Balance the Straw

Country dance and morris tune, also known as 'Balance A Straw' and 'Balancy Straw'.

Used as a morris tune at

• Ascott-Under-Wychwood ('Balancy Straw')
• Bledington
• Brackley ('Balancy Straw')
• Fieldtown

Appears in 18th and 19th century manuscripts including those of William Clark, Thomas Sands and John Rook.

The melody and title, derive from a song which appears in an opera, 'The Reprisal', by Scottish composer Oswald (1710–1769), first performed in London in 1757:

From the man whom I Love, tho’ my Heart I disguise
I will freely discribe the Wretch I despise
And if he has Sense but to ballance a Straw
He will surely take the Hint from the Picture I draw

References

CD liner notes to Concerto Caledonia Colin’s kisses: the music of James Oswald (Linn Records CKD 101) https://concertocaledonia.bandcamp.com/album/colins-kisses-the-music-of-james-oswald