Rosin the Bow

Old Buck playing Willow Garden in D

This is a waltz (3/4 time) in key of G (or C or D). The two parts are almost the same. :

The Dubliners [tube] sing all the words on stage.
Listen to the banjo demo attached.
Judge Francis D. Henry wrote words in 1874. Acres of Clams is a funny cartoon adaptation.

Not to be confused with...

This tune is possibly the same as "Willow Garden", a delightful Irish ballad about a man who kills his girlfriend by bludgeoning, strangling, stabbing, and drowning, then mourns his lack of a wife to call his own.

Old Buck at Pickathon [tube] or better recording at a house concert [tube] or here in the library [tube].
Foghorn Stringband live [tube].

Discussion

This song goes by many names: Roisin the Bow; Rosin the Beau; Tying the Bow; Rust in the Bough; Ross is at Boe's; Roslyn, Deb, & Eau, Acres of Clams A Hayseed Like Me. We found lyrics Here or Here or Here. The song history is on Wikipedia.

Chords

We like to arrive late to the C:

But some people play EmD instead of EmEm.

Lyrics: Acres of Clams

I've traveled all over this country, prospecting and digging for gold.I've tunneled hydraulic'ed and cradled, and I have been frequently sold.For one who got wealthy by mining, I saw many hundreds get poor.I made up my mind to try digging, for something a little more sure.I rolled up my grub in a blanket, I left all my tools on the ground.I started one morning to shank it, for the country they call Puget Sound.No longer a slave of ambition, I laugh at the world and its shams.And think of my happy condition, surrounded by acres of clams.

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