| 17: St Johns | |
| only for 8 (in a square) | |
| mms pages 32 to 35 | |
| Playford version: from 1st edition to 18th edition. | |
| Music: | Shepheards Holyday by the Wandering Hands |
| Part 1 | |
| Verse 1, Part A | |
| 1: | Couple 1 lead forward [a double] |
| 2: | Couple 1 cast off and return to your places, man 1 between couple 2, woman 1 between couple 4 |
| 3: | Couple 3 lead forward [a double] |
| 4: | Couple 3 cast off and return to your places, man 3 between couple 4, woman 3 between couple 2 |
| Verse 1, Part B | |
| 1: | Couple 2 lead forward [a double] |
| 2: | Couple 2 cast off and return to your places, man 2 between couple 3, woman 2 between couple 1 |
| 3: | Couple 4 lead forward [a double] |
| 4: | Couple 4 cast off and return to your places, man 4 between couple 1, woman 4 between couple 3 |
| Chorus 1, Part A | |
| 1-4: | Couples 1 and 3 hey all the way round in the center of the square, falling back to the edges of the square when they have returned to their starting positions |
| Chorus 1, Part B | |
| 1-4: | Couples 2 and 4 do the same, but when they are done, they should end up standing so that the men are behind the women, not next to each other. |
| Part 2 | |
| Verse 2, Part A | |
| 1-2: | Couple 1 and couple 3 switch, with couple 1 going right through the middle, and couple 3 splitting and going between the to people in the couple on their side who are now standing perpendicular to their path |
| 3-4: | Return to places with couple 3 going through the middle and couple 1 splitting and going through the side couples. The odd couples need to end up standing with the men behind the woman at the end, like the even couples did before. |
| Verse 2, Part B | |
| 1-2: | Couples 2 and 4 switch places, couple 2 going through the middle, couple 4 splitting and going through the even couples on their side. |
| 3-4: | Couples 2 and 4 switch back, couple 4 going through the middle, couple 2 splitting. Everyone ends up standing normally on the borders of the square by the end of the verse. |
| Chorus 2, Part A | |
| 1: | Man 1 and man 3 change places, ending up sort of in the middle of the square |
| 2: | Woman 1 and woman 3 do the same |
| 3-4: | They all 4 take hands around and go halfway around [to the left] until everyone is on the correct side and place. |
| Chorus 2, Part B | |
| 1: | Man 2 and man 4 change places, ending up sort of in the middle of the square |
| 2: | Woman 2 and woman 4 do the same |
| 3-4: | They all 4 take hands around and go halfway around [to the left] until everyone is on the correct side and place. |
| Part 3 | |
| Verse 3, Part A | |
| 1-2: | The men cast off left and walk around to end up in the man's place on the opposite side of their partner |
| 3-4: | The women do the same, ending up to the right of their partner again |
| Verse 3, Part B | |
| 1-2: | The men cast off left again, moving one more space and ending up on the opposite side of the square from where they started |
| 3-4: | The women do the same, ending up to the right of their partner again |
| Chorus 3, Part A | |
| 1: | Couples 1 and 3 set to each other |
| 2: | Couples 1 and 3 fall back [a double] from each other |
| 3-4: | Couples 1 and 3 take hands and circle back to the correct side of and place in the square, returning to the edge at the end |
| Chorus 3, Part B | |
| 1: | Couples 2 and 4 set to each other |
| 2: | Couples 2 and 4 fall back [a double] from each other |
| 3-4: | Couples 2 and 4 take hands and circle back to the correct side of and place in the square, returning to the edge at the end |
| Comparison to the Playford version (1st to 18th editions) | |
| Despite small differences (switching the first and second choruses, eliminating the do-si-do in the 3rd chorus for the set and fall back, etc), these are largely the same dance. | |
| Other Conclusions: | |
| The complexity of this dance, and its non-conformity to the "base standard" ECD format, shows that the form in general had already started breaking out of its box well before Playford imposed his own rigidity on it. | |