Kemp's Jig

I first came across Kemp's Jig in the late 70's as a tune on an album by a band called Gryphon. It has become a bit of a classic since, but it became a favourite tune for me to play on the recorder at folk clubs and when marching in front of a regiment of pike and musket  in the English Civil War Society. 


The album's sleeve notes credited the tune as "Traditional" and it sounds right for the early 1600's but, who was Kemp and why did he jig?


 
In February 1600, an actor and showman (a purveyor of "mad jests and merry jigs" ) named William Kempe (or Kemp) set off to Morris Dance for nearly 100 miles, all the way from London to Norwich. What is more, he actually did it in 9 days, amidst great publicty along the way. He wrote a pamphlet about the event called "Nine Daies Wonder". 

The tune is worth checking out. Kemps Jig by Gryphon 

This version starts and ends with the traditional tune, but has a medieval song sandwiched in the middle. You can easily find other versions, particularly for lute or guitar.

It's funny how a tune can spark off so many connections. Chris Harris was a hero to the Tizwaz generation of young TV viewers in he 80s. He went on to play the part of Will Kemp and to write a book on him; "Will Kemp, Shakespeare's Forgotten Clown."

A search on the internet found this:

Will Kemp.", was a famous Elizabethan actor and a shareholder with Shakespeare in the
Company of the Lord Chamberlain's Men.

It is probable that many of the Bard's comic roles were written with
Kemp in mind. Touchstone, Dogberry and Launcelot Gobbo were
brought to life for the first time in Kemp's person.