The Fiddler’s Companion

© 1996-2009 Andrew Kuntz

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[COMMENT1] [COMMENT2] [COMMENT3] [COMMENT4] 

ST.

 

 

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]

 

 

 

ST. ADELE'S REEL. French‑Canadian, Reel. Front Hall FHR‑010, Bill Spence and Fennig's All Stars ‑ "The Hammered Dulcimer Strikes Again" (1977).

 

ST(E). AGATHE. AKA and see “St(e). Anne’s Reel.” French‑Canadian, Reel. D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. One of Bayard's Pennsylvania‑collected untitled reels (1981; No. 78, p. 50) resembles this tune's 'A' part. Messer (Way Down East), 1948; No. 39. Messer (Anthology of Favorite Fiddle Tunes), 1980; No. 59, p. 35 (appears as "Sainte Agathe").

X:1

T:Sainte Agathe

M:2/4

L:1/8

R:Reel

K:D

A|:ff/g/ f/e/d/B/|AF/G/ A/F/A/d/|B/G/G/G/ GF/G/|B/A/A/A/ Ad/e/|ff/g/ f/e/d/B/|

AF/G/ A/F/A/d/|B/G/B/d/ c/A/c/e/|d/f/e/c/ d::a>g|f/d/f/a/ f/d/f/a/|a/g/g/f/ gg/f/|

e/d/c/b/ A/B/c/e/|b/a/a/^g/ aa/g/|f/d/f/a/ f/d/f/a/|a/g/g/f/ gg/f/|e/d/c/B/ A/B/c/e/|f/d/e/c/ d:||

 

ST. ANDREW'S. AKA and see "Ballyket Courthouse," "Barry's Fancy," "Kathleen's Fiddle," "Micho Russell's Favorite [1]," "Rattigan's,"  "The Swallow [2]." Irish, Reel. Bulmer & Sharpley (Music from Ireland), 1974, vol. 3.

ST. ANDREW'S ASSEMBLY. English, Country Dance Tune (4/4 time). B Flat Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AA'BB'C. The melody was composed by Ludwig Beethoven. An ‘assembly’ was a social club. St. Andrews, Fife, Scotland, was proclaimed a royal burgh in 1140 by David I and a cathedral was founded in 1160, though not formally consecrated until 1318, with Robert Bruce in attendance. A castle was built there around the year 1200. Barnes (English Country Dance Tunes), 1986.

 


ST(E). ANNE'S REEL. AKA – “St. Agathe.” AKA and see “La Reel de la Baie Ste. Anne.” Canadian (originally), American, Irish; Reel and Breakdown. Canada; Québec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Cape Breton. D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AB (Reiner & Anick, Silberberg): AABB (Begin, Brody, Cranford/Holland, Jarman, Mallinson, Martin & Hughes, Miller & Perron, O'Neill, Perlman, Sweet, Taylor): AA'BB' (Phillips). According to Anne Lederman (in her article on “Fiddling” in the Encyclopedia of Music in Canada, 1992), tune was first recorded by Québec fiddler Joseph Allard as “Reel de Ste Anne”—which became popular in English-speaking Canada as “St. Anne’s Reel.” While this is not proof that “St. Anne’s” origins are French-Canadian (as Allard spend much of his youth in upper New England, where he played in fiddle contests, and presumably came into contact with regional musicians), it is suggestive. There are at least two bays by this name in eastern Canada, as the French alternate title above would suggest, though it is not known if those features explain the origin of the tune’s title. There is a French community called Baie Sainte Anne, on St. Anne’s Bay, near the mouth of Mirimichi Bay, New Bruswick. “St. Anne’s” was popularised by Radio and TV fiddler Don Messer (who had the title as “Sainte Agathe” in his 1948 Way Down East collection), and has been assimilated into several North American and British Isles traditions and remains a popular staple of fiddlers’ jam sessions. When asked to play a Canadian tune, for example, American fiddlers generally will play “St. Anne’s” first. It was in the repertoire of Cyril Stinnett, who epitomized the "North Missouri Hornpipe Style" of Mid-West fiddling, though it soon became a popular staple of most Missouri fiddlers. It was perhaps from listening to Canadian radio broadcasts in the hey-day of the big AM band stations, which could be heard clearly in the northern part of the state, or it may have been brought back by contest fiddlers in the 1960’s who attended the renowned contests in Weiser, Idaho, and in Canada. Perlman (1996) similarly states the tune entered Prince Edward Island tradition from radio broadcasts from Québec, but that it has elaborated (especially in western PEI) over the years to suit the rhythms of the local step-dancing. Irish musicians have frequently recorded the melody as well. The earliest printing of “St. Anne’s” appears to be in the Jarman collections of the 1930’s and 1940’s, where arrangement is credited to John Burt with a copyright date of 1937. Mark Wilson says its popularity in the United States dates from the 1950’s after it was recorded by Nashville fiddlers such as Tommy Jackson. The tune has some affinity to older reels, including two printed by O'Neill in his Waifs & Strays of Gaelic Melody, "The Factory Lass" (249) and "The Home Made Reel" (250). There is a similarity in the first part to “The Skylark [1],” composed by James Morrison. Sources for notated versions: Andy Woolf (Mass.) [Reiner & Anick]; transplanted French-Canadian fiddler Omer Marcoux {1898-1982} (Concord, N.H.), who learned the tune in Montreal from his brother Emile [Miskoe & Paul]; Elmer Robinson (b. c. 1910, Mounty Pleasant, now resides in Woodstock, West Prince County, Prince Edward Island) [Perlman]; fiddler Dawson Girdwood (Perth, Ottawa Valley, Ontario) [Begin]. Begin (Fiddle Music from the Ottawa Valley: Dawson Girdwood), 1985; No. 48, pg. 57. Brody (Fiddler’s Fakebook), 1983; pg. 243‑244. Bulmer & Sharpley (Music from Ireland), vol. 1, No. 8. Cranford (Jerry Holland: The Second Collection), 2000; No. 139, pg. 52. Jarman (Cornhuskers), 1944; pg. 7. S. Johnson (The Kitchen Musician No. 4: Collection of Fine Tunes), 1983 (revised 1991, 2001); pg. 14. Mallinson (Essential), 1995; No. 47, pg. 21. Martin & Hughes (Ho-ro-gheallaidh), 1990; pg. 33. McNulty (Dance Music of Ireland), 1965; pg. 14. Miller & Perron (New England Fiddle Repertoire), 1983; No. 139. Miskoe & Paul (Omer Marcoux), 1994; pg. 32. O'Neill (Krassen), 1976; pg. 5. Perlman (The Fiddle Music of Prince Edward Island), 1996; pg. 73. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), vol. 1, 1994; pg. 208. Reiner & Anick (Old Time Fiddling Across America), 1989; pg. 48. Silberberg (Tunes I Learned at Tractor Tavern), 2002; pg. 149. Sweet (Fifer’s Delight), 1965/1981; pg. 49. Taylor (Crossroads Dance), 1992; No. 35, pg. 25. Bee Balm 302, “The Corndrinkers.” Condor 977‑1489, "Graham & Eleanor Townsend Live at Barre, Vermont." County 725, The Riendeau Family‑ "Old‑Time Fiddling." Flying Fish, Bryan Bowers‑ "The View From Home." Folkways FTS 31098, Ken Perlman ‑ "Clawhammer Banjo and Fingerstyle Guitar Solos." Green Linnet SIF‑104, John & Phil Cunningham ‑ "The Celts Rise Again" (1990). Green Linnet SIF‑3036, Silly Wizard ‑ "Live in America" (1986). Heritage XXXIII, The Correct Tone String Band ‑ "Visits" (1981). June Appal 007, Thomas Hunter (N.C.) ‑ "Deep in Tradition" (1976). June Appal 014, John McCutcheon ‑ "The Wind that Shakes the Barley" (1977. Learned from Tommy Hunter). Mulligan LUN 027, Martin O’Connor - “The Connaughman’s Rambles.” Philo 2000, "Louis Beaudoin" (1973. Learned from his father). Rounder 7006, Theresa and Marie MacLellan (Cape Breton) ‑ "A Trip to Mabou Ridge." Shaskeen - "My Love is in America." Rounder CD7014, Dennis Pitre – “Fiddlers of Western Prince Edward Island” (1997). Rounder CD 7016, Gerry Robichaud – “The Slippery Stick” (1996). Rounder Heritage Series 1166-11592-2, Gerry Robichaud (et al) – “The Art of Traditional Fiddle” (2001. Learned from New Brunswick tradition). Rounder Select 82161-0476-2, “The Wind That Shakes the Barley: Hammered Dulcimer Music” (reissues, orig. released 1977). TRAX 026, Aly Bain - “Aly Bain and Friends.” Temple House Ceili Band - “Music for the Sets, vol. 1.”

See also listings at:

Alan Snyder’s Cape Breton Fiddle Recording Index

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

Alan Ng’s Irishtune.info

X:1

T:St. Anne’s Reel

L:1/8

M:C|

S:Jay Ungar (Hudson Valley, New York)

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:D

de|f2 (fg) fedB|A2 F2 F3 A|B2G2G2 (FG)|B2A2A2 a2|f2 (fg) fedB|A2 FA DFAd|

(BG)Bd (cA)cd|e d2 )e d2:||:ag|fdf(a fd)fg|ag2(a g2)(gf)|e(dcB) Ace^g|

ba2b a2 (ag)|fdf(a fd)fg|ag2(a g2) (gf)|e(dcB) Aceg|f d3 d2:||

 

ST. ANNE'S TUNE. English, Dance Tune. G Major. Standard tuning. AB. One of the tunes used in the Abbots Bromley (Staffordshire) horn dance. "This four bar melody is the same tune that Edie Sammons recalled (see "Edie Sammon's Tune") but with a different rhythm. It was first published in 1924 in the 'Leaflet' of SS. Mary's and Anne's Guild, St. Mary's and St. Anne's being schools in Abbots Bromley" (Bullen). Bullen, Andrew, Country Dance and Song, May 1987, Vol. 17, pg. 11.

 

SAINT-ANTOINE.  AKA and see “Saint-Siméon [1].” French-Canadian, Reel. A Major. Standard tuning. AABB. The tune is associated with the repertoire of master Québec fiddler Joseph Bouchard (1905-1980), who recorded the tune in three parts. Source for notated version: fiddler Richard Forest [Hart & Sandell]. Hart & Sandell (Dance ce Soir), 2001; No. 31, pg. 61.  Compo Records, Joseph Bouchard – “Reel carnaval” (1968). Yvon Cuillerier – “Québec pure laine” (1992). Tradi-Spec 8401, Richard Forest & Tradi/son – “Tradi/son de passage” (1984. Appears under the title “Saint-Siméon”).

 

ST. BASIL'S HYMN. Greek. A traditional tune for the Greek New Year. Flying Fish FF‑266, Malcolm Dalglish & Grey Larsen ‑ "Thunderhead" (1982). Yodel‑ay‑hee #002, Critton Hollow Stringband ‑ "Sweet Home" (1983).

 

ST. BERNARD WALTZ. English, Waltz. The St. Bernard’s Waltz is a rather elementary couple or ‘sequence’ dance that was quite popular in the 1930’s, and for several decades thereafter. Its popularity has diminished in modern times, although it is sometimes still called for at dances. An early recording was the 1934 78 RPM by Bob Smith and His Ideal Band. Folkways FW8827, Arbuckle, Mikkelson & Clifton - "Old Time Couple Dances" (1961).

X: 1
T:St. Bernard's Waltz
M:3/4
L:1/4
Q:100
C:Ward & Swallow
S:Play Intro-A-A-B-C
K:C
"C"[[.c/2G/2E/C/2] [.c/2-c2G/2-G2E/2-E2C/2-C2]|"C"C,[CEG][CEG]|"C"G,[CEG
][CEG]|"C"C,[CEG][CEG]|"C"G,[CEG][CEG]||!
|:"C"e3|c3|Gz"Eaug".^G|"Am".AzG|"C"e3|"Edim"g3|"Dm"f3-|f2G|f3|d3|"G7"B
3|"Dm"A3|"G7"GBd|"G"g"D7"^f"G7"=f|"C"e"F7"_e"C"=e|"G7"dBG|"C"e3|c3|Gz"Ea
ug".^G|"Am".AzG|"C"E3|G2^G|"F"A3-|ABc|"C"c"G"B"F"A|"C"c"G"B"C"G|Gce|ggf|e
3|"G"d3|"C"c.G.A|"G".B"C".c"G".d:|!
"C"e2g|"G"d2g|"C"c"(knock)"zz|"(knock)"z2z|"C"G2A|"G"F2G|"C"E3|GAB|c3|"F"cBA|"G7"G2F
|"G"D3|G2F|D3|"Am"A2"Cdim"G|"G7".G"Dm".A"G".B|"C"e2g|"G"d2g|"C"czz|z2
z|"C"c3|c2B|"F7"A3|"G7"G"E+"^G"F"A|"C"c3|"F"B2A|"C"G2c|EGc|e2e|"G"fed|"C
"c.G"D7".A|"G".B"C".c"G".d||!|"C"e3|c3|Gz"Eaug".^G|"Am".AzG|"C"e3|"Edim"g3|"Dm"f3-|f2G|f3|d3|"G7"B
3|"Dm"A3|"G7"GBd|"G"g"D7"^f"G7"=f|"C"e"F7"_e"C"=e|"G7"dBG|"C"e3|c3|Gz"E+
".^G|"Am".AzG|"C"E3|G2^G|"F"A3-|ABc|"C"c"G"B"F"A|"C"c"G"B"C"G|Gce|ggf|e3|
"G"d3|"C"c3|"Fm6".d"Am".e"F".f|"C"[.G3.g3|"C".Czz||

 

ST. BERNARD'S WELL. AKA and see "Barnard's Will," "Shammie Breeches." Scottish, Reel. G Major. Standard tuning. AA'BB'. St. Bernard's Well is a mineral spring by the Water of Leith, on the outskirts of Edinburgh's New Town. It was written in the mid‑18th century; two versions were printed in Stewart's c. 1761‑5 Reels, entitled "Bernard's Well" and "Shamboe Breeches." Johnson (1984) identifies that the first strain is based on a 16th century Italian chord progression style called passamezzo moderno. The melody was first published by Neil Stewart (or Steuart) in The Newest and Best Reels or Country Dances (1761, pg. 25), according to Glen, and also appears in the Gillespie Manuscript of 1768. Bernard's Well was "an Edinburgh landmark for those who took the waters to improve their health. The value was no doubt more psychological than medical, although the water was said to be 'impregnated with iron and sulpher...and highly diuretic" (Alburger, 1983). Source for notated version: Sharpe MS., c. 1790, pg. 69 [Johnson]. Alburger (Scottish Fiddlers and Their Music), 1983; Ex. 35, pg. 59 (appears as “Bernard’s Well”). Johnson (Scottish Fiddle Music in the 18th Century), 1984; No. 73, pg. 224.

 


ST. BOTOLPH HORNPIPE. American, Hornpipe. A Major ('A' part) & E Major ('B' part). Standard tuning. AABB. The name 'Boston' is derived from the contraction over time of the place-name ‘St. Botolph's stone’, located in Lincolnshire (in the year 1130 this name appeared as ‘Botulvestan’). It may be that the title in Ryan’s Mammoth Collection is simply another way of saying the ‘Boston Hornpipe’. St. Botolph is mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in the year 654 as beginning to build a minster in an unidentified place, while another source describes him as “a man of remarkable life and learning.” Nothing else is known of him (or of his stone, or why it was important), though there are several medieval churches dedicated to him, including one in London (Matthews, 1972). It “Can be used as a Clog,” notes Ryan. Cole (1000 Fiddle Tunes), 1940; pg. 99. Ryan’s Mammoth Collection, 1883; pg. 135.

X:1

T:St. Botolph Hornpipe

M:C|

L:1/8

R:Hornpipe

S:Ryan’s Mammoth Collection (1883)

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:A

(3EFG | A>cB>A A>ce>c | d>ef>g a>fe>c | A2 (c>B) A>ce>c | B>cB>A G>EG>B |

A2 (c>B) A>ce>c | d>ef>g (3aga e>c | f>ed>f e>cA>c | B>AG>B A2 :|

K:E

(GA) | (cB)B>B B2 (cd) | e>de>f g2 (fg) | a>gf>a g>fe>g | f>ed>c B>AG>A |
(cB)B>B B2 (cd) | e>de>f g2 (fg) | a>gf>a g>fe>g | f>ed>f e2 :|

 

ST. BRIDES.  English, Country Dance Tune (2/2 time). A Major. Standard tuning. AABB. “St. Brides” appears in the second volume of the Dancing Master, editions one through four, published in London by John Young from 1713 to 1728. Young was the heir to the long-running Dancing Master series first published in 1651 by John Playford. The tune also appears in Walsh’s Second Book of the Compleat Country Dancing Master (London, 1719, with editions in 1735 and 1749). St. Bride’s Church was rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren in the 1680’s in London’s Fleet Street, on the site of five previous churches (the last one having been destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666). The steeple (complete in 1700), at 226 feet was the largest in London, and perhaps the inspiration for the modern wedding cake. The area was once the heart of England’s printing industry, and the church was presumably well-known by Young and Walsh.  Barnes (English Country Dance Tunes, vol. 2), 2005; pg. 113.

X:1

T:St. Brides

M:C|

L:1/8

S:John Young – second volume of the Dancing Master (London, 1713)

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:A

E2|A2 ed c2A2|c2e2e2 fg|a2g2f2e2|dcBc dcBc|A2 ed c2A2|

c2e2e2fg|a2g2f3e|e6::e2|fefg agfe|fedc B2 cd|

e2 fe dcBA|G6 E2|A2 cA F2 dB|G2 ec A2 ag|fedc B3A|A6:|

 

ST. BRIDE’S BELLS.  English, Country Dance Tune (2/4 time). A Major. Standard tuning. AABB. The tune and dance instructions were first published in John Hinton’s periodical Universal Magazine of Knowledge and Pleasure (London, 1754), and in R. Baldwin’s periodical London Magazine, or Gentleman’s Monthly Intelligencer (London, 1755). Later it was published in Charles and Samuel Thompson’s 1757 collection and in John Johnson’s 200 Favourite Country Dance Tunes, vol. 8 (London, 1758). The melody was entered into the music manuscript copybooks of Perthshire fiddler John Fife (1780), and London musician Thomas Hammersley (1790). In America, the melody appears in the 1797 copybook of Mansfield, Conn., fiddler Thomas Cary.

***

The ring of bells in St. Bride’s church was justifiably famous for centuries, until their final destruction in an air-raid in 1940. Peal-ringing became an organized musical endeavour in the 17th century, with societies devoted to the performances of composed music for ringing bells. It was even considered a feat of endurance, for teams of bell-ringers would sometimes peal their bells for up to 4.5 hours. The most famous peal-composer was Benjamin Annable, who died on February 1st 1756, and was buried under the tower of St. Brides. The following appeared in an unidentified newspaper, and shows the esteem with which he was held:

***

A few nights ago was buried under the tower of St. Bride's Mr. Benjamin Annable

the best ringer that was ever known in the world. Till his time ringing was only called

an art, but from the strength of his great genius he married it to the mathematics and

'tis now a science. This man in figures and ringing was like a Newton in philosophy,

a Ratcliff in physic, a Hardwick in wisdom and law, a Handel in music, a Shakespeare

in writing and a Garrick in acting. O rare Ben!"

***

Thompson (Compleat Collection of 200 Favourite Country Dances, vol. 1), 1757; No. 113. Wilson (Companion to the Ball Room), 1816; pg. 104. 

X:1

T:St. Bride’s Bells

M:2/4

L:1/8

B:Thompson’s Compleat Collection of 200 Favourite Country Dances, vol. 1 (London, 1757)

Z:Transcribed and edited by Flynn Titford-Mock, 2007

Z:abc’s:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:A

a|gfed|cBAa|gfed|c2 Aa|gfed|cBAa|(g/a/b) B^d|e2 E:|
|:a|fdBg|ecAa|fdBg|e2 Aa|fdBg|ecAc|dfBg|a2 A:||

 

ST. CATHERINE'S (REEL). Scottish, Reel. G Major. Standard tuning. AABB. Credited to A.M. Volti in Kerr’s collection, presumably a relation to Carl Volti, who contributed many tunes to the Kerr collections. Kerr (Merry Melodies), vol. 3; No. 66, pg. 9.

X:1

T:St. Catherine’s

M:C

L:1/8

R:Reel

S:Kerr – Merry Melodies, vol. 3, No. 66  (c. 1880’s)

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:G

D|G2 ge d2 BG|c2 AG (GF)ED|G2 ge d2BG|EGFd BGG:|

|:d|g2 Be dBG2|EFGA GFED|g2 Be dBG2|EGFd BGG:|

 

ST. CIARÁN’S BUSH. Irish, Hornpipe. Composed by County Tipperary fiddler Seán Ryan (d. 1985). Ryan (Seán Ryan’s Dream), 31.

 

ST. CLAIR’S HORNPIPE [1]. Canadian, Hornpipe. D Major. Standard tuning. AABB. Messer (Way Down East), 1948; No. 69. Messer (Anthology of Favorite Fiddle Tunes), 1980; No. 115, pg. 72 (appears as "St. Clair").

X:1

T:St.Clair Hornpipe

R:Hornpipe

M:2/4

L:1/16

Z:Transcribed by Bruce Osborne

K:D

AG|FADF Adcd|edcd e2ef|gfed edcB|ABAG F2AG|

FADF Adcd|edcd e2ef|gfed cABc|d2f2 d2:|

|:FG|A^GAF DFAF|GABc edcB|A^GAF DFAF|GFED E2FG|

A^GAF DFAF|GABc edcB|ABAF AGFE|D2F2 D2:|

 

ST. CLAIR’S HORNPIPE [2]. America, Hornpipe. D Major. Standard tuning. AABB. Cole (1000 Fiddle Tunes), 1940; pg. 112. Ryan’s Mammoth Collection, 1883; pg. 149. White’s Unique Collection, 1986; No. 101, pg. 18.

X:1

T:St. Clair’s Hornpipe [2]

M:2/4

L:1/8

S:White’s Unique Collection (1896), No. 99

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:D

A | B/A/^G/A/ D/F/A/c/ | e/d/c/d/ F/A/e/f/ | f/e/^d/e/ A/c/e/g/ | (f/c/)(d/B/) AA |

B/A/^G/A/ D/F/A/c/ | e/d/c/d/ F/A/c/d/ | (f/e/).^d/.e/ (A/c/).e/.f/ | dfd :|

|: (e/f/) | .g/(e/^d/e/) A/c/e/g/ | (f/d/)(c/d/) F/A/d/f/ | (e/c/)(^B/c/) E/A/c/e/ | e/d/c/d/ (A/F/)(B/A/) |

.g/(e/^d/e/) A/c/e/g/ | (f/d/)(c/d/) F/A/d/f/ |(e/c/)(^B/c/) E/A/c/e/ | (e/d/)(f/e/) d :|

 

ST. COLUMBA’S HYMN. AKA and see "Caol Mhiule" (The Narrows of Mull).

                       

ST. ELMO HORNPIPE. AKA and see “Shunster’s Hornpipe,” “Sunshine Hornpipe.” American, Hornpipe. A Major. Standard tuning. AABB. It sounds like a 19th century stage hornpipe. Cole (1000 Fiddle Tunes), 1940; pg. 98. Ryan’s Mammoth Collection, 1883; pg. 132.

See also listings at:

Alan Snyder’s Cape Breton Fiddle Recording Index

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

Alan Ng’s Irishtune.info

X:1

T:St. Elmo Hornpipe

M:C|

L:1/8

R:Hornpipe

S:Ryan’s Mammoth Collection (1883)

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:A

cd | (3eae (3cec (3AcA (EA) | CEAc ecAc | (3dfd (3cec (3BdB (3AcA | GBAF E2 (cd) |

eace AcEA | CEAc ecAc | (3dfd (3cec (3BdB (3GBG | A2a2A2 :|

|: Bc | dBGB EGBc | dBGB d2 (cd) | ec (3AcA (EA)cd | ec (3Ace a2 ga |

fdBd (3fed (3cBA | (3GAB (3AGF E2 ( cd) | (3eag (3fed (3cBA (3BAG | A2a2A2 :|

                       

ST-FÉRÉOLE.  French-Canadian, Reel. D Major. Standard tuning. AABB. Known as a beginner’s tune. St-Féréole is a town on the north bank of the St. Laurence River, north east of Québec city.

X:1

T:St-Féréole

M:2/4

L:1/8

R:Reel

S:Fiddler Pascal Gemme (of the group Genticorum)

K:D

D/E/F/G/ AF/A/|dF A2|fe/d/ cA|B/A/B/c/ BA|D/E/F/g/ AF/A/|

dF A2|fe/d/ cA|B/A/B/c/ d2::A/c/d/e/ f/f/e/d/|ef g2|B/A/B/c/ BA/G/|

F/G/A/B/ A2|A/c/d/e/ f/f/e/d/|ef g2|B/A/B/c/ B(3A/A/A/|B/A/B/c/ d2:|

 

ST. FRANCIS. Canadian, Reel. G Major. Standard tuning. AABB. Messer (Anthology of Favorite Fiddle Tunes), 1980; No. 82, pg. 57.

 

ST. GEORGE FOR ENGLAND. English, Air (4/4 time). A Major. Standard tuning. AB. The song appears in Pills to Purge Melancholy of 1707 and 1719, though the ballad was considerably older, appearing in collections dating from 1659. Fielding makes "St. George he was for England" one of Squire Western's favorite tunes in his novel Tom Jones, and Ben Jonson made it one of the songs offered for sale by the ballad‑singer in his comedy Bartholomew Fair.

***

Why should we boast of Arthur and his knights,

Knowing well how many men have endured fights?

For besides King Arthur and Lancelot du Lake,

Or Sir Tristram de Lionel, that fought for Ladies’ sake,

Read in old histories and there you shall see,

How St. George, St. George the Dragon made to flee.

Saint George he was for England,

St. Denis was for France,

Sing Honi soit qui mal y pense.

***

Chappell (Popular Music of the Olden Time), vol. 2, 1859; pgs. 102‑103.

X:1

T:St. George for England

M:C

L:1/8

S:Chappell – Popular Music of the Olden Time  (1859)

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:A

A2 AA A3B|A=GFE F4|FBBB BB B2|BAGF G2 EE|A2A2A2 AA|A2 A,A, E2 EE|

B2 BB BBBB|BAGF G4|A2 cc eeee|e2 EE E2 FG|A3 E F3 C|DD EE A,2||zE|

A3B c2A2|d6 cB|A4 A2 GF|E6 E2|A6 A2|D6 F2|E6 E2|A,8||

                       

ST. GEORGE'S DAY. English, Jig. England, North‑West. D Major. Standard tuning. AABB. Knowles (Northern Frisk), 1988; No. 111.

           

ST. GEORGE’S FIELDS.  English, Jig. G Major (‘A’ part) & G Minor (‘B’ part). Standard tuning. AABBCCDD. The melody is unique to Charles and Samuel Thompson’s Compleat Collection, vol. 3 (London, 1773). Thompson (Compleat Collection of 200 Favourite Country Dances, vol. 3), 1773; No. 88.

X:1

T:St. Georges Fields

M:6/8

L:1/8

B:Thompson’s Compleat Collection of 200 Favourite Country Dances, vol. 3 (London, 1773)

Z:Transcribed and edited by Flynn Titford-Mock, 2007

Z:abc’s:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:G

BAB G2d|d2e d3|cdc B2B|ABA G2D|BAB G2d|d2e d3|gag f2f|efe d3:|
|:d2d ded|c2B c2A|c2c Bcd|c2B A3|d2d e2e|fga g2G|cdc B2B|ABA G3:|

K:Gmin

|:BAG d2e|d2c B2A|BAG ^F2G|c2B A3|BAB c2e|d2c B2F|fed gfe|d2c B3:|
|:dcd e2d|c2d B2A|Bcd c2B|A2G ^F3|gab a2g|^fga g3|dcd edc|B2A G3:||

           

ST. IVES FEAST.  AKA and see “Bodmin Riding,” “Grand Turk’s March,” “Ct. Brown’s March.” AKA – “St. Ives Processional.”

 

ST. IVES WELL PROCESSION.  AKA and see “Bodmin Riding,” “Grand Turk’s March,” “Ct. Brown’s March.” AKA – “St. Ives Feastl.”

 

ST. JAMES' BASIN. English, Jig. England, Northumberland. C Major. Standard tuning. AABB. Seattle (William Vickers), 1987, Part 2; No. 399.

                          

ST. JAMES’S PARK [1].  English, Country Dance Tune (cut time). D Major. Standard tuning. AABB. “St. James’s Park” appears in the second volume of the Dancing Master, third edition (London, 1718), published by John Young, publishing heir to the long-running series started by John Playford in 1651. It also appeared in Young’s fourth (and last) edition of 1728. John Walsh also published it in his Second Book of the Compleat Country Dancing Master (London, 1719). In the time of Charles II the park was a rural enclosed place with a field and a pleasant tree-shaded walk. The King was fond of birds, which were kept in aviaries ranged along the road on the boundary of the south side of the park, known as “Birdcage Walk.” A corps of dragoons formed by Charles, the Life Guards paraded in St. James’s Park and were charged with the safety of the king and royal family. They were men from good families, often younger sons of country squires, and even privates were designated as ‘Gentlemen of the Guard.’ Barnes (English Country Dance Tunes, vol. 2), 2005; pg. 113.

X:1

T:St. James’s Park [1]

M:C|

L:1/8

S:Playford – Dancing Master

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:D

DE|F2D2A2d|c3B A2B2|c2d2e2c2|dcde d2 ef|g2 fg e2 fg|

f2ed c2BA|d2 ef f3e|e6::e2|c2 BA d2 ef|g2 fg e2a2|

f2 dc B2e2|cdcB A2c2|d2 cd B2 cd|c2 Bc A2ag|f2 gf e3d|d6:|

 

ST. JAMES’S PARK [2].  English, Country Dance Tune (12/8 time). A Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. The melody, like many in Charles and Samuel Thompson’s first collection, appeared earlier in London publisher John Johnson’s Choice Collection of 200 Favourite Country Dances, vol. 6 (1751). Thompson (Compleat Collection of 200 Favourite Country Dances, vol. 1), 1757; No. 31.

X:1

T:St. James’s Park [2]

M:12/8

L:1/8

B:Thompson’s Compleat Collection of 200 Favourite Country Dances, vol. 1 (London, 1757)

Z:Transcribed and edited by Fynn Titford-Mock, 2007

Z:abc’s:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:A

ecA ABA ABA f/g/af|ecA ABA ABA B/c/dB|ecA ABA ABA (f/g/a)f|edc dcB A3 a3:|

|:ecA aec ecA fgaf|ecA aec ecA (e/f/=g)e|ecA aec ecA f/g/af|eaf ecB A3 a3:||

                       

ST. JEAN MARCH. French‑Canadian, March. A Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AA'BB'. Carlin (Master Collection), 1984; No. 96, p. 61.

                       

ST. JOBE'S WALTZ. Old-Time, Waltz. C Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB'. Source for notated version: A.L. Steeley with the Red Headed Fiddlers [Phillips]. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), vol. 2, 1995; p. 304. Document 8038, The Red Headed Fiddlers – “Texas Fiddle Bands” (reissue).

                       

ST. JOE HORNPIPE. Old‑Time, Breakdown. USA, Nebraska. B Flat Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. “The St. Joe Hornpipe” is one of the ‘100 essential Missouri fiddle tunes’ according to Missouri fiddler Charlie Walden. See also the related "Indian Hornpipe." The first part of “St. Joe Hornpipe” is the same as the second part of the English polka “[[Girl with the Blue Dress On (The)]].” Source for notated versions: Bob Walters (Burt County, Nebraska) [Christeson, Phillips]. R.P. Christeson (Old Time Fiddlers Repertory, vol. 1), 1973; p. 35. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), vol. 2, 1995; p. 222.

X:1

T:St. Joe Hornpipe

M:2/4

L:1/16

Q:122

S:from Cyril Stinnett

A:Missuori

B:transcribed as #45 in OTFR

N:the title likely refers to the northwest Missouri city of St. Josehp D:taken from a recording of Cyril Stinnett in September, 1979

Z:B. Shull, trans.; R.P. LaVaque, ABCs

K:Bb

(FGA|B2)d(f b2)b(f|a2g2 (ga)ge|(Ac)ef a2(=ef|g2)f(=e fg)fc|! (Bc)df b2b(f|a2)g2 (g^fg)=e|(fa)gf =e(cA)c|B2(3cBA) B2:|! |:[B,2D2]|[B,2D2]DF B2Bc|(dcd)e (dc)A(B|cd)c(B A)FGA|(BAB)(c dBFD|! [B,2D2]DF (BAB)c|(dcd)e (dc)A(B|cd)c(B A)FG(A|Bd)cA B2:|!

                       

ST. JOHN’S. Old-Time, Breakdown. F Major. A crooked tune from the repertoire of North Dakota fiddler Joe Pancerzewski.

                       

ST. JOHNSTON’S.  Irish, Hornpipe. E Flat Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AA’BB’. The hornpipe appears in Boston button accordion player Jerry O’Brien’s Irish Folk Dance Music, collected from his student, Joe Derrane, and incorporated into the tune “Showman’s Fancy.” Fiddler Frankie Gavin also borrowed the “St. Johnston’s” tune for a barndance medley, recorded by the group De Danann. O’Malley (Luke O’Malley’s Collection of Irish Music, vol. 1), 1976; No. 132, p. 66.

X:1

T:St. Johnston’s

M:C

L:1/8

R:Hornpipe

B:Luke O’Malley Collection of Irish Music, vol. 1, No. 132  (1976)

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:Eb

GA=A|:BGeB =AecA|BGeB =AecA|Bcdc BAGA|(3BcB AF E2 (3GA=A|

BGeB =AecA|BGeB =AecA|Bcdc BAGF|1 (3EGB (3eBG E2 (3GA=A:|2 (3EGB (3DFA E2 ed||

|:cdef gc ~c2|agfa gc ~c2|(3ded G2 (3ded G2|(3G,=BD (3GBd gfed|

cdef gc~c2|agfa gc ~c2|(3ded G2 (3ded (3G=Bd|1 gfed c2 ed:|2 gfed c2 (3GA=A||

 


ST. JOSEPH'S REEL. American, Reel. D Major. Standard tuning. AB (Silberberg): AABB. Private collection (circulated among contra-dance musicians). Silberberg (Tunes I Learned at Tractor Tavern), 2002; pg. 137.

           

ST. KATHERINE’S.  English, Country Dance Tune (cut time). G Major. Standard tuning. AA’B. The melody appears in the early 18th century publications by John Walsh’s Compleat Country Dancing Master (London, 1718, and subsequent editions of 1731 and 1754), and John and William Neal’s Choice Collection of Country Dances (Dublin, 1726). St. Katherine’s was a district of London which took its name from St. Katherine’s by the Tower, a hospital and church built in the 12th century near the Tower of London. The alchemist, Raymond Lully, lived in St. Katherine’s hospital, employed by Edward III in the Tower to discover the secret of transmutation. A hundred houses in the precinct of the hospital were destroyed by fire in 1672, and another 30 in a fire as a result of the great storm in 1734. By the early 19th century the area was a crowded slum, until the area was renewed with the building of St. Katherine’s Docks, begun in 1827. Barnes (English Country Dance Tunes, vol. 2), 2005; pg. 113.

           

ST. KEVIN. Irish, Jig. B Flat Major (Kerr): D Major (Miller). Standard tuning. St. Kevin (493-613) was an Irish saint, a contemporary and acquaintance of St. Columba. He was both a hermit and an abbot, off and on, and was known as a patient man and a friend to animals. One legend has it that the aged King O’Tool of Glendalough, a pagan, made a pet of a goose. The beloved animal became aged and weak, and the king, knowing of Kevin’s holiness and affinity for animals, sent for the holy man. O’Tool demanded that Kevin make the goose young again, which request Kevin said he would grant if he would be rewarded with a gift of any land the goose would fly over. The king, knowing the bird was flightless in its infirmity, readily agreed.  Kevin then touched the bird and indeed the years sloughed off.  Now able to take flight, the goose flew over the valley of Glendalough in which Kevin founded the monastery of Glendalough. AB (Kerr): AA’BB (Miller). Kerr (Merry Melodies), vol. 2; No. 276, pg. 30. Miller (Fiddler’s Throne), 2004; No. 96, pg. 67.

X:1

T:St. Kevin

M:6/8

L:1/8

R:Jig

S:Kerr – Merry Melodies, vol. 2, No. 276  (c. 1880’s)

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:Bb

F|Bcd dcB|G3 GAB|FGF FBd|c3 d2F|Bcd dcB|G3 GAB|FGF FBd|c3 BAB||

cAF dBG|c3 (A2B)|cAF dcB|A3 (c2^c)|dAA ABc|B3 (A2B)|cGG GAB|A3 c2||

                       

ST. KILDA REEL, THE. Scottish, Reel. B Flat Major. Standard tuning. AABB. Gatherer (Gatherer’s Musical Museum), 1987; pg. 4. Gow, The Beauties of Niel Gow (1819).

X:1

T:St. Kilda’s Reel

M:C
L:1/8

S:From Ann Winnington’s music manuscript book (No. 20), from the early 19th century.

N:Winnington was an American, probably a pianist, who resided in England.

K:Bb

f2 fe d(BB)d | f2 fe d(BB)d | f2 fe d(BB)d | cdcB AFFA :|

|: d2 dc BGGB | dedB G2 GB | dedc BGGB | cdcB AFFA :|

                       

ST. KILDA WEDDING, THE (A' bhanais Irteach). Scottish (originally), Canadian; Strathspey, Reel and Air. Canada; Cape Breton, Prince Edward Island. A Major (most versions): G Major (Johnson). Standard tuning. AB (Perlman): AA'B (Kerr): AABB (Athole, Hunter, Martin, Skye): AA'BB' (Johnson). The song, says Fraser, humorously told of the marriage ritual on St. Kilda before a permanent church was established there. According to the notes on Ossian's album, the last wedding that took place in St. Kilda was in 1926, for the remote island was evacuated in 1930. Fraser sneers that the tune is "murdered" in Macdonald's collection, while his father's set corresponds "with that of Miss Macleod of St. Kilda, now in Edinburgh."  Christine Martin (2002) says the strathspey “St. Kilda Wedding” is often played as a reel. Sources for notated versions: Francis MacDonald (b. 1940, Morell Rear, North-East Kings County, Prince Edward Island) [Perlman]; Winston Fitzgerald (1914-1987, Cape Breton) [Cranford]. Cranford (Winston Fitzgerald), 1997; No. 93, pg. 39. Fraser (The Airs and Melodies Peculiar to the Highlands of Scotland and the Isles), 1874; No. 7, pg. 3. Hunter (Fiddle Music of Scotland), 1988; No. 251. Johnson (The Kitchen Musician's No. 10: Airs & Melodies of Scotland's Past), 1992 (revised 2001); pg. 15. Kerr (Merry Melodies), vol. 2; No. 34, pg. 7, MacDonald (The Skye Collection), 1887; pg. 52. Martin (Traditional Scottish Fiddling), 2002; pg. 87. Perlman (The Fiddle Music of Prince Edward Island), 1996; pg. 87. Stewart-Robertson (The Athole Collection), 1884; pg. 16. Breton Books and Records BOC 1HO, Winston “Scotty” Fitzgerald - “Classic Cuts” (reissue of Celtic Records CX 17). Culburnie Records CUL 121D, Alasdair Fraser & Natalie Haas – “Fire and Grace” (2004). Iona IR001, Ossian ‑ "St. Kilda Wedding" (1978). Rounder 7004, Joe Cormier ‑ "The Dances Down Home" (1977). Rounder Records , John L. MacDonald – “Formerly of Foot Cape Road: Scottish Fiddle Music in the Classic Inverness County Style” (2005).

See also listings at:

Alan Snyder’s Cape Breton Fiddle Recording Index

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

X:1

T:St. Kilda Wedding, The

M:C|

L:1/8

S:Reel

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

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:A

A/A/A A2 A>cec|B/B/B (cA F2 (EF|A/A/A Acec|1 f/f/f (fe fefa:|2 f/f/f (fe fefg||

agab aeea|fgag f2 (ed|cefg agfa|eaca B2 (AF:|

                       

ST. KRISPAIN'S COBBLERSGUILD TUNE. Flemish in origin. Rounder Records 0216, John McCutcheon ‑ "Step by Step" (1986).

                       

ST. LAWRENCE JIG. French Canadian, New England; Jig. D Major. Standard tuning. AABB (Miller & Perron, Page, Sweet): AABB'BB' (Phillips). Source for notated version: Donna White Reed [Phillips]. Miller & Perron (New England Fiddler’s Repertoire), 1983; No. 7. Page (The Ralph Page Book of Contras), 1969; pg. 13. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), vol. 2, 1995; pg. 378. Sweet (Fifer’s Delight), 1965/1981; pg. 35.

X:1

T:St. Lawrence

M:6/8

L:1/8

R:Jig

K:D

ABA FAd|f2d A2d|c2B G2B|B2A F2G|ABA FAd|f2d A2d|cec ABc|d3 d3:|

|:a2g B2g|g2f A2d|cde ABc|dcB A2f|A2g B2g|g2f A2d|d2c cBc|d3 d3:|

                       

ST. LAWRENCE RIVER, THE. Canadian, Reel. Flying Fish FF 70572, Frank Ferrel – “Yankee Dreams: Wicked Good Fiddling from New England” (1991. From Nova Scotia fiddler Tom Doucet).

                       

ST. LEGER'S ROUND. See "Sellinger's Round."

                       


ST. LOUIS BLUES. American, Blues Tune. USA, Kentucky. One of the tunes played by Bond's String Band, a late 1920's six to eight piece string band from Corbin, Kentucky, composed almost entirely of railroaders. The band specialized in playing blues but did not record. According to Wayne W. Daniel (1990), the song was in the radio repertoire of Georgia guitarist Riley Puckett (of Skillet Lickers fame).

                       

ST. LOUIS QUICKSTEP. See "Rachel [1]."

                       

ST. LOUIS STOP WALTZ. American, Waltz. D Major. Standard tuning. AB. Howe (Diamond School for the Violin), c. 1861.

X:1

T:St. Louis Stop Waltz

M:3/4

L:1/8

R:Waltz

S:Elias Howe – Diamond School for the Violin  (c. 1861)

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:D

FG|BAAFGB|AffAAf|GeeGGe|FddFFG|BAAFGB|AffAAf|GeeGGe|d3 z||

AFD|CEEAAc|ceeggb|baaffd|Acceeg|Addffa|z2 z Ace|f3 Ade|f3 Ace|g3 Ace|

g3 eag|f3 faf|e3 eae|dcdfec|d3||

                       

ST. LOUIS TICKLE. Old-Time, Breakdown. See also the stylistically similar “Georgia Stomp.” OKeh Records 45464 {78 RPM}, The Humphries Brothers.

 

ST. MARGARET'S HILL. English, Country Dance Tune (3/2 time). G Minor. Standard tuning. ABB. An early 18th century tune (1713) for a three-couple country dance set, first published by Playford. St. Margaret’s Hill is in London’s Southwark section, the location of (among other things) the public pillory for several centuries until the late 1700’s. Barnes (English Country Dance Tunes), 1986. Flying Fish FF90564, Bare Necessities ‑ "Take a Dance" (1991).

                       

ST. MARTIN'S. English, Country Dance Tune (2/2 time). A Dorian/Minor. Standard tuning. AABB. The tune was first published in Playford's English Dancing Master (1651). Barnes (English Country Dance Tunes), 1986. Raven (English Country Dance Tunes), 1984; pg. 43. Sharp (Country Dance Tunes), 1909/1994; pg. 19.

X:1

T:St. Martin’s

M:2/2

L:1/8

S:Sharp – Country Dance Tunes (1909)

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:Amin

|: E2 | AB c2 Bc d2 | c4 c2d2 | e^fg2 f3e | e6 e^f |

g2 ^fe d2 de | =f2 ed c2 cd | e2 ec B3A | A6 :|

|: z2 | B2e2B2c2 | B3A G^F E2 | cde^f d3e | c6 e^f |

g2 de =f2 cd | e2 Bc d2 cd | e2 dc B3A | A6 :|

                       

ST. MARY'S. AKA and see “Ballymote,” “Church Street (Polka) [1]," “Flanagan’s (Polka),” “Gurteen Cross,” “Oyster River (Reel),” “Paige’s.” Irish (originally), English; Polka. G Major. Standard tuning. AABB (Mallinson): AABB’ (Moylan): AA’BB’ (Callaghan). A polka from the north of Ireland, from the Sligo/Roscommon/Leitrim region. It was recorded on their first album by the Chieftains, who paired it with “Church Street Polka [2]," a pairing that mirrored the original, by Paddy Killoran’s Irish Orchestra. The latter recorded it in New York in 1937 under the set title “Memories of Ballymote.” The recording was very influential, but the titles of the paired tunes in the set became garbled, so that this melody is sometimes called “Church Street Polka” in some collections. See note for “Church Street Polka [2]" for more information regarding the title, which comes from the St. Mary’s Music Club of the 1950’s in Dublin, an influential traditional music gathering. “Oyster River Reel/Hornpipe” is a related tune. Source O’Leary associates the tune with west Kerry fiddler Julia Clifford. The tune has become quite popular with English traditional musicians since the recording by the Catsfield Steamers, c. 1976. Source for notated version: accordion player Johnny O’Leary (Sliabh Luachra region of the Cork-Kerry border) [Moylan]. Bulmer & Sharpley (Music from Ireland), vol. 2, No. 72. Callaghan (Hardcore English), 2007; pg. 50. Mallinson (100 Polkas), 1997; No. 59, pg. 22. Moylan (Johnny O’Leary), 1994; No. 322, pg. 184. BMG 09026 63607-2, The Chieftains – “Water from the Well” (2000). Claddagh 83324-2, “The Chieftains” (1964). EFDSSCD13, All Blacked Up – “Hardcore English” (2007. Various artists). Front Hall FHR‑010, Bill Spence and Fennig's All Stars ‑ "The Hammered Dulcimer Strikes Again" (1977). Old Hat Music OH!02, "The Old Hat Dance Band" (1992). Wild Goose WGS 320, Old Swan Band – “Swan-Upmanship” (2004).

X:1

T:St. Mary’s Polka

T:Church Street [1]

T:Gurteen Cross

R:polka

D:Ben Lennon, The Natural Bridge

Z:Jeff Myers

M:2/4

L:1/8

K:G

D/|GB AB/A/|Gg e/f/g/e/|dB AG/A/|B-B/A/ G/F/E/D/|

GB AB/A/|Gg e/f/g/e/|dBAG/A/|BG G-G/:|

A/|Bd g-g/A/|Bd g-g/A/|Bd ge|f-f/g/ fg|ag e/f/g/e/|dB AG/A/|

Be d/B/A/B/|G2{B}G-G/:||

                       

ST. MARY'S BELLS. English, Morris Jig. G Major. Standard tuning. AABBCC. A modern composition by editor Michael Raven. Raven (English Country Dance Tunes), 1984; pg. 206.

                       

ST. MICHAEL’S JIG. AKA and see “Thunderhead.” Breton, Jig.

                       

ST. MUNGO’S WELCOME TO SCOTT SKINNER. Scottish, March (4/4 time). A Major. Standard tuning. AABCCD. Composed by Scots fiddle-composer J. Scott Skinner (1843-1927), apparently (from a note printed underneath the tune) in recognition of an appearance at the Celtic Tournament at Glasgow, 4th Nov. 1889. Skinner (Harp and Claymore Collection), 1904; pg. 24.

X:1

T:St. Mungo’s Welcome to Scott Skinner

M:C

L:1/8

R:March

N:”Heroically.”

S:Skinner – Harp and Claymore  (1904)

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:A

F | E>D CE F/A/G/B/ AB/c/ | .d.c.B.A. (G2F) A | E>D CD/E/ F/A/G/B/ A.f/.e/ | d/c/B/A/ [.Ec][.DB] ({B}A2) [CA] :|

e | a>g ({g}f)e (fg/a/) ec/A/ | fedc (c2B) .e | a>g ({g}f)e (ag/a/) (ec/A/) | .d/.c/.B/.A/ [.Ec][.DB] {B}[C2A2][CA] e |

(aA) (fA) (e/f/g/a/) (e/c/B/A/) | fedc (c2B).e | E>D .C.D/.E/ F/A/G/B/ (Aa/.e/) | f/e/d/c/ cB ({B}A2) [CA] ||

F | E/F/D/E/ CD/E/ F/A/G/B/ AB/c/ | d/e/c/d/ B/c/A/B/ (G2F) A | E/F/D/E/ C/A,/D/E/ F/A/G/B/ A/e/f/e/ |

.d/.c/.B/.A/ cB A2 [CA] :| (e | a/g/f/e/) (f/e/d/c/) (d/e/f/g/) (a/e/c/A/) | (d/e/f/e/) (d/c/B/A/) (c2 {d/c/}B) e |

(a/g/f/e/) (f/e/d/c/) (d/e/f/g/) (a/e/c/A/) | (d/c/B/A/) cB B2 A e | a/.A/.f/.A/ .e/.A/.c/.A/ (.e/.f/.g/.a/) (.e/.c/.B/.A/) |

(f/g/a/e/) d/c/B/A/ (c2 {d/c/}B)E | E/D/C/E/ F/A/G/B/ A/e/a/c’/ e’A | (d/c/B/A/) (E}[Ec] [F/d/][E/c/] {c}[D2B2][CA] ||

 

ST. PATRICK WAS A GENTLEMAN [1] (Bud Duine Uasal Noam Padraic). AKA and see "The House That Pat Built". Irish, Air (2/4 time, "lively"). A Major. Standard tuning. AB. O'Neill (Music of Ireland: 1850 Melodies), 1903/1979; No. 613, pg. 108.

X:1

T:St. Patrick was a Gentleman [1]

M:2/4

L:1/8

R:Air

N:”Lively”

S:O’Neill – Music of Ireland (1903), No. 613

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:A

e|cA AB|cd ec|BG GB|d B2 d|cA AB|cd eg|ae ed|c A2||g|ag ab|ae ef|

gG GB|d B2 g|ag ab|ae ef|gG GB|d B2 e/d/|cA AB| cd ec|BG GB|d B2 e|

cA AB| cd eg|ae ed|c A2||

 

ST. PATRICK WAS A GENTLEMAN [2]. AKA and see AKA and see “Alasdair MacAlister,” “Denis Doody’s [2],” “From Billy to Jack,” “Glen Cottage Polka [2],” “The Green Cottage [2],” “Green cottage polka, no. 2,” “The Glin Cottage Polka [1],” “McAllister’s Fling,” “Quarry Cross,” "St. Patrick Was Your Patron Saint." Irish, Polka or Air (4/4 time). Ireland, West Kerry. E Minor. Standard tuning. AABC. The tune appears to be a minor key variation of version #1. Samuel Bayard (1981) discerns considerable resemblance between this tune and the Northumbrian smallpipe piece "The Black Cock o' Whickham". Bayard also gives that Hans Nathan (1962), in his Dan Emmett, states that Septimus Winner was the author of the words generally sung to this tune (c. 1861?). See also the American shape note hymn “Mecklinburg,” printed in a supplement to the Kentucky Harmony, first published around the year 1815, wherein the tune is attributed to ‘Lowry’. Source for notated version: Conant (Pa., 1930's) [Bayard]. Bayard (Dance to the Fiddle), 1981; Appendix No. 26, pg. 583. Mac Amhlaoibh & Durham (An Pota Stóir: Ceol Seite Corca Duibne/The Set Dance Music of West Kerry), No. 25, pg. 23 (appears as “Gan Ainm” {untitled}). Petrie‑Stanford (Complete Collection), No. 346 ("as played by the Irish Militia"). Robbins, No. 190. Wier, pg. 432.

X:1

T:St. Patrick was a Gentleman [2]

M:4/4

L:1/8

R:Polka

S:Mac Amhlaoibh & Durham – An Pota Stoir

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:Emin

B/A/|GE ED B,E E2 | GE ED GA B>A | GE ED B,E E2 | BA GF E2E2 :|

|: Be e>f eB BA | Be ef e2 ef | g fg/f/ eB BA | BE E/F/G/A/ B2B2 :|

X:2

T:Mecklinburgh

M:4/4

L:1/8

R:Shape Note Hymn Air

S:Kentucky Harmony (supplement), c. 1815

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:Gmin

z2 d4 | B22G2G2 | D2G2G2B2 | A3G F2A2 | (B2A2) G4 :|

z2 G4 | G2A2B2c2 | d2d2G2A2 | B3c d2e2 | (f3e) d2f2 |

g2e2g2d2 | c2B2c2e2 | d3B G2A2 | (B3c) d2A2 | B2G2G2G2 |

D2G2G2B2 | A3G F2A2 | (B2A2) (G4 | G8) ||

 

ST. PATRICK WAS A GENTLEMAN [3]. AKA and see “The Day I Married Susan,” "The Night I Married Susie," "Beidh ril againn," "Billy O'Rourke's the Buachaill [1]," "An Bóthar ó thuaidh go dtí Árainn" (The South Road to Aran). The melody appears in Petrie, pg. 419, although the song is not usually sung to this air. See also related tunes "Ballahaboy Fair," "Tristram Shandy," "Arra Kitty be easy."

 

ST. PATRICK WAS A GENTLEMAN [4]. Irish, March (2/4 time). F Dorian. Standard tuning. AB. “The original melody of ‘St. Patrick was a Gentleman’ as played by the Irish Militia Bands” [Stanford/Petrie]. Stanford/Petrie (Complete Collection), 1905; No. 346, pg. 87.
X:1

T:St. Patrick was a Gentleman [4]

M:2/4

L:1/8

N:”Original melody…as played by the Irish Militia Bands.”

B:Stanford/Petrie, No. 346  (1905)

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:Ab

cB|A>FFF|CFFG|A>FFA|c2 cB|A>FFF|CFFA|G>EEG|B2||

AG|A>Bcc fccB|A>Bcc|f3G|ABc=d|EBBA|G>EEG|B2 AG|

A>Bcc fccB|A>Bcc|f2 fg|afg=e|fccB/A/|G>EEG|B2||

                       

ST. PATRICK WAS YOUR PATRON SAINT. AKA and see “Denis Doody’s [2],” “Glen Cottage Polka [1]," “Quarry Cross,” "St. Patrick Was a Gentleman" [2].

                       

ST. PATRICK’S DAY IN THE EVENING. AKA and see “Baxter’s Big,” "The Fisherman's Widow,” “The Friendly Neighbor,” “The Rambling Pitchfork.”

                       


ST. PATRICK'S DAY (IN THE MORNING) {"La Feile Naoim Patraic,"  "La Feile Padraig" or "La Gheile Paidric"}. AKA and see "Barbary Bell," "The Kerry Dance" (Roche), "Patrick's Day," "Sheelah's Wedding," "Though Dark Be Our Sorrows," "The Old Woman Tossed Up (in a Basket/Blanket) [1]" (Sharp). Irish, English, Scottish, American; Air, Set Dance (6/8 time) and Jig. USA; Maine, New York, Pennsylvania. England; Northumberland, Shropshire. G Major (most versions): D Major (Ashman): C Major (Sumner). Standard tuning. AAB (Kerr, O'Neill/1850 & 1001, Sumner, Sweet): AABB (most versions): AA'BB' (Miller & Perron): AABBCCDD (O’Farrell). The first mention of the tune is that it was one of two tunes (with "The White Cockade") played by the pipers of the Irish Brigade attached to the French forces which helped turn the tide of battle against the English troops at the battle of Fontenoy on May 11, 1745. Flood (1906) and O’Neill (1913) believe was probably the last appearance in battle of the Irish Piob mor (war pipes or great pipes, which survived only in Scotland) of which there is any mention.  Rutherford's 200 Country Dances, volume 1, 1756, contains the first country dance printing of the tune, which also appears in English collections as a jig by the name "Barbary Bell."  Typically for popular melodies of the time, it also became the vehicle for many songs, including air 35, "A plague of these wenches," in the opera Love in a Village by T.A. Arne and I. Bickerstaffe (London, 1762). As song, country dance or quickstep it remained popular for many years. In later military tradition it was played on December 31, 1811 by the 87th Regiment band as a French attack became a rout at Tarifa, and Winstock (1970) remarks it was a favourite quickstep of the Napoleonic era Peninsular War in the British army. Queen Victoria requested the melody from piper Thomas Mahon when she and the Prince Consort visited Ireland for the first time in 1849. Mahon was surprised to learn that she and the Prince were familiar “with the best gems in Irish music,” and he also played “The Royal Irish Quadrilles” and “Garryowen” at their behest. The Queen must have been impressed with his playing, for she directed that henceforth Mahon have the title “Professor of the Irish Union Bagpipers to Her Most Gracious Majesty, Queen Victoria” (O’Neill, 1913). English country dance versions appear several times in James Oswald’s Caledonian Pocket Companion (London, 1760), and James AIrd printed it in Glasgow in his Selection of Scotch, English, Irish and Foreign Airs, vol. 1 (1782).

***

The melody has been danced and marched to in North America for some two hundred years where it has been very popular, sustained in part by the large immigrant Irish population as a signature anthem. The jig appears earliest in America in Giles Gibbs' 1777 Connecticut fife MS. George White (Cherry Valley, New York) included it in his 1790-1830 fiddle manuscript, as did Elisha Belknap (Framingham Mass., 1784), Ira Clark (Simsbury Connecticut, c. 1801), fiddler Daniel Aborn (1790), fluter Henry Beck (1786), and numerous others. Clement Weeks, of Greenland, New Hampshire, copied dance directions to the melody in his MS copybook of 1783. Flute player Thomas Molyneaux of Shelburne, Nova Scotia, penned it into his 1788 copybook. It also appears in the music manuscript copybook of Henry Livingston, Jr.  Livingston purchased the estate of Locust Grove, Poughkeepsie, New York, in 1771 at the age of 23. In 1775 he was a Major in the 3rd New York Regiment, which participated in Montgomery’s invasion of Canada in a failed attempt to wrest Montreal from British control. An important land-owner in the Hudson Valley, and a member of the powerful Livingston family, Henry was also a surveyor and real estate speculator, an illustrator and map-maker, and a Justice of the Peace for Dutchess County. He was also a poet and musician, and presumably a dancer, as he was elected a Manager for the New York Assembly’s dancing season of 1774-1775, along with his 3rd cousin, John Jay, later U.S. Chief Justice of Governor of New York. It was played in the Civil War by musicians of both sides in the conflict, and appeared in the martial music tutors School for the Fife (Elias Howe, 1851) and Army Regulations for Fife and Drum (William Nevin, 1861). In relatively modern times it has been cited as having commonly been played for country dances in Orange County, New York, in the 1930's (Lettie Osborn, New York Folklore Quarterly), and it was in the repertoire of Maine fiddler Mellie Dunham (The elderly Dunham was Henry Ford's champion fiddler in the late 1920's). The tune is, of course, still a popular marching tune played at annual St. Patrick’s Day parades in the United States.

***

Samuel Bayard (1981) observes there are two main sets of the tune which have coexisted; a standard form and an extension form (having extra measures: 10, 12, 14 or 16 have been recorded). He notes references under the given title above date back to 1748 and 1762 (see Moffat, pg. 272). Another form also has also existed for over 150 years to which Thomas Moore wrote his song "When in death I shall calm recline;" this form often appears in older collections under the title "The Legacy [1]." Bayard collected both the standard and extension forms of the tune in southwestern Pennsylvania (he also collected a 2/4 version {No. 225, pg. 183} the source called by the floating title "The Drunken Sailor").

***

“St. Patrick’s Day” was famously recorded on a 78 RPM by piper Leo Rowsome (recorded with “The Blackbird”). Rowsome’s recording has a story associated with it, as told by Sean Reid in the sleeve notes to "Leo Rowsome volume 1" (Ossian OSS 66), to the effect that “it was an impromptu studio session where Leo wrote out the music on the back of an envelope for two English musicians, who had no knowledge of Irish music, but who just happened to be there and ad-libbed their way through some truly great music” (communicated by Anthony Buffery). Buffery says that, according to Reg Hall, “in reality, Rowsome had been invited to London specifically to play at dance hall ceilis, and on those recordings the fiddle player and the two drummers were highly competent Gasra na nGael London-born Irish musicians who knew the tunes inside out.  They would have had plenty of opportunity to rehearse during the ceilis.  Sean Reid probably got the myth story from Rowsome after a few drinks back in Dublin.” Others corroborate at least part of the myth: Rowsome was known to have had the ability to quickly write out music in musical notation on the spot.

***

In Irish tradition “St. Patrick’s Day” is one of the four tunes called the Traditional Sets (i.e. set dances), along with “Job of Journeywork,” “The Blackbird” and “Garden of Daisies [1].”

***

Sources for notated versions: six southwestern Pa. fiddlers and fifers [Bayard]; the Irish collector Edward Bunting noted the tune from Patrick Quinn the harper in 1792; a c. 1837-1840 MS by Shropshire musician John Moore [Ashman]; the 1823-26 music mss of papermaker and musician Joshua Gibbons (1778-1871, of Tealby, near Market Rasen, Lincolnshire Wolds) [Sumner]; New Jersey flute player Mike Rafferty, born in Ballinakill, Co. Galway, in 1926 [Harker]. Aird (Selections), 1778, vol. 1, No. 50. Allan's Irish Fiddler, No. 117, pg. 30. Ashman (The Ironbridge Hornpipe), 1991; No. 79, pg. 32. Bayard (Dance to the Fiddle), 1981; No. 633, pgs. 555‑557. Carlin (The Gow Collection), 1986; No. 391. Bunting, 1840; pg. 67. Cole (1000 Fiddle Tunes), 1940; pg. 76. Cranitch (Irish Fiddle Book), 1996; No. 95, pg. 164. Crosby's Irish Music Repository, pg. 41 (appears as "Sheelaghs Wedding"). Ford (Traditional Music in America), 1940; pg. 63. Gow (Complete Repository), Part 3, 1806; pg. 18. Harding's All‑Round Collection, 1905; No. 185, pg. 59. Harding Collection (1915) and Harding's Original Collection (1928), No. 41. Harker (300 Tunes from Mike Rafferty), 2005; No. 292, pg. 95. Howe (Complete Preceptor for the Accordeon), 1843; pg. 38. Howe (Diamond School for the Violin), 1861; pg. 44. Howe (School for the Violin), 1851; pg. 32. Johnson (A Further Collection of Dances, Marches, Minuetts and Duetts of the Latter 18th Century), 1998; pg. 1. JWFSS, vol. 4, pg. 64. Kennedy (Fiddlers Tune Book), vol. 1, 1951; No. 80, pg. 39 (appears as "Barbary Bell"). Kerr (Merry Melodies), vol. 1, No. 35, pg. 39. MacFadyen's Selection of Scotch, English, Irish and Foreign Airs(??), vol. II, No. 18. Miller & Perron (New England Fiddler’s Repertoire), 1983; No. 48. O’Farrell (Pocket Companion), c. 1805; pgs. 10-11. O'Malley, 1919; pg. 8. O'Neill (Music of Ireland: 1850 Melodies), 1903/1979; No. 298, pg. 52. O'Neill (Dance Music of Ireland: 1001 Gems), 1907/1986; No. 975. O'Sullivan/Bunting, 1983; No. 91, pgs. 135-136. Oswald (Caledonian Pocket Companion), 1780?, vol. 2, pg. 132. Raven (English Country Dance Tunes), 1984; pg. 106 (appears as "Barbary Bell"). Robbins, 1933; No. 43. Roche Collection, 1982, vol. 3, No. 191, pg. 67 (appears as the set dance "Patrick's Day") and vol. 2, No. 293 (appears as "The Kerry Dance"). Rutherford (200 Country Dances), vol. I, 1756; No. 1, pg. 1. Saar, 1932; No. 7. Spandaro (10 Cents a Dance), 1980; pg. 44. Sumner (Lincolnshire Collections, vol. 1: The Joshua Gibbons Manuscript), 1997; pg. 23. Sweet (Fifer’s Delight), 1965/1981; pg. 26. Sym, 1930; pg. 15. Thompson (Hibernian Muse), 1786; pg. 32. Tubridy (Irish Traditional Music), 1999; pg. 16. Walker's Irish Bards, pg. 33. White's Excelsior Collection, 1907; pg. 80. Wier, pg. 413. Edison 51381 (78 RPM), Jasper Bisbee, 1923 (appears as 2nd tune of "Girl I Left Behind Me" medley). Folkways FA 2381, "The Hammered Dulcimer as played by Chet Parker" (Michigan, 1966). John Edwards Memorial Foundation JEMF‑105, L.O. Weeks ‑ "New England Traditional Fiddling" (1978). PearlMae Muisc 004-2, Jim Taylor – “The Civil War Collection” (1996).

See also listings at:

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

Alan Ng’s Irishtune.info

X:1

T:St. Patrick’s Day in the Morning

L:1/8

M:6/8

K:G

GAG GBc|ded dBG|AGA BGD|EFE E2D|GAG GBc|ded dBG|AGA BGD|E2F G2D:|

|:def g2g|fed edB|def gag|fed e3|def g2g|fed edB|def gag|fed efg:|

X:2

T:St. Patrick’s Day in the Morning

L:1/8

M:6/8

K:G Major

D|GAG GAB|ded dBG|AGA BGD|EFE E2D|

GAG GAB|ded dBG|AGA BGD|E2F G2:|

B|def gag|fed edB|def gag|fed e2d|

def gag|fed efg|dBG GAB|ded dBG|AGA BGD|

EFE E2D|GAG GBd|gfe dBG|AGA BGD|E2F G2:|

X:3

T:St. Patrick’s Day in the Morn

M:6/8

L:1/8

R:Jig

S:William Vickers’ music manuscript collection (Northumberland, 1770)

K:G

B|G2G GAB|ded dBG|BAB BGE|EFE E2D|GAG GAB|ded dBG|

BAB BGE|E3 G3::def g2e|f2d e2c|def g2e|f2d e3|

def g2e|f2d efg|GAG GAB|dbd dBG|AGA BGE|E3 G3:|

                       

ST. PATRICK’S EVE. Irish, Jig. A Dorian. Standard tuning. ABCD. Composed by fiddler and pianist Josephine Keegan (b. 1935), of Mullaghbawn, south County Armagh. Keegan (The Keegan Tunes), 2002; pg. 50.

                       

ST. PATRICK'S JIG. Canadian, Jig. A Major. Standard tuning. AABB. Composed by Sarnia, southwestern Ontario, fiddler John(ny) Durocher (1934-1989); the tune has some currency at modern Canadian fiddle contests, according to Ron Ritchie. Durocher was born the youngest of sixteen children, to a modest family of few resources. He quit school in his young teens to help make family ends meet and remained a factory worker for most of his life, not even possessing a drivers license. John came to fiddling when he found a broken fiddle in the trash one day and asked the owner for permission to retrieve it; with some repair work he had his first instrument. A few lessons from a local teacher (which served to teach him how to read and write music), were all the formal music education John received. He was a prolific composer of fiddle tunes, however, and named them for sports and current events, family and friends and topics of his day, explains Ritchie. Durocher’s music was picked up by radio fiddler Don Messer, who included many of his tunes in his broadcasts and printed collections, helping Durocher to become quite influential in the Ontario scene for his over 400 compositions. [For more see Ron Ritchie, “John Durocher: A Gifted Composer,” Fiddler Magazine, vol. 12, No. 2, Summer 2005, pgs. 25-27]. Source for notated version: Jerry Robichaud (Canada) [Hinds]. Hinds/Hebert (Grumbling Old Woman), 1981; pg. 22. Messer (Anthology of Favorite Fiddle Tunes), 1980; No. 148, pg. 97. MCA Coral CB30024, Graham Townsend ‑ "By the Fireside."

                       

ST. PATRICK’S (MARCH). AKA and see “Centenary March.” Irish, March (4/4 time). D Major. Standard tuning. AABB. The tune usually is known as the “Centenary March.” Mulvihill (1st Collection), 1986; No. 2, pg. 103.

                       

ST. PAUL WALTZ. Old‑Time, Waltz. C Major (‘A’, ‘B’ parts) & F Major (‘C’ part). Standard tuning. AA’BBACC. The melody was first published in 1878 by S. Brainard’s Sons (Cleveland), composition credited to A.J. Vaas. Tex Owens adapted this tune for his song “Cattle Call,” which became a huge western hit for Eddy Arnold, the Tennessee Plowboy. The tune can be heard sung by the Sons of the Pioneers, in the classic western movie Rio Grande, directed by John Ford, starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara. Caney Mountain Records CLP 228, Lonnie Robertson (Mo.) ‑ "Fiddle Favorites." Voyager Records VRCD 316, Barbara Lamb & Vivian Williams – “Twin Sisters” (orig. released 1975).

X:1

T:St. Paul Waltz

M:3/4

L:1/8

K:C

{^d}e6 | {e^}e6 | {^d}ez c3A | G6 | {^f}g6 | {^f}g6 | {^f}gz b3a |

(g2 ^f2 =f2) | {^d}e6 | {e^}e6 | {^d}ez c3A | G6 | g3g g2 | f2e2d2 |

c2G2e2 |1 cGABcd :|2 c2 z2 d2 |: c’c’c’c’c’c’ | c’2b2a2 | bbbbbb |

b2a2g2 | aaaaaa | a2e2f2 |1 g2b2e’2 | d’4 d2 :|2 g2z2g2 | f2 ^f2=f2 :|

{^d}e6 | {e^}e6 | {^d}ez c3A | G6 | {^f}g6 | {^f}g6 | {^f}gz b3a |

(g2 ^f2 =f2) | {^d}e6 | {e^}e6 | {^d}ez c3A | G6 | g3g g2 | f2e2d2 |

c2G2e2 | c2 ||

K:F

|: c2f2 | a2z2a2 | z2 {^g}a2 {^g}a2 | c’2 z2 b2 | z2 a2g2 | f2z2e2 |

z2 {^d2}e2 {^d2}e2 | g2z2f2 | z2 c2f2 | a2z2a2 | a2z2a2 | z2 {^g}a2 {^g}a2 |

c’2 z2 b2 | z2 a2g2 | f2z2e2 | z2 a2 g2 | f3ff2 | f2z2z2 :|

                       

ST. PAUL'S STEEPLE. AKA and see “Paul’s Steeple.”

                       

ST. PIERRE HORNPIPE. American, Hornpipe. B Flat Major. Standard tuning. AABB. Cole (1000 Fiddle Tunes), 1940; pg. 105. Miller (Fiddler’s Throne), 2004; No. 310, pg. 183. Ryan’s Mammoth Collection, 1883; pg. 141.

X:1

T:St. Pierre

M:C|

L:1/8

R:Hornpipe

S:Ryan’s Mammoth Collection (1883)

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:Bb

(3FGA | BFDF B2 (AB) | cAFA c2 (Bc) | dcBA GABc | A2F2F2(GA) | BFDF B2 (AB) |

cAFA c2 (Bc) | dfdB AecA | B2d2B2 :: (f=e) | f_edc =BGAB | ({d}c)=Bcd e2 (ed) |

edcB AFGA | ({c}B)ABc dfec | BFDF B2 (AB) | cAFA c2 (Bc) | dbge dBcA | B2b2B2 :|

                       

SAINT RAYMOND’S FLING. Irish, Fling. D Major. Standard tuning. AB. Composed by Falmouth, Massachusetts, musician and writer Bill Black, named after a Bronx, N.Y., parish cemetery that is the final resting place of Sligo fiddlers Michael Coleman and James Morrison and Kerry fiddler Johnny Cronin. Black (Music’s the Very Best Thing), 1996; No. 39, pg. 20.

X:1

T: Saint Raymond's

C: © B.Black

Q: 300

R: hornpipe

M: 4/4

L: 1/8

K: D

DEFG A2 d2 | BGBc dA F2 | DEFG A2 d2 | BABd e4 |

fddf gBBg | acca bafe | f2 df cfBf | AFEF D4 ||

fefg fBBc | d2 e2 f2 a2 | eB B2 AF F2 | AFEF D4 |

fefg fB B2 | abag fd d2 | DEFG AdcB | AGFE D4 ||

                       


ST. RUTH'S BUSH. “Jude’s Bush.” Irish, Reel. A Dorian. Standard. AABB. According to Philippe Varlet the tune was composed around 1936-1940 by fiddler Paddy Kelly (of the Aughrim Slopes band) and was first recorded by the Kincora Ceili Band led by Ms. Kathleen Harrington. The bush (or tree) is where the French commander the Marquis de St. Ruth’s head was found after he was killed by a cannon ball while on his white charger at the Battle of Aughrim in 1691. Aughrim is approximately 30 miles east of Galway city. Micko Russell {1989}, who attributed the tune to Paddy Fahy, said: “Now I don't know how did the bush get that name, but if you go along the road from Gort to Loughrea there is a lonely place in the limestone lands. Standing by itself is this one bush. It is very remarkable how it has grown alone there. The name of that bush is St. Ruth's Bush."

***

Charlie Piggot, in his book Blooming Meadows (1998, written with Fintan Vallely), relates that he witnessed Doolin, County Clare, tin whistle player Micho Russell (1915-1944) hold spellbound a crowd of several thousand at the Circus Krone in Munich with his introduction to this tune.  Russell was known for his gift of weaving lore, associations, assertions and traditions into his music, and regaled the audience with the stories of St. Ruth, incidents from the battle, and the bush that could still be seen. Pausing for an effectual moment, he then said, ‘faith’, that he wouldn’t play the tune after all but another instead! 

***

It was also recorded for Dublin records by the Tulla and Leitrim Ceili bands around 1960. Sources for notated versions: Frank McCollam (Ballycastle, County Antrim) [Mulvihill]; New Jersey flute player Mike Rafferty, born in Ballinakill, Co. Galway, in 1926 [Harker]. Harker (300 Tunes from Mike Rafferty), 2005; No. 13, pg. 4. McNulty (Dance Music of Ireland), 1965; pg. 14. Mulvihill (1st Collection), 1986; No. 110, pg. 29. “The Northern Fiddler,” pg. 238 (appears as “Jude’s Bush”). Russell (The Piper’s Chair), 1989; pg. 21. Sullivan (Sully’s Irish Music Book), 1979. Green Linnet GLCD 1187, Cherish the Ladies – “One and All: the best of Cherish the Ladies” (1998). Harp Records, Shaskeen - “Back to the Glen” (1981). Larraga MOR 1302, Mike & Mary Rafferty – “Speed 78” (2004). Topic TSCD 602, Kincora Ceilidhe Band – “Irish Dance Music” (1995. A reissue of the original 1945 recording).

See also listings at:

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

Alan Ng’s Irishtune.info

X:1

T:St. Ruth's Bush

B:Micho Russell, The Piper's Chair

M:C

K:Ador

d|:eAA>B c2BA|GEE>E EDEG|A2A>B c3d|e2ag egd2|\

eAA>B c2BA|GEE>E EDEG|A2A>B cde>g|d>BG>B A4::\

eaa>e a2ag|eaag bgag|dgg>f g2gf|dgg>f gfed|\

eaa>e a2ag|eaag bgag|e2e>f g2g>e|dBGB A4:|

X:2

T:St. Ruth’s Bush

M:C|

L:1/8

S:Mulvihill – 1st Collection (1986)

K:G

g2|eAAB {d}cBcA|GE {F}(3EDE {F}EDEG|AGAB {d}cBcd|ea{b}ag egdg|

eAAB {d}cBcA|GE {F}(3EDE {F}EDEG|AGAB cdef|dBGB A2:|

|:Bd|ea{b}ag abag|eaag bgag|eg{a}gf g2 (fg)|egfg edBd|

ea{b}ag abag|ea{b}ag bgag|edef {a}gfge|dBGB A2:|

                       

SAINT-SAUVEUR. Canadian, Reel. D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AA’BB’.

X:1

T:Saint-Sauveur

C:Trad
O:Quebec
Q:1/4=120
R:reel
M:2/4
L:1/16
K:D
FG |: A2AA ABcd | A2 (3AAA ABcd | F3G FEDE |
FDEF E2FG | A2AA ABcd | A2(3AAA ABcd | efed cABc |
[1dfec d2FG :|2dfec dABc |: d2fd adfd | adfd cABc |
d2fd adfd |1efed cABc :|2efed c2A2 |: fgfe dedB |
ABAG FAGF | EAAA cAeA | cABc (3BcB A2 | fgfe dedB |
ABAG FAGF | EAcA eABc |1dfec d4 :|2dfec d2FG ||

                       

SAINT-SIMÉON [1]. AKA and see “Saint-Antoine.” French-Canadian, Reel. The tune appears under this title on Richard Forest’s album “Tradi/son de passage,” but is Joseph Bouchard’s “Saint-Antoine.”

 

SAINT-SIMÉON [2]. AKA and see “(La) Ronfleuse Gobeil.” The tune was recorded under this title by French-Canadian fiddler Joseph Bouchard (1905-1980) on his Compo Records LP, “Reel carnaval” (1968).

           

ST. VINCENT'S HORNPIPE. AKA and see "Lord St. Vincent," “Silver Box,” “Vincent’s Hornpipe,” "Vinton's Hornpipe." English, Hornpipe. England, Shropshire. B Flat Major. Standard tuning. AABB. See note for “Vinton’s Hornpipe” for more. Source for notated version: a c. 1837-1840 MS by Shropshire musician John Moore [Ashman]. Ashman (The Ironbridge Hornpipe), 1991; No. 64, pg. 25.

X:1

T:St. Vincent's Hornpipe

M:C

L:1/8

R:Hornpipe

S:John Moore manuscripts c. 1837-1840

Z:AK/Fiddler's Companion

K:Bb

fe | dcBA BcdB | (3cdc (3BAG F2 FE | DFBF GecA | B2 B>B B2 z2 | dBdf eceg |

fdfa gegb | bagf =ef (3gab | a2f2f2 :: fe | d>B (3BAB d>B (3BAB |

G>E (3EDE G>E (3EDE | cBcd edcB | A>F (3F=EF A>F (3FEF |

f>B (3BAB g>B (3BAB | gfga b>B (3BAB | Ggfe dcBA | c2B2B2 :|

                       

ST. VINCENT’S PIPE BAND, THE. Canadian, Hornpipe. Canada, Cape Breton. B Flat Major. Standard tuning. AABB. Composed by Cape Breton fiddler and composer Dan R. MacDonald (1911-1976). Cameron (Trip to Windsor), 1994; pg. 66.

 

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 [COMMENT1]This was Font/Pitch 1,10 - Off.

 [COMMENT2]This was Font/Pitch 1,10 - On.

 [COMMENT3]This was Font/Pitch 1,10 - Off.

 [COMMENT4]Note:  The change to pitch (12) and font (1) must be converted manually.