Wild Hairs and Maggots – Sources of Inspiration

Clio, Euterpe et Thalie (The Muses)

Wild hairs, maggots, and muses are often cited as sources of inspiration.  “Wait a moment… maggots, did you say?” Why, yes I did. At the beginning of the 16th century, the phrase “maggots in the head” was used to indicate obsession with a notion or fantasy, and was interchangeable with  “bees in the bonnet.” (see Free Online Dictionary).  Why is this factoid significant? Because Mr. Beveridge’s Maggot is the horrible name of a beautiful piece of music. Although the song is used in many Regency-era productions, it’s a traditional English country dance tune first published by Henry Playford in 1695.

I first became aware of the song in the mini-series Pride and Prejudice (1995).

Here is the same tune played at a more lively pace:

My friends and I used to use high-sounding names for the mundane, such as Chez BigMac (McDonald’s), or we’d use a French pronunciation to make something sound better (ie: The Target department store would be pronounced with a soft ‘g’, like ‘Tarjez’).  I hereby propose Mr. Beveridge’s Maggot be pronounced ‘Mr. Beveridge’s Maj-oh,’ just to make it more palatable.

A maggot by any other name would be as whimsical.

~ S.G. Rogers