The Fiddler’s Companion

© 1996-2008 Andrew Kuntz

_______________________________

HOME       ALPHABETICAL FILES        REFERENCES

[COMMENT1] [COMMENT2] 

DASH - DAY

[COMMENT3] 

[COMMENT4] 

Notation Note: The tunes below are recorded in what is called “abc notation.” They can easily be converted to standard musical notation via highlighting with your cursor starting at “X:1” through to the end of the abc’s, then “cutting-and-pasting” the highlighted notation into one of the many abc conversion programs available, or at concertina.net’s incredibly handy “ABC Convert-A-Matic” at

http://www.concertina.net/tunes_convert.html 

 

**Please note that the abc’s in the Fiddler’s Companion work fine in most abc conversion programs. For example, I use abc2win and abcNavigator 2 with no problems whatsoever with direct cut-and-pasting. However, due to an anomaly of the html, pasting the abc’s into the concertina.net converter results in double-spacing. For concertina.net’s conversion program to work you must remove the spaces between all the lines of abc notation after pasting, so that they are single-spaced, with no intervening blank lines. This being done, the F/C abc’s will convert to standard notation nicely. Or, get a copy of abcNavigator 2 – its well worth it.   [AK]

 

 

 

DASH TO PORTOBELLO. AKA and see “The Galway Rambler,” “Glens of Aherlow,” “Port Gael-Linn,” “Seán Ryan’s Favourite,” “Seán Ryan’s (Reel) [2],” “Sligo Rambler [1].” Irish, Reel. E Dorian. Standard tuning. Composed by County Tipperary fiddler Seán Ryan (d. 1985). Paul de Grae remarks that Portobello Harbor lies on the south side of Dublin, where the Grand Canal enters the city, beside which is Portobello Bridge (named perhaps by the English after a bridge in Venice, Italy, because of its association with the canal). In the old days, you could travel by barge from the harbor along the canal to Limerick in three days. According to Philippe Varlet, Seán Ryan played the tune in E Dorian, though he tuned his fiddle down a whole step so that it sounds in D Dorian. “The Mowing Machine” is a similar tune in the ‘B’ part. Bulmer & Sharpley (Music from Ireland), vol. 4; 2. Ryan (The Hidden Ireland), 27. Cló Iar-Chonnachta CICD 167, Peter Horan & Gerry Harrington – “The Merry Love to Play” (2007. Appears as “Sean Ryan’s”). Rounder 1123, Seán Ryan - “Milestone at the Gardern” (originally recorded by Ryan on a Gael-Linn 78 RPM record c. 1959).

X:1

T:Dash to Portobello, The

T:Port Gael‑Linn

C:Sean Ryan

S:Sean Ryan

D:Milestone at the Garden

M:C|

L:1/8

Z:transcribed by Juergan Gier

K:D Dor

dc|ADDD DCA,G,|C2ED CG,G,G,|A,DDC DEFG|(3ABc dA cAGB|\

ADDD DCA,G,|C2ED CG,G,G,|A,DDC DEFG|(3ABc GE FD D2::\

f2df afdf|eccc Gceg|f2df afdf|efge fdde|~f3 g afdf|\

e2ce gece|fefg {a}gfge|1fedc (3ABc de:|2fedc Acfe:|

                       

DASHING SERGEANT. See "Dashing White Sergeant."

                       


DASHING WHITE SERGEANT, THE. AKA and see "Highland Reel." English, Scottish, Irish, American; Country Dance Tune, Reel or Hornpipe. F Major (Ashman, Athole, Hunter): G Major (Roche, Ford): D Major (Kennedy, Kerr, Martin, Sweet). Standard. AB (Ford): AAB (Kennedy): AAB (Ashman): AA'B (Athole, Hunter, Kerr, Martin, Sweet): AABB (Roche). The Dashing White Sergeant is the name of a specific social (ceilidh) dance in Scotland, a reel-time circle dance. J. Scott Skinner, who in his younger days (before earning fame as a violinist and composer) was a country dancing master, taught a progressive longways country dance by that name, one of the few in his mostly North-East (Scottish) repertoire. Tunes associated with the dance The Dashing White Sergeant are the namesake tune, along with “My Love is But a Lassie Yet” and “The Rose Tree,” although, as Christine Martin (2002) points out, any reel or polka will do. Alternate 32-bar tunes are sandwiched in between “The Dashing White Sergeant” played at the beginning and end.

***

The tune of “The Dashing White Sergeant” is derived from a song of the same name, written by an English musical composer, conductor and arranger Sir Henry Rowley Bishop (1786-1855), and was published in the mid-1820’s. Apparently the song was to be part of one of Bishop’s operas, although there is no evidence it ever actually made it into one. Rowley Bishop, who had a long run with various works in the London theaters and was the first musician to be knighted, is perhaps nowadays more famous for his composition “Home Sweet Home.” He is also remembered for his appointment to the Reid Professorship of Music at Edinburgh University, a post he assumed but which he declined to give any lectures in support of—he was invited to resign two years later [David Murray, Music of the Scottish Regiments, Edinburgh, 1994, pg. 210].

***

The words to the song are sometimes attributed to General John “Gentleman Johnny” Burgoyne (1722-1792), who surrendered a British army at Saratoga during the American Revolution. Burgoyne himself, after his military career (which did not end at Saratoga), became a fixture of English society and a playwright himself.  The lyric goes, in part:

***

If I had a beau for a soldier who'd go,

Do you think I'd say no? No, no, not I!

For a soldier who'd go, Do you think I'd say no?

No, no, no, no, no, no, not I!

When his red coat I saw,

Not a sigh would it draw,

But I'd give him eclat for his bravery!

If an army of Amazons ere came in play,

As a dashing white sergeant I’d march away.

***

Chorus:

A dashing white sergeant I’d march away, march away, march away, march away.

March away, march away, march away, march away, march away, march away.

***

The lyrics make more sense when you understand that the singer is a woman, whose thought it is to dress as a ‘dashing white sergeant’ to follow her lover in the army, a not-uncommon 18th and 19th century theme.  Another set of lyrics (relatively modern, and which scan better with the melody) are by Scottish conductor Sir Hugh S. Roberton, and go:

***

Now the fiddler’s ready, let us all begin,

So step it out and step it in

To the merry music of the violin

We’ll dance the hours away.

***

Katie and Peggy and Patsy and Coll,

Callum and Peter and Flora and Moll;

Dance, dance, dance, dance,

Dance away the hours together.

Dance till dawn be in the sky,

Whatcare you and what care I?

Hearts a-beating, spirits high

We’ll dance, dance, dance!

***

Perhaps because of the title the tune was quick to enter British military repertoire as a march, where it was the regimental march of the former 49th Berkshires (Royal Berkshire Regiment). “The Grenadier Guards,” records David Murray [Music of the Scottish Regiments, Edinburgh, 1994, pg. 210], “play it for the Advance in Review Order, with which manoeuvre ceremonial inspections used to conclude. It was also briefly the march past of the 2nd battalion The Suffolk Regimnet at some period before 1898, when both battalions changed to ‘Speed the Plough’.” 

***

In America the song was published on a songsheet by Baltimore publisher George Willig (c. 1825, as sung by “Miss Stephens”). The melody was quickly adapted for dancing, however, and, for example, appears in Francis Johnson’s A Choice Collection of New Cottillions for the Piano Forte No. 8 (Philadelphia, c. 1824) [Keller: Early American Music and its European Sources, 1589-1839]. The melody was nearly as popular in America as it was in England, although the Burgoyne connection is largely unknown (if true), and also entered martial repertoire at the military academy at West Point, New York, where it is still played during commencement week.

***

Source for notated version: a c. 1837-1840 MS by Shropshire musician John Ford [Ashman]. Ashman (The Ironbridge Hornpipe), 1991; No. 112, pg. 47. Ford (Traditional Music in America), 1940; pg. 75. Hunter (Fiddler Music of Scotland), 1988; No. 320. Jarman (Old Time Fiddlin' Tunes); No. or pg. 25. Kennedy (Fiddlers Tune Book), vol. 1, 1951; No. 59, pg. 29. Kerr (Merry Melodies), vol. 1; No. 29, pg. 30. Martin (Traditional Scottish Fiddling), 2002; pg. 50. Roche Collection, 1982; vol. 2, pg. 16, No. 227. Stewart-Robertson (The Athole Collection), 1884; pg. 150. Sweet (Fifer’s Delight), 1964/1981; pg. 57. Island Records (Antilles) AN-7003, Kirkpatrick & Hutchings - "The Compleat Dancing Master" (1974). Tradition 2118, Jim MacLeod & His Band ‑ "Scottish Dances: Jigs, Waltzes and Reels" (1979).

See also listing at:

Jane Keefer’s Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources 

X:1

T:Dashing White Sergeant

M:2/4

L:1/8

R:Country Dances

B:Stewart-Robertson – The Athole Collection  (1884)

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:F

A/G/|:FF/G/ F/G/A/B/|c/B/c/d/ ca/g/|~fdcA|dG G/B/A/G/|FF/G/ F/G/A/B/|

c/B/c/d/ ca|gfed|1 cc/d/ c/B/A/G/:|2 c2z||C|cc/d/ c/d/e/f/|g/a/g/e/ c>e|

dd/e/ d/e/f/g/|a/b/a/f/ dd/d/|ec/c/ fc/c/|gc/c/ ag/a/|bagf|ed c/B/A/G/|

F>f f/e/f/g/|fcc>f|dg g/f/g/a/|gdd>~f|c>f f/e/f/g/|az c’>e|fe/d/ c/B/A/G/||

                       

DAUGHERTY’S JIG. AKA and see “The Trip to Sligo [1].” Irish, Jig. Intrepid Records, Michael Coleman - “The Heyday of Michael Coleman” (1973).

                       

DAUGHTER OF ISREAL. English, Air (cut time). F Major. Standard tuning. AB. Source for notated version: a c. 1837-1840 MS by Shropshire musician John Moore [Ashman]. Ashman (The Ironbridge Hornpipe), 1991; No. 46, pg. 17.

                       

DAUGHTER OF THE REGIMENT.  English, March. “When Queen Victoria was born in 1818, her father, the Duke of Kent—he who gave his name to the ‘Kenthorn’, the keyed bugle—was Colonel of the Royal Regiment. In 1889, the band of the 2nd Battalion Royal Scots played ‘The Daughter of the Regiment’ as a compliment to Queen Victoria when she took the salute at a review in Aldershot. It is now played by the military band as the march past when Royalty is present. The tune comes from Donizetti’s opera of the same name and is the melody of a song sung by the heroine to the soldiers, ‘Quel Regiment!’—‘What a Regiment!’—and very apt it is too when applied to the 1st of Foot, the glorious old Royal Scots.” (David Murray, Music of the Scottish Regiments, Edinburgh, 1994; pg. 178).

 

DAUNSE NY FARISHYN. AKA and see "The Jolly Banger [1]," "Largo's Fairy Dance," "The Fairy Reel [1]."

                       

DAVE BORDER'S PIECE. Old‑Time, Breakdown. USA, Missouri. D Major. Standard tuning. AABB. Composed by Ben Smith. Source for notated tune: Ben Smith (Jerome, Missouri) [Christeson]. R.P. Christeson (Old Time Fiddlers Repertory, vol. 2), 1984; No. 71, pg. 48.

                       

DAVE COLLINS' [1]. Irish, Jig. D Major. Standard tuning. AABB. Miles Krassen (1981) remarks that this jig was originally composed by Dave Collins in the key of 'C' but was transposed to 'B Flat' by Bronx fiddler Martin Wynne as a more comfortable fiddle key; Mulvihill gives it in D Major. Mulvihill (1st Collection), 1986; No. 90, pg. 84. Green Linnet SIF1035, Brian Conway & Tony De Marco - "The Apple in Winter" (1981).

 

DAVE COLLINS’ [2].  Irish, Jig. A Major. Standard tuning. AAB.

X: 1

T: Dave Collins'

M: 6/8

Q: 300

L: 1/8

R: jig

N: Dave is a box player from the New York area, good friend of

N: Brian Conway's and brother of Dan and Kathleen.

Z: Transcribed by Bill Black

K: A

E | A2 A, CEA | B2 B BAF | A2 F ECA, | CEC B,2 C |

A,G,A, CA,C | A,CE FEC | EFA BGE | AcB A2 :|

 B | cAc BGB | Acf ece | f2 e cBc | efg f2 g |

agf gfe | fec BGE | FGA BGE | AcB A2 B |

cAc BGB | Acf ece | A2 F ECA, | CDC B,2 C |

A,G,A, CA,C | A,CE FEC | EFA BGE | AcB A2 ||

                       


DAVE MARSH'S FAVORITE. Canadian, Jig. Canada, Cape Breton. G Major. Standard. AABB (Dunlay & Reich): AA’BB’ (Dunlay & Greenberg). The title comes from pianist Doug MacPhee, who named it after a friend, thought the tune was not composed by him. Source for notated versions: Buddy MacMaster (Cape Breton) [Dunlay & Greenberg, Dunlay & Reich]. Dunlay & Greenberg (Traditional Celtic Violin Music from Cape Breton), 1996; pg. 118. Dunlay & Reich (Traditional Celtic Fiddle Music of Cape Breton), 1986; pg. 75 (listed as "Traditonal Jig"). DMP6‑27‑1‑4, Doug MacPhee‑ "Cape Breton Piano III" (1981). RDRD 850, Raymond Ellis - “Dedicated to Mom and Dad” (1994. Appears as 1st “Traditional Jig” on ‘B’ side, 2nd cut).

                       

DAVE MACISAAC’S JIG. Canadian, Jig. Canada, Cape Breton. A Major. Standard tuning. AA’BB’. Composed by fiddler Jerry Holland (Inverness, Cape Breton) for fiddler/guitarist Dave MacIsaacs (Halifax, Nova Scotia). Cranford (Jerry Holland’s), 1995; No. 196, pg. 56.

                       

DAVE MACISAAC’S STRATHSPEY. Canadian, Strathspey. Canada, Cape Breton. A Dorian. Standard tuning. AAB. Composed by fiddler Brenda Stubbert (b. 1959, Point Aconi, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia) for guitarist/fiddler Dave MacIsaac’s (Halifax, Nova Scotia). Cranford (Brenda Stubbert’s), 1994; No. 17, pg. 7. Brenda Stubbert - “Tamerack ‘er Down” (1985).

                       

DAVE MACNEIL. Canadian, Reel. Canada, Cape Breton Island. Composed by Cape Breton fiddler Donny LeBlanc, who lives on the west coast of the island. Flying Fish FF 70572, Frank Ferrel – “Yankee Dreams: Wicked Good Fiddling from New England” (1991).

                       

DAVE “NORMAWAY” MACDONALD’S WEDDING REEL. Canadian, Reel. Canada, Cape Breton. Composed by Inverness, Cape Breton, fiddler Jerry Holland (b. 1955) for the wedding of inn-keeper MacDonald, who runs a venue for Cape Breton music at his establishment, the Normaway. Odyssey ORCS 1051, Jerry Holland – “Fiddler’s Choice” (1999).

                       

DAVE O’DOCHERTY’S. Irish, Reel. Standard tuning. AABB. Composed at the 1990 Comhaltas Ceoltoírí Eíreann North American Convention held in St. Louis by Falmouth, Massachusetts, musician and writer Bill Black. Black (Music’s the Very Best Thing), 1996; No. 122, pg. 63.

X:1

T: Dave O Docherty's

C: © B. Black

Q: 350

R: reel

M: 4/4

L: 1/8

K: D

FA | BcBA F2 ED | B,D D2 EFAB | dBBd e2 gf | eBdB A2 FA |

BcBA F2 ED | B,D D2 EFAB | defd g2 ed | cAGE D2 :|

FA | BDFA dcde | fede fa a2 | bf f2 af f2 | gfed B2 FA |

BDFA dcde | fede fa a2 | b2 af edBd | cAGE D2 :|

                       

DAVENPORT. Old-Time. An archaic banjo piece.

                       

DAVE’S DONEGAL RAMBLES. Irish, Reel. Ireland, County Donegal. D Major. Standard tuning. AB. An untitled county Donegal reel collected by Dave Abe, who travelled Ireland on a grant to study traditional music. The title is Bill Black’s. Black (Music’s the Very Best Thing), 1996; No. 113, pg. 59.

X:1

T: Dave's Donegal Rambles

S: Dave Abe

Q: 350

R: reel

M: 4/4

L: 1/8

K: D

E | F3 A AFDE | F2 EG FDDE | F3 A AFDE | F2 EF D3 :|

A | d3 A FGAB | A2 dA (3Bcd ec | d3 A FGAB | AFGE FD D3 :|

                       

DAVID ADAMS. Scottish, Reel. A Major. Standard tuning. AB. Composed by J. Scott Skinner. Skinner (The Scottish Violinist), pg. 9.

X:1

T:David Adams

M:2/4

L:1/8

R:Reel

C:J. Scott Skinner

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:A

E/ | A/4A/4A/ (c/A/) .G/.A/.B/.c/ | d/c/B/A/ G/E/F/G/ | A/4A/4A/ (c/A/) .B/.c/.d/.f/ |

e/c/d/B/ c/A/A/({g}a/) | A/4A/4A/ (c/A/) .G/.A/.B/.c/ | .d/.c/.B/.A/ .G/.F/.E/.G/ |

.A/.c/.E/.c/ .A/.B/.c/.d/ | e/c/e/B/ c/A/A/g/ || a/A/a/g/ f/d/d/f/ | b/B/b/a/ g/e/e/g/ |

a/A/a/g/ f/d/a/f/ | e/c/d/B/ c/A/A/g/ | a/4a/4a/ (c/a/) f/d/d/f/ |b/4b/4b/ (B/b/) g/e/e/g/ |

.a/.g/.a/.e/ .f/.a/.e/.a/ | [e/e/] [c/a/] [d/g/] [B/b/] [c/{g}a/][A/A/][A/A/] || [E4A4] ||

                       

DAVID AND NANCY’S VISIT. Canadian, Reel. Canada, Cape Breton. Composed by Inverness, Cape Breton, fiddler Jerry Holland (b. 1955) after a visit by David and Nancy MacIsaac. Odyssey ORCS 1051, Jerry Holland – “Fiddler’s Choice” (1999).

                       

DAVID D. MACKENZIE OF SALLACHY. Shetland, Slow Air. Composed by I. Sinclair. Greentrax, Willie Hunter – “Leaving Lerwick Harbour” (1995).

                       

DAVID EARL OF CASSIL'S REEL. Scottish, Reel. Glen (1891) finds the earliest printing of the tune in John Riddell's 1782 collection (pg. 21).

                       

DAVID FOY. Irish, Air (2/4 time). E Flat Major. Standard tuning. One part. “As sung by the Dublin street ballad singers, for the last fifty years at least” [Stanford/Petrie--1855]. See also the variant “Remember the pease straw.” Stanford/Petrie (Complete Collection), 1905; No. 683, pg. 171.

X:1

T:David Foy

M:2/4

R:Air

N:”As sung by the Dublin street ballad singers, for the last fifty years, at least.”
L::1/8

S:Stanford/Petire (1905), No. 683

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:E_

G/B/ | cd/e/ fg | eB {d}cA | GA/F/ EE | E3 B/c/4d/4 | ee/f/ ga/g/ |

f>d B e | d>e {d}cB | B3 A| GF/E/ G/A/B | E>D EF | G/A/B cA/G/ |

{G}F3 G/B/ | c/d/e f>g | eB cA | GA/F/ EE | E3 ||

                       

DAVID MANSON OF QUARFF. Shetland, Jig. A Major. Standard tuning. AAB. Composed by the late Shetland composer, teacher, fiddler and collector Tom Anderson (1980). Anderson (The Ringing Strings), 1983; pg. 95.

                       

DAVID O’DOHERTY’S FAVOURITE. Irish, Reel. Outlet 3002, Paddy Cronin‑ "Kerry's Own Paddy Cronin" (1977).

                       


DAVID POWER. Irish, Planxty. F Major. Standard tuning. AB. Composed by blind Irish harper Turlough O'Carolan (1670-1738). Complete Collection of Carolan's Irish Tunes, 1984; No. 153, pg. 104‑105.

                                   

DAVID RAE. AKA and see “Cuckold Came Out of the Amrey,” "Struan Robertson(‘s Rant) [1]." Scottish, Strathspey. E Minor. Standard tuning. AABBCCCD. John Glen (1891) finds the earliest printing of the tune in Alexander McGlashan's 1780 collection. While David Rae is a common enough Scottish name and could refer to anyone, McGlashan’s tune may honor a contemporary, the David Rae who was Lord Eskgrove, Lord Justice-Clerk (i.e. the head) of the Criminal Court (in Edinburgh) in the last years of the 18th century.  Rae is remembered by Lord Henry Cockburn (1779-1854), in his book Memorials of His Time (published posthumously in 1856), as a “considerable lawyer” who became a deplorable judge, and Cockburn concludes “a more ludicrous personage could not exist.”

***

When I first knew him he was in the zenith of his absurdity. People

seemed to have nothing to do but to tell stories of this one man. To

be able to give and anecdote of Eskgrove, with a proper imitation

of his voice and manner, was a sort of fortune in society. (Sir Walter)

Scott in those days was famous for this particularly. Whenever a

knot of persons were seen listening in the Outer House to one who

was talking slowly, with a low muttering voice and a projected chin,

and then the listeners burst asunder in roars of laughter, nobody

thought of asking what the joke was. They were sure it was a successful

imitation of Esky; and this was enough. Yet never once did he do or say

anything which had the slightest claim to be remembered for any

intrinsic merit. The value of all his words and actions consisted in

their absurdity.

***

He seemed, in his old age, to be about the average height; but as

He then stooped a good deal, he might have been taller in reality.

His face varied, according to circumstances, from a scurfy red

to a scurfy blue; his nose was prodigious; the under lip enormous,

and supported on a  huge clumsy chin, which moved like the jaw

of an exaggerated Dutch toy. He walked with a slow steady step—

something between a walk and a hirple, and helped himself on by

short movements of his elbows, backwards and forwards, like fins.

The voice was low and mumbling, and on the bench was generally

inaudible for some time after the movement of the lips showed

that he had begun speaking; after which the first word that was let

fairly out was generally the loudest of the whole discourse. It is

unfortunate that, without an idea of his voice and manner, mere

narrative cannot describe his sayings and doings graphically.  (pgs. 109-110)

***

Cockburn goes on to give several pages of anecdotes about the jurist’s career, none of them complimentary (for an example, see note for “Sir James Colquhoun”). McGlashan (Collection of Strathspey Reels), c. 1780/81; pg. 14.

X:1

T:Davie Ray

M:C|

L:1/8

R:Strathspey

S:McGlashan – Strathspey Reels  (c. 1780/81)

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:E Minor

F|E/E/E GA B>ABd|D/D/D dF D/E/F/G/ AF|E/E/E GA B>ABd|eBdF E/E/E E:|

f|e>fge b>fge|f>edg a/g/f/e/ df|efge bfge|dBAF E/E/E Ef|e>fge bfge|

f>edg a/g/f/e/ df|efge bfge|dBAF E/E/E E2||

|:G>BE>B G>BE>B|F>AD>A F>AD>A|G>BE>B G>BE>g|f>e^df e/e/e e2:|

g>be>b g>be>b|f>ad>a f>ad>a|g>be>b g>be>g|f>e^df e/e/e e2|g>be>b g>be>b|

f>ad>a f>ad>a|b>fg>e f>de>^c|d/^c/B/A/ dF E/E/E E2||

                       

DAVID RANKIN’S STRATHSPEY. Canadain, Strathspey. Canada, Cape Breton. B Minor. Standard tuning. AAB. Composed by fiddler Jerry Holland (Inverness, Cape Breton). Cranford (Jerry Holland’s), 1995; No. 60, pg. 18.

                       

DAVID STEWART. Scottish, Strathspey. A Major. Standard tuning. AABCCD. Carlin (The Gow Collection), 1986; No. 34.

                       

DAVID WHITE’S REEL. Canadian, Reel. Canada, Cape Breton. D Major. Standard tuning. AABB’. Composed by fiddler Jerry Holland (Inverness, Cape Breton). David White is a step-dancer from Detroit. Cranford (Jerry Holland’s), 1995; No. 112, pg. 32. Odyssey ORCS 1051, Jerry Holland – “Fiddler’s Choice” (1999).

                       

DAVID’S FINEST HOUR. Canadian, Reel. Canada, Cape Breton. D Major. Standard tuning. AABB. Composed by fiddler Jerry Holland (Inverness, Cape Breton). Cranford (Jerry Holland), 1995; No. 91, pg. 27.

                       

DAVID’S HORNPIPE. AKA – “Davie’s Hornpipe.” English, Hornpipe. England, Northumberland. G Major. Standard tuning. AABB. Composed by Robert Whinham (1814-1893), a musician, teacher, composer, dancing master and fiddler, originally from Morpeth. A verse appears below the tune in the original manuscript:

***

David with his harp play’d psalms

To win the Lord into good terms

But had he play’d this merry strain

He’d pleas’d the Lord as well again.

***

As “Davie’s Hornpipe” the tune appears in J. “Kielder Jock” Davidson’s Northumbrian manuscript from the early 20th century, a copy of which is in the Beamish Museum. Source for notated version: an unattributed 19th century manuscript in the Beamish Museum [Dixon]. Dixon (Remember Me), 1995; pg. 29. Black Crow CRO220, Kathryn Tickell – “Common Ground.”  

 

DAVID'S JIG. Canadian, Jig. D Major. Standard. AABB. Composed by Matilda Murdoch. Messer (Anthology of Favorite Fiddle Tunes), 1980; No. 143, pg. 91.

           

DAVIE, DAVIE, NICK NACK. See “Davy, Davy, Knick Knack.

                                   

DAVIE DUGGER. See “Davy Dugger.”

                       

DAVIE KINLOCH. Scottish, Jig. D Major. Standard. AABB. Hardings All-Round Collection, 1905; No. 133, pg. 42.

                       

DAVIE RAE. See "David Rae."

                       

DAVIE TAYLOR. Scottish, Strathspey. G Major. Standard. AAB. Composed by the great Scots fiddler and composer J. Scott Skinner (1843-1927). Source for notated version: Johnny Morrissey (1913-1994, Newtown Cross, Queen’s County, Prince Edward Island; late of Vernon River) [Perlman]. Perlman (The Fiddle Music of Prince Edward Island), 1996; pg. 189. Skinner (The Scottish Violinist), pg. 14.

X:1

T:Davie Taylor

M:C

L:1/8

R:Strathspey

S:Skinner – The Scottish Violinist

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:G

D | (GF/E/ DE/F/ {F}G2) (D>C) | B,<D {F}G>B A<A, A,>F | (GF/E/ DE/F/) G.g.e.c |

B<d {B}c>A B<G G :| c | (B/c/d) G>g e>gc>e | (^c/d/e) A>a f<d d>=c |

(B/c/d) G>g e>gc>e | d>gA>d B>F [B,G>]c | (B/c/d) g>f e>g c>e |

(^c/d/e) A<a f<d d>f | (3gfe (3def (3gdc (3BAG | (3FED (3CB,A, B,<G, G, ||

                       

DAVIE WORK. Scottish, Reel. A Major. Standard tuning. AAB. Composed by J. Scott Skinner. The tune is similar to Donegal fiddler John Doherty’s “Nine Pint Coggie [3].” Skinner (The Scottish Violinist), pg. 9.

X:1

T:Davie Work

M:2/4

L:1/16

C:J Scott Skinner

R:Reel

Z:Transcribed by Ted Hastings

N:from The Scottish Violinist

K:A

E|{G}[A2A2]cA (GA).B.c|dEBA GBeg|{g}a2(ga) .f.e.d.c|dBed [Ec]A[EA]:|!

g|aAag fedc|bBba gefg|aAag fedc|dfeg aA[FA]g|!

aAag fedc|bBba gfed|cAdB ecfd|eagb {g}aAHA||

                                   

DAVIE’S HORNPIPE.  See “David’s Hornpipe.”

 

DAVISTOWN. AKA and see "The Stick Beat," "Old Stick Beat March," "Old Seven Spot," "Old Number Seven," "Taylor's March [1]," "Frank Keeney [2]." American, March (2/4 time). USA, southwestern Pa. D Major. Standard. AB. Davistown is a village in southeastern Greene County, Pa. Bayard (1981) notes this march tune was "universally" known to local fifers, but infrequently played by fiddlers. The "stick beat" in the alternate titles refers to the accompaniment by the drum corps, which beat time on the edge of the drum and with stick‑against‑stick to the music. Bayard was not able to trace the tune or component strains outside of the region. Source for notated version: Marion Yoders (Greene County, Pa., 1960) [Bayard]. Bayard (Dance to the Fiddle), 1981; No. 228H, pgs. 188‑189.

                       

DAVY, DAVY. AKA and see "Goin' Down the River," "Sailing Down the River," "Paddy Won't You Drink Some (Good Old) Cider." Old‑Time, Song and Breakdown. A version of "Goin' Down the River," by Tennessee’s Weems String Band, one of whose members played the cello. It was one of only two sides they commercially recorded.  Unfortunately, the lyrics are a product of the blatantly racist culture prevalent in areas of the United States at the time, and inappropriate for performance today:

***

A nought is a nought and a one is a finger,

Why can't a white man dance like a ____?

He can't do the quickstep, he tends for to ____,

That's why he can't dance like a ____.

***

Columbia 15300 (78 RPM), Weems String Band (backed with “Greenback Dollar”). County Records ‑ "Echoes of the Ozarks, Vol. 3." County Records, "Weems String Band." County Records 3511, Weems String Band et al. – “Rural String Bands of Tennessee 1927-1930.” Rounder Records 0132, Bob Carlin ‑ "Fiddle Tunes for Clawhammer Banjo" (1980. Learned from Ithica, N.Y., revival musicians Judy Hyman and Jeff Claus).

                       

DAVY DUGGER. AKA and see “Coon Dog,” “Old Coon Dog [1].” Old-Time, Breakdown. USA; West Virginia, Kentucky. G Major. Standard tuning. ABB. The tune has been collected in northeastern Kentucky and West Virginia under the “Davy Dugger” title, although it has a much wider provenance as “Coon Dog” or “Old Coon Dog.” Jeff Titon (2001) says it is related to the “Seneca Square Dance”/”Engine on a Mogul” family of tunes, and more distantly related to “Shoot That Turkey Buzzard.” Source for notated version: Clyde Davenport (Monticello, Wayne County, Ky., 1990), who learned the tune from his father, Will Davenport [Titon]. Titon (Old-Time Kentucky Fiddle Tunes), 2001; No. 32, pg. 68. Augusta Heritage Records AHR 015, Delbert Hughes – “The Home Recordings.” Davis Unlimited DU 32028, W.L. Gregory/Clyde Davenport – “Homemade Stuff” (1978). Rounder 0089, "Oscar & Eugene Wright" (learned from an "old timer," local Mercer County, W.Va., fiddler George Stump).

                       


DAVY, (DAVY,) KNICK-KNACK/KNICK-KNOCK. AKA and see "Bonnell's Quickstep" (Pa.), "Bonnell's March" (Pa.), "The Dancing Mustang" (Pa.), "Hoe Cake," "Major Crichton's Delight," "Viginia Quickstep" (Pa.).  English, Scottish, Shetland; Country Dance, Hornpipe, Reel and Morris Dance Tune (2/4 or 4/4 time). Shetland, Unst and Mainland districts. G Major. Standard tuning. AABB. A popular British Isles dance tune, although considered a ‘beginner’s tune’ in some English sessions. Bayard (1981) notes that the tune is known internationally, occurring in publications from America, the British Isles, the Netherlands, and Holland. He quotes the Dutch authority Florimond van Duyse who said the tune was a fife or flagolet tune dating from the latter 18th or early 19th centuries, and indeed, it was still well‑known in the early and mid‑20th century to southwestern Pa. fife and drum bands by local titles. "Davy, Davy, Knick Knack" has a tradition of being used as a vehicle for a polka step in the English North‑West morris tradition, and as a vehicle for ceilidh dances (such as Dashing White Sergeant). There is a Scottish children’s rhyme used to determine who is “it” in playground games (nievie is the Scottish word for fist), much like “one potato, two potato” in which fists are tapped in succession towards a selection. It goes:

***

Nievie nievie nick nack,
Which hand will you tak'?
The richt or the wrang?

***

Nigel Gatherer suggests this rhyme is the origin of the tune’s name (although the rhyme was recited, not sung to the tune). See also “Major Duff’s Favourite Quickstep” for a possible precursor, and a tune called “Nobody” in an English fiddler’s notebook from the early 1800’s is likewise a contender as ancestral. Another English musician’s manuscript, the George Spencer MS (Leeds, England, c. 1831) gives “Davy, Davy” as “La Belle.” Adam Rennie’s “Caddam Woods” has some similarities. In Ireland the tune goes by the titles “Kerry Mills (Barn Dance) [2],” “Paddy Taylor’s Barndance,” and “Paddy Joe Gormley’s.” Kennedy (Fiddlers Tune Book), vol. 1, 1951; No. 61, pg. 30. Page, Heritage Dances of Early America; No. or pg. 21. Raven (English Country Dance Tunes), 1984; pg. 146. Sweet (Fifer’s Delight), 1964/1981; pg. 58. Wade (Mally’s North West Morris Book), 1988; pg. 10. Tradition 2118, Jim MacLeod & His Band ‑ "Scottish Dances: Jigs, Waltzes and Reels" (1979).

X:1

T:Davy, Davy Knick Knock

M:2/4

L:1/8

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:G

D | G/F/G/A/ BB | G/F/G/A/ BB | d/c/B/c/ AA | d/c/B/c/ AA | G/F/G/A/ BB | G/F/G/A/ BB |

dc/B/ A/c/B/A/ | GBG :: d>c BB | gg d2 | d/c/B/c/ AA | d/c/B/c/ AA | d>c BB | gg d2 |

dc/B/ A/c/B/A/ | GBG :|

 

DAVY’S REEL. AKA and see “Ownie Davis’ Reel.” Irish, Reel. D Mixolydian. Standard. AABB. Philippe Varlet says the tune was recorded by John McGreevy in 1974, playing with Seamus Cooley, on which it is called “Ownie Davy’s,” from his source for the tune, Owen Davy. It also appears in Larry McCullough’s tin whistle book, says Philippe, and that it has been lately in the repertoire of northern Irish fiddlers such as Mairead Ni Mhaonaigh. Source for notated version: Sean Ryan (County Offaly) [Mulvihill]. Mulvihill (1st Collection), 1986; No. 193, pg. 52. Green Linnett GLCD 1087, Seamus Connolly - "Notes From My Mind" (1988. Appears as “Ownie Davis’ Reel,” learned from fiddler John McGreevy of Chicago).

X:1
T:Davy's Reel
B:Martin Mulvihill's Collection, no. 193
R:reel
M:4/4
L:1/8
K:Dmix
D3 d cAAB|cded cAGE|D3 d cAAB|cAGE ED D2|
FGAB cAAd|^cded cA A2|(3fga ed cAAB|cAGE ED D2:|:
ABde fefg|afgf dcA^G|ABde f2 ed|cAGE ED D2|
ABde f3 g|afgf defg|afge (3fga ed|cAGE EDCE:|D4||

 

DAWN [1], THE. See "Miller's Reel [1]," “Spirit of 1880.” AKA - "Dawning of the Day." Irish, Reel. G Major (Mulvihill): A Major (O’Malley, Plain Brown, Taylor). Standard tuning. AABB (most versions): AA’BB’ (O’Malley). Alistair Anderson (1976) says this Irish tune is based on the American breakdown "Miller's Reel.” Luke O’Malley says that New York fiddle great John McGrath (1900-1955, originally from County Mayo) also called it by the “Miller’s” title, and credited James Morrison with ‘making’ the tune. The late Donegal fiddler Danny O’Donnell (1910-2001) learned the melody when he lived in New York for a time, and said that James Morrison and Larry Redican called it “The Dawn.” One of the earliest recordings of the tune was by banjo player Neil Nolan, a member of the Boston-based Dan Sullivan's Shamrock Band, who recorded it on a 78RPM in 1929. Boston musician Paul Mulvaney reports that “The Dawn” was the tune Seamus Conolly played to win his first of eleven consecutive all-Ireland fiddle championships, and as such became a bit of a signature tune for him. Piper Leo Rowsome recorded the tune in 1947 in the piping key of ‘D’ so as to play the more-than-two-octave range. Bulmer & Sharpley (Music from Ireland), 1974, vol. 1, No. 52. Mulvihill (1st Collection), 1986; No. 29, pg. 8. O’Malley (Luke O’Malley’s Collection of Irish Music, vol. 1), 1976; No. 56, pg. 28. Plain Brown Tune Book, 1997; pg 7. Ryan’s Mammoth Collection, 1883; pgs. 48 & 72. Taylor (Where’s the Crack?), 1989; pg. 10.