"Fortune My Foe", also known as "The Hanging Tune", "Aim Not Too High" or "Dr. Faustus" is an Irish or English Slow Air in 4/4 time and G Minor (Merryweather), G Dorian (Chappell) or E Minor (Kines).
The parts are played: One part (Kines), AAB (Merryweather) or ABCD (Chappell).
It appears in the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book (in a setting by Byrd), W. Corkine's Instruction Book for the Lute (1610), Dorothy Welde's Lute Book, William Ballet's Lute Book, Dallis' Pupil's Lute Book, University Library of Cambridge Lute MSS, and other texts. The tune was alluded to by Shakespeare, discovers Chappell, in The Merry Wives of Windsor and by Ben Jonson in The Case is Altered and in his masque The Gipsies of Metamorphosed. Chappell gives numerous literary references to "Fortune My Foe" from throughout the latter 16th and the entire 17th centuries. Grattan-Flood, in his History of Irish Music (1906), says:
"In February, 1649-50, we read in a contemporary chronicle that the Irish pipers attached to Lord Inchiquin's army drew off from Naas to the march of 'Fortune my Foe'".
It was called "The Hanging Tune" because the dirge-like melody was frequently played at public hangings.
It was printed in Chappell's Popular Music of the Olden Times, vol. 1, (1859), Kines' Songs From Shakespeare's Plays and Popular Songs of Shakespeare's Time (1964), Merryweather's Merryweather's Tunes for English Bagpipes (1989) and Thomas & Leeder's The Singin' Gatherin' (1939).
Williamson gives an entirely different major mode tune in English, Welsh, Scottish & Irish Fiddle Tunes (1976).
It was recorded by Les Witches on Fortune My Foe: Music of Shaekespeare's Time, Ronn McFarlane on Lute Music of John Dowland and The King's Noyse on The King's Delight: 17th century Ballads for Voice and Violin (1992).