BLACKBIRD, THE [4]. American, "Piece" or Air. G Major. Standard. One part. Originally an Irish air, preserved by Pennsylvania fiddlers ("to their credit", says Bayard {1981}, who seems quite taken by the tune). "In this region it is not played as a dance, although dance versions have been recorded elsewhere, but as a 'piece' (i.e. a folk instrumental tune with no function beyond that of entertainment), or a 'dead march', which is what the players of both versions (see also 'Napoleon Crossing the Rhine' [2]) given here understand it to be. Joyce, notes that the air 'was played everywhere by pipers and fiddlers' (Joyce, 1909, p. 181); and in the course of tradition it has split into several rather sharply differentiated versions, of which our A represents the one seemingly best known. Our B version gives the air its usual American title of 'The Blackbird'. It is under this name that most country musicians in western Pennsylvania known the tune. To judge from collected and printed versions, 'The Blackbird' has undergone more extensive re-creation by some of its players in American than in the old country. It would appear that old-country players generally keep the main outlines of the air in tact, even though they may alter mode, tempo and rhythm. In western Pennsylvania the editor has recovered more than one version in which variation has involved truncation, reversal of the order of parts, displacement of some phrases as to relative location or pitch, and even the introduction of new turns to replace the old, familiar ones. Such changes may be observed in 'The Blackbird' (Martin version). Sometimes they cause the fine qualities of a tune to evaporate. But apparently the majestic movement of this tune has not been impaired by the alterations which (this) version has undergone. The extent to which popular re-creation may transform a tune without producing an entirely different melody could hardly be better exemplified than by these two sets. What has fixed the name of 'The Blackbird' upon the tune in this country, and made it a frequent name in Ireland, is the fact that, although it is primarily an instrumental tune here, it is also a vocal melody there, and is often set to a song of loyalty to the Young Pretender. In 1651 the royalist ballad-printer Richard Burton issued a broadside entitled 'The Ladies Lamentation. For the losse of her Land-lord', a song in two parts and eight stanzas lamenting the misfortunes and exile of Charles II. This ballad refers to Charles in the first stanza as the 'Black-bird (most Royal)' {Zimmerman, in his "Songs of the Irish Rebellion," printes sex verses of a song entitled "The Royal Blackbird."} In Ireland at a later period, the song-makers loyal to the house of Stuart seized on the piece with its symbolism so convenient to their necessities, and remade it--cutting it down to five stanzas, deleting all specific reference to the career of Charles II, giving prominence to the Blackbird symbol, modernizing the language, and introducing other variations. Thus remade, the song was understood to refer to Charles Edward Stuart, the famous 'Prince Charlie'--and in this guise it has persisted in tradition until the present day. It was also in Ireland, apparently, that this revision of the old Caroline ballad became attached to the tune represented by our version 'A' --a tune which Padraic Colum finds hard to associate with defeat, because of its beauty and pride. Along with this air, the song travelled to America, and the editor has recovered a fragment in Greene County. But the many instrumental versions of the tune in Pennsylvania doubtless reflect a tradition quite independent of the actual song, although its name has impressed itself upon the melody everywhere.
**
'The Blackbird' has had recent local tragedy associated with it as well as 'old, unhappy, far-off things'. A persistant tradition in southwestern Pennsylvania asserts that in Washington County a man once shot his son for singing this tune. The shooting actually occurred; but whether this tune is the one which occasioned it is not so certain. In 1822 a man named William Crawford was living at Horseshoe Bottom in Fallowfield Township, Washington County. He had been in the British army during the War of 1812, and was so ardently pro-English that he proudly styled himself 'Old Britannia.' He did not get along well with the rest of his family, and his son Henry used to snatch at every opportunity maddened the old man, and Henry sang it in his presence continually--despite threats of murder, to which no one paid much attention. On July 30, 1822, Crawford had a 'manure-hauling frolic' at his home. Henry appeared, and disregarding warnings, commenced 'The Blackbird,' when his father got his gun, took deliberate aim, and shot his son, killing him almost instantly. Crawford was hanged February 21, 1823. At his trial and thereafter he displayed an indifferent and contemptuous attitude toward the proceedings, and acted with what was taken for blasphemous levity and defiance. A full account of the tragedy--from which the above abstract was made--may be seen in Earle R. Forrest, 'History of Washington County Pennsylvania' (Chicago: S.J. Clarke Co., 1926), I 370, 374-6. The source just cited acconts for the father's reaction by stating that 'The Blackbird' was 'a popular patriotic American song of the day' (p. 374). If so, it could hardly have been the Jacobite piece associated with our tune; but it is not impossible that there was a patriotic native song set to this air at one time. At any rate, tradition has definitely associated the tune with this tragedy, which is frequently mentioned when the air is played in southwestern Pennsylvania. Other Pennsylvania instrumental versions of the air are Bayard Coll., Nos. 38, 90, 278...An unusual vocal set appears in Walker, The Southern Harmony, No. 43, to 'Hark! don't you hear the turtle dove, The token of redeeming love'; and the same is in the James edition of The Original Sacred Harp (1911), No. 208, with a note stating that the air appeared also in the Sacred Harp of 1844, and was taken from Dover's Selection, p. 154" (Bayard, 1944). A 3/4 time version appears in the John Carroll Manuscript compiled between 1804 and 1812 at Fort Niagra in New York. Musicologist Paul Tyler says Carroll was evidently a military fifer who was an aspiring fiddler. Paul Wells cites George Pullen Jackson (in his book Another Sheaf of White Spirituals) who finds the "Blackbird" melody used for American hymns prior to the Civil War, such as a piece called "Melody" from the Knoxville Harmony of 1838 and a more distanced variant for "Turtle Dove" from Southern Harmony (1835). Source for notated version: "Emery Martin, (near) Dunbar, Pennsylvania, October 14, 1943, learned from his father" [Bayard, 1944]: Numerous southwestern Pa. fiddlers [Bayard, 1981]. American Veteran Fifer, No. 91. Bayard (Hill Country Tunes), 1944; No. 88. Bayard (Dance to the Fiddle), 1981; No. 177A-H, pgs. 131-134.
BONAPARTE CROSSING THE RHINE [1]. AKA and see "Bonaparte's Retreat," "Bruce's March," "Caledonian March," "The Freemanson's March," "Napoleon Crossing the Rhine," "Ranahan's March," "Sherman's March (to the Sea)," "The Star of Bethlehem." Old-Time, March (cut time). D Major. Standard or ADAE. AAB (Phillips/1995): AABB (most versions). Samuel Bayard (1944) was quite familiar with the origins of this tune, a common march tune in his primary collecting area of western Pennsylvania, and one which circulated under a variety of names including (in Fayette County) "Bruce's March" and (in Greene County) "The Star of Bethlehem." A Pennsylvania bandmaster gave Bayard the name "Ranahan's March," which he said commemorated a local bandmaster. As with several of the other 'Bonaparte'-titled tunes it is sometimes confused with similar names; for example, Bayard once heard it played by a New Jersey fiddler who gave it the ubiquitous name of "Bonaparte's Retreat." Fiddler Mack Snodderly played a slow, dirge-like version of the tune and called it "Dying on the Field of Battle."
**
"The Greene County title (i.e. "Star of Bethlehem") suggests that the air may formerly have been sung to a once popular religious piece of the same name, beginning:
***
When marshalled on the nightly plain
The glimmering host illumed the sky.
***
But this hymn is now usually associated with the air 'Ye Banks and Braes of Bonnie Doon' in southwestern Pennsylvania and elsewhere. And there is no other indication thus far that (this tune) has been anything but an instrumental march tune in the Middle Atlantic area. We know, however, that it was used as a hymn melody in the South. Its currency in southern tradition is attested by two distinct versions used with a couple of the favorite pieces in the shapenote hymn books of fasola singers. One of these, a close variant of (this tune) appears in Swan, The New Harp of Columbia (1867), No. 148 as 'France'; the other, representing a quite different--somewhat more vocal--development of the air, is entitled 'Family Bible' in Walker, The Southern Harmony (1835), No. 20, and Cayee, The Good Old Songs (1913), No. 217. This second version is listed by Professor George Pullen Jackson among the eighty most popular tunes in the fasola song books: see 'White Spirituals in the Southern Uplands', p. 146, tune No. 63 and references. Other Pennsylvania sets are Bayard Coll., Nos. 35, 50. A variant called 'Caledonian March' appears in Howe's School for the Violin, pg. 17. Although the air sounds Scottish, it has not yet been traced outside this country. A tune bearing some resemblance to it occurs, in Smith, The Scottish Minstrel, IV, 12, 'The Pride of the Broomlands'; and another, still closer, occasionally appears in the commercial fiddle-tune books as 'Lochnagar': e.g., Cole, p. 124; White's Excelsier Coll., p. 70; Kerr, No. 214" (Bayard, 1944).
***
Source for notated version: Tony Marcus [Phillips]. Bayard (Hill Country Tunes), 1944; No. 90. Brody (Fiddler's Fakebook), 1983; pg. 51. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), Vol. 2, 1995; pg. 23. June Appal 003, John McCutcheon - "How Can I Keep From Singing?" (1975). Rounder 0035, The Fuzzy Mountain String Band- "Summer Oaks and Porch" (1973. Learned from John Summers, Marion, Indiana).
EMMA'S PRIDE. Old-Time, Polka (?). USA, Michegan. D Major. Standard. AABB. Source for notated version: named by Bob Spinner who learned it from fiddler Emma Warner. Emma came from a family of musicians who lived around the Charlevoix, East Port, and Torch Lake areas of Michigan [Johnson]. Johnson (The Kitchen Musician's No. 7: Michigan Tunes), Vol. 7, 1986-87; pg. 4 (two versions).
FAMILY ESTATE, THE. AKA and see "The Village Reel," "The Swallow's Tail," "The Steeplechase," "Take your Hand Away," "The Pigeon on the Gate," "The Pride of the Ball," "McKenna's Reel," "The Queen's Wedding," "Mollie's Bonnet," "Molloy's Night Cap," "Joshua Gray," "Miss Wright's Reel," "The Girl with the Handsome Face."
GIRL WITH THE HANDSOME FACE, THE. AKA and see "The Swallow's Tail," "Miss Wright's Reel," "The Family Estate," "Joshua Gray," "Molloy's Night Cap," "Mollie's Bonnet," "The Queen's Wedding," "McKenna's Reel," "The Pride of the Ball," "The Pigeon on the Gate," "Take your Hand Away," "The Steeplechase."
JOSHUA GRAY. AKA and see "The Swallow's Tail," "The Steeplechase," "Take your Hand Away," "The Pigeon on the Gate," "The Pride of the Ball," "McKenna's Reel," "The Queen's Wedding," "Mollie's Bonnet," "Molloy's Night Cap," "The Family Estate," "The Village Reel," "Miss Wright's Reel," "The Girl with the Handsome Face."
MOLLOY'S NIGHT CAP. AKA and see "The Family Estate," "The Girl with the Handsome Face," "Joshua Gray," "McKenna's Reel," "Miss Wright's Reel," "Mollie's Bonnet," "The Pigeon on the Gate," "The Pride of the Ball," "The Queen's Wedding," "The Swallow's Tail," "Take your Hand Away," "The Village Reel."
MISS WRIGHT'S REEL. AKA and see "The Girl with the Handsome Face," "Joshua Gray," "The Family Estate," "The Village Reel," "Molloy's Night Cap," "Mollie's Bonnet," "The Queen's Wedding," "McKenna's Reel," "The Pride of the Ball," "The Pigeon on the Gate," "Take your Hand Away," "The Steeplechase," "The Swallow's Tail."
OLD MOLLY HARE. AKA and see "Fisher Laddie," "Grandma Blair," "Molly Hare," "(Largo's) Fairy Dance," "Rustic Dance," "Fairy Reel" (Ire.). Old-Time, Breakdown. USA; Widely known. G Major (Brody): D Major (Ford, Krassen, Phillips, Reiner & Anick). ADAE (Clayton McMichen) or Standard. AABB (Brody, Ford, Krassen, Phillips): ABBA'BCA''B' (Reiner & Anick). "Old Molly Hare" is directly evolved from the Scottish melody "Largo's Fairy Dance," claimed by Nathaniel Gow (1763-1831). It is known as "The Fisher Laddie" in northern England (where it appears in a collection of Northern English sword dance tunes by Cecil Sharp). The "Old Molly Hare" song and title appears to be strictly American in origin-Charles Wolfe (1991) thinks it a minstrel piece that went into oral tradition among both blacks and whites-and various ditties or rhymes have been sung to it:
***
(You) country coon, you come here soon;
The girls won't be here till tomorrow afternoon (John Powell, quoted by Wilkinson)
***
Old Molly Hare, what you doin' there,
Diggin' out a post hole and scratchin' out yore hair? (Ford)
***
Old Molly Hare, whatcha doin' thar,
Running through the cotton patch, as far as I can tear.
***
Old Molly Hare, whatcha doin' thar,
Sittin' in the corner, smoking a cigar.
***
Old Molly Hare, watcha doin' there,
Run through the country, run like a hare. (Riley Puckett/Reiner & Anick)
***
African-American collector Thomas Talley, writing in his book Negro Folk Rhymes (reprinted in 1991, edited by Charles Wolfe), prints the following lyric:
***
Ole Molly har', whats you doin' thar?
"I'se settin' in de fence corner, smokin' seegyar."
***
Ole Molly har', what's you doin' thar?
"I'se pickin' out a br'or, settin' on a Pricky-p'ar."
***
Ole Molly har', what's you doin' thar?
"I'se gwine cross de Cotton Patch, hard as I can t'ar."
***
Molly har' today, so dey all say,
Got her pipe o' clay, jis to moke de time 'way.
***
"de dogs say 'boo!' An' dey barks too,
I hain't got no time fer to talk to you.
***
Ford (1940) relates an improbable story he had from a man who had been a noted caller of old-time dances when he was younger, around the 1870's or 1880's. According to him the settlers of the Missouri/Kansas prarie region plagued by rodent holes, especillay rabbits, which were a hazard to cattle or horses. There was a boon to the burrows, however, as they could by used for fence posts, saving the homesteader the arduous labor of digging another hole to set his post. Usually, says Ford, the settlers as a matter of pride took great pains to set their posts in a straight line. There was however, one character in the community, "whose ingenious efforts to avoid over-exertion were a constant source of amusement to his friends and neighbors."
***
When he built his fence he was not particular about a straight line.
He selected rows of rabbit holes, set his posts, strung the wire and
had his fencing done in no time at all. But the result was even more
erratic than he had anticipated. He was surveying the completed work
one day when several neighbors, coming in from the range, rode up.
They took one look at the fence and then had their usual laugh, to
poor old John's embarrassment. 'John', said one, in a voice of
suppressed amusement, 'how much liquor does it take to the mile,
to build a fence like that?' 'Well,' said John, scratching his head,
'I hadn't calculated fer it to be a worm fence. Reckon though, if I
had a still hitched to it and the neighbors pourin' cold water along,
like they do on all my honest endeavors, you fellers 'ud be down at
t'other end of the fence holdin' yer cups to ketch the whiskey!' As
soon as the laughter had subsided over John's turning the tables, the
neighbor added: 'Anyhow, you certainly did get your fencing done
in a hurry, John. Did you have any help?' 'Yes and no,' was the reply.
'I sort of took advantage of Mother Nature on part of the work. Old
Molly Hare dug the post holes -- but me and the mules had to set the
posts and string the wire!' It was shortly after this episode that the
above-mentioned verse appeared, and began to be used by callers
when the tune 'Old Molly Hare' was played.
***
The tune was recorded for the Library of Congress by musicologist/folklorist Vance Randolph from Ozark Mountain fiddlers in the early 1940's; also recorded for the Library of Congress in 1939 by Herbert Halpert from the playing of Tishomingo County, Mississippi, fiddler W.E. Claunch and Meridian, Mississippi, fiddler W.A. Bledsoe (who was originally from Tennessee). The tune/song appears in several older collections: Brown (3:211-13), collected mostly from black informants; Richardson (American Mountain Songs) and Randolph (2:359) contain versions from white sources, the latter from the Ozark Mountains. Sources for notated versions: New Lost City Ramblers [Brody]: Clayton McMichen (Atlanta, Ga) [Phillips]. Also in the repertoire of Uncle Eck Dunford (Galax, Va.) {See Library of Congress recording}. Brody (Fiddler's Fakebook), 1983; pg. 207. Kaufman (Beginning Old Time Fiddle), 1977; pg. 47. Krassen (Appalachian Fiddle), 1973; pg. 31. Phillips (Fiddlecase Tunebook), 1989; pg. 31. Reiner & Anick (Old Time Fiddling Across America), 1989; pgs. 110-111. Brunswick 291 (78 RPM), The Crockett Family (1928. A Kentucky group). Columbia 15295 (78 RPM), Riley Puckett & Clayton McMichen (1927). County 507, Clayton McMichen. County 527, Clayton McMichen- "Old Time Fiddle Classics, Vol. II." Folkways FA 2395, New Lost City Ramblers- "Vol. 5." Okeh 45268 (78 RPM), Fiddlin' Cowan Powers (1928. Powers, 1877-1952? was from Russell County, Va., and learned the tune from family tradition). Rounder 0058, Haywood Blevins- "Old Originals, Vol. II." Recorded for the Library of Congress, 1939, by W.A. Bledsoe (Meridian, Mississippi). Also in repertoire of the Kimble Family from Patrick County, S.W. Va.
T:Old Molly Hare
L:1/8
M:2/2
B:Winston Wilkinson, Southern Folklore Quarterly, Vol. VI, no. 1, pg. 5.
S:James H. "Uncle Jim" Chisholm (Greenwood, Albermarle County, Va.)
K:D
abaf b2b2|gage a4|fdfa gfed|1 cABc d2fg:|2 cABc d4||
|:fdfa g2eg|fafd B4|fdfa gfed|cABc d4|Ad2d d2a2|
gfed cdec|defa gfed|1 cdef d2d2:|2 cdef d4||
PIGEON ON THE GATE [1] ("An Colm Air An Gata" or "An Colúr ar an nGeata)". AKA and see "The Athol Braes," "Bank of Ireland," "The Drinking Reel," "The Drunken Tailor," "Gallagher's Best," "Gearrchaile Oilean Pice," "Lagan Slashers," "League and Slasher," "Pigeon on the Pier," "The Pigeon on the Gate," "Reidy's Reel," "The Scotch Braes," "The Wandering Tinker." "The Family Estate," "The Girl with the Handsome Face," "Joshua Gray," "McKenna's Reel," "Miss Wright's Reel," "Mollie's Bonnet," "Molloy's Night Cap," "The Pride of the Ball," "The Queen's Wedding," "Swallow's Tail Reel," "The Steeplechase," "Take your Hand Away," "The Village Reel." Irish, Reel. Ireland, County Sligo, Donegal. E Dorian. Standard. AB (Roche): AABB (Cranitch, Mallinson, Mulvihill, O'Neill/Krassen, Taylor {Half-Door}, Tubridy): AA'BB (Breathnach): AABB' (Flaherty, Phillips): AA'BB' (Brody, Taylor). Similar to "Pride of the Ball." A popular reel in many versions in Donegal. Paul Stewart Cranford (1995) remarks that Cape Breton fiddler Johnny Wilmot played this tune in the key of E minor, after Michael Coleman (though A minor or G dorian was the usual Cape Breton setting {see version #2}), though when he did so without accompaniment he was wont to tune the bass string down to a low E (EDAE tuning). Sources for notated versions: Jean Carignan (Montreal, Canada) [Brody]; Andy McGann (New York) [Phillips]; flute player Laurence McDonagh, 1972 (Ballinfad, Co. Sligo, Ireland) [Breathnach]; fiddler Peter Horan (b. 1926, Kilavil County Sligo) [Flaherty]; "my mother" [Muvlihill]. Breathnach (CRE II), 1976; No. 250 [2], pg. 130. Brody (Fiddler's Fakebook), 1983; pg. 217. Cole (1001 Fiddle Tunes), 1940; pg. 8. Cranitch (Irish Fiddle Book), 1996; No. 57, pg. 147. Flaherty (Trip to Sligo), 1990; pgs. 64-65. Mallinson (Essential), 1995; No. 42, pg. 19. Mulvihill (1st Collection), 1986; No. 142, pg. 38. O'Neill (Krassen), 1976; pg. 132. Phillips (Fiddlecase Tunebook: British Isles), 1989; pg. 39. Roche Collection, 1982, Vol. 1; No. 168 and 169, pg. 66. Taylor (Where's the Crack?), 1989; pg. 14. Taylor (Through the Half-door), 1992; No. 15, pg. 12. Tubridy (Irish Traditional Music, Book Two), 1999; pg. 24. County 725, The Riendeau Family- "Old-Time Fiddling." Folkways FG 3531, Jean Carignan- "Old Time Fiddle Tunes" (1968). Green Linnet 1020, Brendan Mulvihill- "The Flax in Bloom." Green Linnet SIF-1092, Liz Carroll - "Liz Carroll" (1988). Green Linnet SIF-104, Liz Carroll - "The Celts Rise Again" (1990). Island ILPS9432, The Chieftains - "Bonaparte's Retreat" (1976). Kicking Mule 206, Eric Thompson- "Kicking Mule's Flat Picking Guitar Festival." Mulligan 028, Kevin Burke- "Promenade." Nimbus NI 5320, Proinsaias O Maonaigh, Mairead Ni Mhaonaigh, Paula Doohan, Liz Doherty - "Fiddle Sticks: Irish Traditional Music from Donegal" (1991). Philo 2018, Jean Carignan- "Plays Coleman, Morrison and Skinner." Shanachie 29008, Frankie Gavin- "Traditional Music of Ireland." Shanachie 29009, "Andy McGann and Paul Brady." Shanachie 29003, Tommy Peoples and Paul Brady- "The High Part of the Road." Shaskeen - "Joys of Life" & "Shaskeen Live."
T:Pigeon on the Gate [1]
L:1/8
M:C
K:E Minor
dc|BE (3EDE BEdE|BE (3EDE dBAF|D2 (3FED AD (3FED|DEFA BAFA|
BE (3EDE dE (3EDE|BE (3EDE dBAF| DEFA dfec|dBAF E2:|
|:A|Be (3eee efed|(3Bcd ef gfed|BAFA d3B|AF (3FEF DEFA|Be (3eee efed|
(3Bcd ef g2 fg|(3agf (3gfe fdec|dBAF E3||
PRIDE OF RATHMORE. AKA and see "Considine's Grove," "Cronin of Kerry," "Dinny Ryan's," "The Gneevguilla Reel," "The Kerryman's Daughter," "Miss Brady." Irish, Reel. E Minor. Standard. AB. See also the "Game of Love" family of tunes. Sources for notated versions: Ann Sheehy (Castleisland, County Kerry) [Mulvihill]; fiddler Mrs. Murphy (Cork) [Breathnach]. Breathnach (CRE II), 1976; No. 290, pg. 147 (appears as "Gan ainm"). Mulvihill (1st Collection), 1986; No. 189, pg. 51. Copely EP, Paddy Cronin (c. 1950's).
T:Pride of Rathmore, The
L:1/8
M:C|
K:E Minor
E3F G2 EF|GEAG FDDF|E3F GFGA|Bded Bd e2|E3F G2 EF|GEAG FDDF|
E3F GFGA|Bded BE E2||efed (3Bcd ef|geag fd (dcd|efed (Bcd ef|gfdf e3d|
(3Bcd ed (3Bcd ef|gfag fd (3dcd|gfge d2 ed|(3Bcd ed BE E2||
PRIDE OF THE BALL. AKA and see similar reels "The Family Estate," "The Girl with the Handsome Face," "Joshua Gray," "McKenna's Reel," "Miss Wright's Reel," "Mollie's Bonnet," "Molloy's Night Cap," "Pigeon on the Gate," "The Queen's Marriage," "The Queen's Wedding," "Speed the Plow," "Steeple Chase," "Swallow's Tail," "Take Your Hand Away," "The Village Reel." Scottish, Irish, Canadian, American; Reel. Canada; Ontario, Prince Edward Island. A Dorian. Standard. AABB (Cole, Harding, Joyce, Kerr, O'Neill): AA'BB' (Perlman). Perlman (1996) notes that there is some confusion between this tune and "Pigeon on the Gatepost;" in fact, several of the variants he lists (such as "Roddy Joe's Reel" and "The Twin Sisters") are also listed as variants for "Pigeon on the Gatepost." The tune was also collected by Bayard (1981, Appendix No. 6, pg. 574) as an untitled reel from a fiddler from Prince Edward Island, Canada, in the 1930's. Sources for notated versions: Peter Chaisson, Jr. (b. 1942, Bear River, North-East Kings County, Prince Edward Island) [Perlman]; fiddler Dawson Girdwood (Perth, Ottawa Valley, Ontario) [Begin]. Begin (Fiddle Music from the Ottawa Valley), 1985; No. 63, pg. 72. Cole (1001 Fiddle Tunes), 1940; pg. 37. Harding Collection and Harding's Original Collection, No. 169. Henebry, 1928, No. 67, pg. 243. JIFSS, Vol. XVII, pg. 39. Joyce (Old Irish Folk Music and Songs), 1909; No. 342, pg. 157 (appears as untitled reel). Kerr (Merry Melodies), Vol. 2; No. 226, pg. 25. Kerr (Merry Melodies), Vol. 4; No. 168. O'Neill (1850), 1903/1979; No. 1268. Perlman (The Fiddle Music of Prince Edward Island), 1996; pg. 83.
T:Pride of the Ball
T:Steeple Chase
L:1/8
M:C|
S:Joyce - Old Irish Folk Music (No. 342)
K:D Mix
cB|A2 FD A2 FD|EGAB cBcA|G2EC G2EC|EGAB c2 Bc|
A2FD A2FD|EGAB c2 Bc|dBcA BGAF|GBAF D2:|
|:FG|Addd dcAG|FGAB c2 BA|G2 ECG2EC|EGAB c2 Bc|
Addd dcAG|FGAB cBce|dBcA BGAF|GBAF D2:|
QUEEN'S WEDDING, THE. AKA and see "The Swallow's Tail," "The Pigeon on the Gate," "The Steeplechase," "Take your Hand Away," "The Pride of the Ball," "McKenna's Reel," "Mollie's Bonnet," "Molloy's Night Cap," "Joshua Gray," "The Family Estate," "Miss Wright's Reel," "The Girl with the Handsome Face."
STEEPLE CHASE [1]. AKA and see "The Family Estate," "The Girl with the Handsome Face," "McKenna's Reel," "Miss Wright's Reel," "Mollie's Bonnet," "Molloy's Night Cap," "The Pigeon on the Gate," "The Pride of the Ball," "The Queen's Wedding," "The Swallow's Tail," "Take your Hand away," "The Village Reel." American, Reel. A Minor. Standard. AABB. Bayard (Dance to the Fiddle), 1981; Appendix No. 6, pg. 574. Cole (1001 Fiddle Tunes), 1940; pg. 43 and pg. 37 (appears as "Pride of the Ball"). Harding Collection (1915) and Harding's Original Collection (1928); No. 169. Henebry, 1928; No. 67, pg. 243. JIFSS, Vol. XVII, pg. 39 (appears as "Village Reel"). Joyce (Old Irish Folk Music and Song), 1909; No. 342, pg. 157 (untitled reel). O'Neill (1850), 1979; No. 1268.
T:Pride of the Ball
T:Steeple Chase
L:1/8
M:C|
S:Joyce - Old Irish Folk Music (No. 342)
K:D Mix
cB|A2 FD A2 FD|EGAB cBcA|G2EC G2EC|EGAB c2 Bc|
A2FD A2FD|EGAB c2 Bc|dBcA BGAF|GBAF D2:|
|:FG|Addd dcAG|FGAB c2 BA|G2 ECG2EC|EGAB c2 Bc|
Addd dcAG|FGAB cBce|dBcA BGAF|GBAF D2:|
SWALLOWTAIL COAT, THE. AKA and see "The Family Estate," "The Girl with the Handsome Face," "Joshua Gray," "McKenna's Reel," "Miss Wright's Reel," "Mollie's Bonnet," "Molloy's Night Cap," "Pigeon on the Gate," "The Pride of the Ball," "The Queen's Wedding," "Steeple Chase," "The Swallow's Tail," "The Swallowtail Coat," "Take your Hand Away," "The Village Reel."
SWALLOW'S TAIL REEL, THE ("An Earbuill Ainleog," "Earball an Ainleoige," "Driobhall na Fáinleoige" or "Eireaball na Fáinleoige"). AKA - "Swallowtail Reel." AKA and see "The Family Estate," "The Girl with the Handsome Face," "Joshua Gray," "McKenna's Reel," "Miss Wright's Reel," "Mollie's Bonnet," "Molloy's Night Cap," "Pigeon on the Gate," "The Pride of the Ball," "The Queen's Wedding," "Steeple Chase," "The Swallowtail Coat," "Take your Hand Away," "The Village Reel." Irish, New England, Shetland; Reel. Ireland; County Sligo, Kilkenny, Tyrone. Shetland, Yell. A Dorian (Am). Standard. AB (O'Neill/1850): AABB (Allan, Breathnach, Brody, Flaherty, Mallinson, Miller & Perron, O'Neill/Krassen, Sweet, Tolman, Tubridy). Similar to "Pride of the Ball." Mulvihill gives "Swallow's Tail" as an accompaniment for the sixteen-hand reel. Caoimhin Mac Aoidh (1994) states the tune is more correctly called in County Donegal the "Swallow's Tail Coat," named after the long split-tail coats dancing masters wore. Breathnach (1985) gives titles for the tune in Ulster as "McKenna's Reel," "The Queen's Wedding," "Mollie's Bonnet," "Molloy's Night Cap," and "Joshua Gray." Paddy Kelly (originally of Co. Tyrone) called the tune "McKenna's Reel" after a local dancer named McKenna. The names under which it appears in O'Neill are "The Swallow's Tail," "The Steeplechase" and "Take your Hand Away," while Ryan's/Cole's has it as "The Pigeon on the Gate" and "The Pride of the Ball." P.W. Joyce collected the tune in the mid-19th century in Kilkenny; it appears as an untitled reel in D Mixolydian in his Old Irish Folk Music and Songs. Accordion player Joe Burke (b. 1939), originally from Coorhoor, above Loughrea in County Galway, has an early playing memory of fiddler Martin Hanny on a settle bed at a 'station' (house mass) fiddling this tune (Vallely & Piggott, Blooming Meadows, 1998), which so impressed him that he wished to get a similar sound on his accordion. Sources for notated versions: fiddler Michael Coleman (County Sligo/New York City) [Breathnach]; flute player Colm O'Donnell (b. 1962, Aclare, County Sligo) [Flaherty]. Allan's Irish Fiddler, No. 45, pg. 11. Breathnach (CRE III), 1985; No. 196, pg. 87. Brody (Fiddler's Fakebook), 1983; pg. 270. Flaherty (Trip to Sligo), 1990; pg. 14. Mallinson (Enduring), 1995; No. 11, pg. 5. Miller & Perron (New England Fiddlers Repertoire), 1983; No. 128. Mulvihill (1st Collection), 1986; No. 38, pg. 126. O'Neill (Krassen), 1976; pg. 108. O'Neill (1850), 1903/1979; No. 1268, pg. 238. O'Neill (1001 Gems), 1907/1986; No. 536, pg. 100. Sweet (Fifer's Delight), 1965/1981; pg. 68. Tolman (Nelson Music Collection), 1969; pg. 10. Tubridy (Irish Traditional Music, Vol. 1), 1999; pg. 19. Edison 50604 (78 RPM), John H. Kimmel (accordion player from New York City), 1918 (appears as last tune of "Bonnie Kate Medley Reels"). Folkways FG 3575, Barry, Gorman, Ennis, and Heaney- "Irish Music in London Pubs." Gael-Linn CEF 045, "Paddy Keenan" (1975). Globestyle Irish CDORBD 085, The Kerry Fiddle Trio - "The Rushy Mountain" (1994. Reissue of Topic recordings). Shanachie 33002, Michael Coleman- "The Legacy of Michael Coleman." Sonet 764, Dave Swarbrick and Friends- "The Ceilidh Album."
T:Swallowtail Reel
L:1/8
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K:A dor
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VILLAGE REEL. AKA and see "The Pride of the Ball," "Steeple Chase," "The Swallow's Tail," "Miss Wright's Reel," "The Girl with the Handsome Face," "McKenna's Reel," "The Family Estate," "The Pigeon on the Gate," "The Queen's Wedding," "Molloy's Night Cap," "Mollie's Bonnet," "Take your Hand Away," "Joshua Gray." Irish, Reel. This reel also appears in Joyce, 1909; No. 342 (untitled reel) and Bayard (1981), Appendix No. 6, pg. 574 (untitled reel collected from a Prince Edward Island fiddler in the 1930's). JIFSS, Vol. XVII, pg. 39.