’ or ‘Hunt’s up,’ was a general term for hunting songs, or rather an early song to rouse the party for the chase, something equivalent to the French Réveillée. It was afterwards generally used for any description of morning song.
“Maurus, last morne, at’s mistress window plaid
An hunt’s up on his lute; but she (it’s said)
Threw stones at him: so he, like Orpheus there
Made stones come flying his sweet notes to heare.
Wits’ Bedlam, 1617.
“And now the cock, the morning’s trumpeter,