“My Seventy-Six Geared Wheel”

Description

"O how I long for solid roads In the merry month of June ... How jolly I will feel A-spinning down to Rustico On my seventy-six geared wheel." The singer lists his favorite stops on the way to Mary's "big front door" at Rustico.

Notes

Dibblee/Dibblee: Maybe "seventy-six geared wheel" refers to a geared bicycle built in 1876.

The Rusticos are on the north coast of Queens, Prince Edward Island.

Dibblee/Dibblee claims the author is Mary Fleming, the Mary of the song. Ives-DullCare claims the author is Ambrose Cosgrove.

Ives-DullCare speculates that "seventy-six" "is probably a then-current way of referring to a bike's power (a derivation involving gear-ratio and wheel size, perhaps), Mr Cosgrove is saying that he's riding the last word in bikes.... [The] distance [was] some forty miles, and not all of it first-class highway." - BS

Recordings

• John O'Connor, "My Seventy-Six Geared Wheel" (on MREIves01)

References

1. Dibblee/Dibblee, pp. 25-26, "My Seventy-Six Geared Wheel" (1 text, 1 tune)
2. Ives-DullCare, pp. 151-152,251, "My Seventy-Six Geared Wheel" (1 text, 1 tune)
3. Roud #12477
4. BI, Din025