The Fiddler’s Companion

© 1996-2008 Andrew Kuntz

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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]

 

 

 

WE ALL TAKE A SUP IN OUR TURN. Irish, Air (6/8 time, "not a jig"). D Major. Standard tuning. One part. “Song Air, not a Jig” clarifies Irish collector P.W. Joyce. Joyce elsewhere says ‘sup’ indicates “one mouthful of liquid: a small quantity drunk at one time. This is English:- 'I took a small sup of rum.' ('Robinson Crusoe.') 'We all take a sup in our turn.' (Irish Folk Song.)” Joyce had his melody from the Pigot Collection. The Joyce and O’Farrell versions are identical. Joyce (Old Irish Folk Music and Songs), 1909; No. 728, pg. 362. O’Farrell (Pocket Companion, vol. III), c, 1808; pg. 11. O'Neill (O’Neill’s Irish Music), 1915/1987; No. 94, pg. 53.

X:1

T:We’ll All Take a Sup in Our Turn
M:6/8
L:1/8

R:Air

S:O’Farrell – Pocket Companion, vol. III (c. 1808)

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:D

Add dcd | e2c A2A | Aee e>fg | a2f d2 a/g/ | (f>g)a agf | b2g e2(g/f/) | e>fg (gfe) |

a2f d2A | Add cee | fdd gee | (fg)a (gf)e | d3 z2A | Add cee | fdd gee | (fg)a (gf)e | d6 ||

                       

WE ARE ALL FORESAKEN FOR WANT OF SILLER. English, Slip Jig. England, Northumberland. C Major. Standard tuning. AABB. Seattle (William Vickers), 1987, Part 2; No. 321.

           

WE ARE THE BOYS OF WEXFORD. Irish, Air (4/4 time). F Major. Standard. AB. Howe (1000 Jigs and Reels), c. 1867; pg. 20.

X:1

T:We are the Boys of Wexford

M:C

L:1/8

S:Howe’s 1000 Jigs and Reels (c. 1867)

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:F

A/B/ | cA F>F F>G AF | GE C>C C3C | FFFD E2 C>A | cc d>=B c3 A/_B/ |

dcBA B3c | defd cAGF | DA BG/F/ F3 || C | F>F FD E2 C>A | cdcA B3c |

defd c2 AF | c>B GE F3 || 

                                   

WE ARE BOLD VOLUNTEERS. Irish, Air (6/8 time). B Flat Major. Standard. One part. Source for notated version: "From an anonymous correspondent in Dundalk.” Joyce (Old Irish Folk Music and Songs), 1909; No. 218, pg. 106.

X:1

T:We are bold volunteers

L:1/8

M:6/8

S:Joyce – Old Irish Folk Music

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:B_

F|F3 GFD|F2G B2d|e2d dcB|GB2 F2d|f3 f2g|f2d B3|e2d dcB|(c3 c2)d|

f3 f2g|f2d B3|e2d dcB|GB2 F2 B,/D/|F3 GFD|F2G B2 d/f/|e2d cBA|(B3 B2)||

                                   

WE BE SOLDIERS THREE. English, Ballad Air (3/4 time). G Dorian. Standard. One part. The air appears in Deuteromelia (1609) and Pills to Purge Melancholy (1698). Chappell (Popular Music of the Olden Time), vol. 1, 1859; pg. 133.

                       

WE BE THREE POOR MARINERS. AKA and see “Brangill of Poictu.” English, Ballad Air (cut time). C Major. Standard. AB. The air appears in Deuteromelia (1609) and the Skene Manuscript (c. 1690) {appears as "Brangill [Branle] of Poictu"}. A Branle, or, in English, Braule/Brawl, was a term for a class of dances in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, including, according to Chappell (1859), "all those...in which, as in the Cotillion, the dancers follow a leader." A line from the song goes:
***

Shall we go dance the round, the round,

***

Chappell (Popular Music of the Olden Time), vol. 1, 1859; pgs. 134‑135.

                       

WE BROUGHT THE SUMMER WITH US (Thugamar fein an Samhradh linn). AKA and see “Samhradh, Samhradh.” Irish, Slow Air (6/8 or 3/4 time). E Major/Mixolydian (Stanford/Petrie): D Mixolydian (Ó Canainn). Standard. One part (Ó Canainn): AB (Stanford/Petrie). The melody, which is still very much a part of the living tradition, appears earliest in Neales’ Collection of the Most Celebrated Irish Tunes (Dublin, 1726), which Ó Canainn (1978) believes to be the first real collection of exclusively Irish folk music. It also appears in Burke Thumoth’s collection of c. 1750 and Cooke’s Selection of Twenty-one Favourite Original Irish Airs arranged for Pianoforte, Violin or Flute (Dublin, 1793). Breandan Breathnach, in Folk Music and Dances of Ireland, notes that the air is an example of the rare airs in Lah (Aeolian) mode.

***

Of all the fish that’s in the sea,

The Herring is king, the herring is king.

Sing thugamur fein an samhra linn

Tis we have brought the summer in.

***

Ó Canainn (Traditional Slow Airs of Ireland), 1995; No. 97, pg. 83 (appears as “Thugamar Féin an Samhradh Linn”). Stanford/Petrie (Complete Collection), 1905; No. 502, pg. 127. Tubridy (Irish Traditional Music, vol. 1), 1999; pg. 2 (appears as “Thugamar Féin an Samhradh Linn”).

X:1

T:We brought the summer with us

M:6/8

L:1/8

S:Stanford/Petrie (1905), No. 502

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:E

B2d e2f | g2f e2d | BdB (AF)D | d2d B2A | B2d e2f | {e/f/}g2f e2d |

BdB AFD | E2E E3 || =d2B AFD | “tr”d2e f3 | e2=d BAB | =d2d B2A |

B<Bd e2f | {e/f/}g2f e2ed | (B<d)B AFD | D2D D3 ||

                       

WE MAY ROAM THRO' THIS WORLD. AKA and see "Garryowen."

                       

WE MET. American, Waltz. C Major. Standard tuning. ABCD. From the music manuscripts of Setauket, Long Island, painter and fiddler William Sidney Mount, on a page dated 1840.

X:1

T:We Met

M:3/4

L:1/8

R:Waltz

S:William Sidney Mount manuscripts; page dated 1840.

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:C

G | e3 Gce | e2 z2 Gc | e2f2e2 | e2d zG | d3 GBd | f2 z2 df | a2g2f2 | (f2e2) z ||

G | e3 Gce | e2 z2 Gc | e2f2e2 | e2d2 zG | d3 GBd | f2 z2 ed | G2A2B2 | (d2c2) z ||

c | e3 fga | (g2f)z ed | e3 dcB | c2A2 ze | e3 fga | (g2e)z fe | e3 dcB | c2A2 z ||

G | e3 Gce | e2 z2 Gc | e2f2e2 | e2d2 zG | d3 Gdf | (ag) (fe) (dc) | G2A2 zB | (d2c)z z ||

                       

WE MET AT THE FAIR (Do Teagmar Ag an Aonac). Irish, Air (6/8 time, "gaily"). A Major/Mixolydian. Standard tuning. AB. O'Neill (Music of Ireland: 1850 Melodies), 1903/1979; No. 342, pg. 59.

X:1

T:We Met at the Fair

M:6/8

L:1/8

R:Air

N:”Gaily”

S:O’Neill – Music of Ireland (1903), No. 342

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:A

c/d/|e>AB GFE|c>Bc dcd|ede cAF|(=G3 G2) c/d/|e>AB GFE|c>Bc eag|

fde cAB|A3 A2||A/B/|ccd eef|{a}=gec d2 c/d/|eAB {d}cAF|(=G3 G2) c/d/|

eAB GFE|c>Bc eag|fde cAB|A3 A2||

                       


WE MUST ALL WAIT TILL MY LADY COMES HOME. English, Country Dance Tune (6/8 time). G Major. Standard tuning. AABB. England, Northumberland. Kidson declares this to be similar to a melody William Shield (1748-1829) uses in his “pasticcio” opera Robin Hood, or Sherwood Forest for the song “The lasses are mad.” The opera was produced in 3 acts at Covent Gardern in April, 1784, although some of the music may have been composed by other than Shield (as was common practice at the time). Kidson thinks Shield, being from the north of England, may have had knowledge of the tune and so employed it in his work. Kidson obtained the tune from a Northumbrian pipe MS of about 1816. The second part of the tune resembles that of "The Cock o' the North [1]." Kidson (Old English Country Dances), 1890; pg. 21.

X:1

T:We must all wait till my lady comes home

M:6/8

L:1/8

R:Jig

S:Frank Kidson – Old English Country Dances  (1890)

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:G

D|G>AG G2A|BcB B2G|Bdg dBG|FAA A2D|G>AG G2A|

BcB B2g|dcB ABc|BGG G2:: f|g2d e2d|g2d e2d|c2B A2G|

FAA A2f|b2d e2d|g2d e2d|dcB ABc|BGG G2:|

                       

WE PREFER OUR OWN KING. AKA and see "Se'n Righ atha aguin is fear linn," "Over the River to Charlie [2]," "Wha'll (Who’ll) Be King But Charlie," "Behind the Bush in the Garden [1]." Scottish. A Jacobite era tune known in both Scotland and Ireland, according to Fraser, whose national origin was unknown. He claimed it had been known "as one of the incentives of rebellion" among the Scots Highlanders "since the 1745." Fraser (The Airs and Melodies Peculiar to the Highlands of Scotland and the Isles), 1816; pg. 136.

                       

WE SAW YOU COMING. Irish, Hornpipe. C Major. Standard tuning. AABB. McGuire & Keegan (Irish Tunes by the 100), 1975; No. 73, pg. 20

                       

WE SHOULD ALL BE UNHAPPY TOGETHER. AKA and see “Sound Argument.”

 

WE STOOD THERE AND GAZED. Irish, Jig. Composed by Irish fiddler Gerry Harrington, of the band Smoky Chimney, inspired by the Halle-Bopp comet.

X:1

T:We stood there and gazed

C:Gerry Harrington

R:jig

M:6/8

L:1/8

K:D

F2 D DED|f2 d edB|A2 F FED|A,CE GFE|

F2 D DED|f2 d edB|A2 F FED|1A,CE D2 E:|2 A,CE D2 e||

f2 d def|ecA AGF|GFG EFG|FDB, D2 e|

f2 d def|e2 A AGF|GFG EFG|1ABc dag:|2 ABc d3||

                       

WE WILL ALL LIE TOGETHER. English, Slip Jig. England, Northumberland. D Mixolydian. Standard tuning. AABB. Seattle (William Vickers), 1987, Part 3; No. 483.

                       

WE WILL DOWN WITH THE FRENCH. See “Down with the French.”

                       

WE WILL GO TO TARA'S HILL. Irish, Air (6/8 time). E Dorian. Standard tuning. AB. "There was a Ninety‑eight song to this air" (Joyce). Source for notated version: Hugh O'Beirne, professional fiddler from Ballinamore, Co. Leitrim, c. 1846 (Joyce). Joyce (Old Irish Folk Music and Songs), 1909; No. 598, pg. 310.

                       

WE WON'T GO HOME TILL MORNING. AKA and see "Malbrook," "Marlbrouk," "Marlbrough," "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow." English, French, Irish; Air, Country and Morris Dance Tune (6/8 time) and Jig. G Major. Standard tuning. AB (Bacon, Raven, Sharp): ABA'B'A' (Karpeles): AA'BB (Merryweather). The tune probably originated in 18th century France. Kidson (1915) reports it was a favorite with the unfortunate Queen Marie Antoinette, who learned it from a peasent woman brought in to nurse her child. It was the vehicle for a morris dance (in two parts, linked with a phrase from "The Cuckoo's Nest") collected from the village of Bidford, Warwickshire, in England's Cotswolds. Bacon (The Morris Ring), 1974; pgs. 67 & 73. Karpeles & Schofield (A Selection of 100 English Folk Dance Airs), 1951; pg. 2. Merryweather (Merryweather’s Tunes for the English Bagpipes), 1989; pg. 48. Raven (English Country Dance Tunes), 1984; pg. 27. Sharp (Country Dance Tunes), 1909/1994; pg. 3.

X:1

T:We Won’t Go Home Till Morning

M:6/8

L:1/8

S:Sharp – Country Dance Tunes

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:G

G/A/ | B2B BAB | c2c BcB | A2A AGA | B2A GDG | B2B BAB |

c2d efg | d2c B2A | G3 G2 || G/B/ | d2B e2e | (d3 d2) G/B/ |

d2B e2e | (d3 d2) ||

                       

WEALTHY FOOL (WITH GOLD IN STORE), THE.  English, Air. The title of a song in William Shield’s opera The Poor Soldier (1783, lyrics by J. O’Keeffe). In America the song was evidently quite popular as the melody appears in the music manuscript copybooks of Captain George Bush (1779), Ishmael Spicer (1797-c. 1814), James Hosmer (Connecticut, 1799), Silas Dickinson (Massachusetts, c. 1800) and 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 published in Alexander Reinagle’s Collection of Favorite Songs, Book 1, in Philadelphia, 1789, and in Riley’s Flute Melodies (New York, 1814).

X:1

T:Wealthy Fool, The

M:C

L:1/8

R:Air

S:Henry Livingston’s manuscript copybook, late 18th century

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:G

G|G3B d3e|dBgB A2zB|G3B d3e|g3a bgdg|gffe e3d|

dBde g3e|d>B AG A3B|G3A BG zd|G3B d3e|(dB)gB A3B|

G3B c3e|g3a b<a g g/a/|b>ga>f g3e|dBde g2ze|(d<B) AG A3B|G3A BGz:|

                          

WEAPON SHAW, THE. Scottish, Reel. D Minor. Standard tuning. AAB. A ‘weapon-shaw’ is Scots for a ‘weapon show’, or a martial display of weaponry. The Scots song “Up and Waur them A’ Willie” begins with this line:

***

When we went to the field of war and tae the weapon shaw,
Wi' true design to tae serve our king and chase our faes awa'

***

Carlin (The Gow Collection), 1986; No. 511. Gow (Complete Repository), Part 2, 1802; pg. 32.

X:1

T:Weapon Shaw, The

L:1/8

M:C

S:Gow – 2nd Repository

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:D Minor

(DEF)D F3c|GFED CDEC|D>EFD F2 Fc|(d/c/=B/A/) cE D/D/D D2:|

d>edA d/d/d f2|g>fed cdec|d>edA d/d/d f2|ed^ce d2D2|d>edA d/d/d f2|

g>fed cdec|decd AcFA|G<E c>E D/D/D D2||

                       


WEARIED LAD. AKA and see "Limerick Tinker," "Bouchalaun Buie," "Yellow Ragweed." Irish, Slide (12/8 time). G Major. Standard tuning. ABCD. There may be some relation to the “Gold Ring [1]” family of tunes. Source for notated version: “Set by Lord Rosmore from P. Coneely 1843" (Patrick Coneely was a famous Galway piper) [Stanford/Petrie]. Stanford/Petrie (Complete Collection), 1905; No. 541, pg. 137.

X:1

T:Wearied Lad, The
M:12/8
L:1/8

N:”Allegro”

S:Stanford/Petrie (1905), No. 541

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:G

D | G2A BAG AGF GFD | G2A BdB cAG F2D | G2A BAG AGF | GFD |

=fag fed cA^F G2 || A | ded dcA d2G G2A | ded dcA cAG FGA |

ded dcA d2G G2 d/e/ | =fag fed cA^F G2 || d | gab a2 g a2g g2d |

gab a2g a2g f2d | gab a2g a2g g2d/e/ | =fag fed cA^F G2 || G/A/ |

B/c/BG A/c/AG d2G G2A | B/c/BG A/c/AG cAG FGA |

_BAG AGF GFD =FGA | =fag fed cA^F G2 || 

                       

WEARING OF THE GREEN, THE (Caitead An Glas). Irish; Air, March and Air (4/4 time). G Major. Standard tuning. AB (Sweet): AAB (O'Neill). Bayard (1981) notes that (Anne Geddes) Gilchrist and Moffat have identified this air as a descendent of an old Scots air called "The Tulip," a march composed by James Oswald and appearing in his c. 1747 Airs for the Spring. Ernest MacMillan identifies it as "Balance the/a Straw [1]," from a 1759 instrumental setting. The melody has been the vehicle for numerous songs, sacred and profane, and has been extensively studied. The title "Wearing of the Green" first appeared on a political broadside of 1798, the year of the Rebellion, and a “Wearing of the Green” song was published in The Citizen in 1841. However, the most famous text of the song comes from a play called Arrah-na-Pogue, produced in Dublin in 1864 and New York in 1865. The stage version lyrics were rewritten by Dion Boucicault (1820-1890), “to an old melody,” at the suggestion of his mother. The tune itself is printed in Havety's One Hundred Irish Airs, 2nd series, (1859). The ‘wearing of the green’ refers to the outlawed green cockade worn by the Irish rebels, an adaptation of the French cockade and Tree of Liberty of the 1789 revolution. Redfern Mason wrote in his Song Lore of Ireland (1910):

***

There is, in true national poetry an accent of sincerity which goes straight

to the heart and cannot be imitated...nowhere does it ring with a more

pathetic thrill than in "Wearing of the Green". The writer was a lad when

he first heard it sung in Boucicault's Arrah na Pogue (1865)...Because it

was sung in Boucicault's drama, many people have imagined that the clever

playwright wrote it. But nobody can claim its authorship. It is an inspired

street ballad, born of the sorrow and bitterness of the people.

***

The great Irish tenor John McCormack recorded the Dion Boucicault version in 1912 for Victor Records. It was issued in the United States and England, and remained in the company’s catalog into the 1950's. In Scotland the melody is used for the song "Sae Will We Yet,” a convivial end-of-evening song. O'Neill (O’ Neill’s Irish Music), 1915/1987; No. 99, pg. 55. O'Neill (Music of Ireland: 1850 Melodies), 1903/1979; No. 467, pg. 81. Sweet (Fifer’s Delight), 1965/1981; pg. 15.

X:1

T:Wearing of the Green, The

M:C

L:1/8

R:Air

N:”Moderate”

S:O’Neill – Music of Ireland (1903), No. 467

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:G

G>A|BBB>A B<dd>B|BAA>G A2 Bd|ecg>f edB>G|AGG>G G2:|

||g>f|eedB ddGA|B{d}cB>A B2 g>f|eedB ddGB|AGFE D2 GA|

BBB>A B<dd>B|BAAG A2 Bd|ecg>f edB>G|AGG>G G2||

                       

WEARMOUTH LADS. Scottish, Jig. D Major. Standard tuning. AABB. Composed by Dunkeld, Scotland, fiddler Niel Gow (1727-1807) as “Colonel Robertson of Strewan’s Welcome Home.” There was a Wearmouth at the mouth of the RiverWear on the North Sea in northern England, which became the town of Sunderland. S. Johnson (The Kitchen Musician No. 6: Jigs), 1982 (revised 1989, 2001); pg. 5. Bash CD51, Chris Coe – “A Wiser Fool.”

X: 1

T:Wearmouth Lads

T:Col. Robertson of Strewan's Welcome Home

M:6/8

L:1/8

C:Niel Gow

S:aka Col Robertson of Strewan's Welcome Home

R:Jig

Z:C.G.P

K:D

D2dF2A|E2cC2E|D2dF2A|DFA gfe|D2dF2A|E2cC2E|agf gfe|dAFD2z:|

|:g|fdg faf|ece gfe|fdg fag|fda bag|fdg faf|ece gfe|agf gfe|dAFD2:|

                       

WEARMOUTH LASSES. AKA and see "Yarmouth Lasses." English, Country Dance Tune (6/8 time). England, Yorkshire. A Major. Standard tuning. AABB. The tune appears in several English musicians’ manuscript collections of the 19th century, including John Moore (Tyneside, 1841), Laurence Leadley (see below), the Browne family manuscripts (Troutbeck, Cumbria), and William Hall Lister (East Boldon, near Newcastle, mid-19th c.). Source for notated version: an MS collection by fiddler Laurence Leadley, 1827-1897 (Helperby, Yorkshire) [Merryweather & Seattle]. Callaghan (Hardcore English), 2007; pg.; 66. Merryweather & Seattle (The Fiddler of Helperby), 1994; No. 78, pg. 47 (appears as an untitled jig).

X:1

T:Wearmouth Lasses

M:6/8

L:1/8

K:G

d|gfg dBd|cAc B2G|DGB B2A|Ace e2d|gfg dBd|

cBc B2G|DGB B2d|dcA G2::DGB B2A|Ace e2d|

DGB B2A|Ace e2d|gfg dBd|cAc B2G|DGB B2d|dcA G2:|

 

WEARY AND WET. Irish, Air. Ireland, County Donegal. Source for notated version: William Allingham (Donegal) [Stanford/Petrie]. Stanford/Petrie (Complete Collection), 1905.

 

WEARY MAID, THE (An Cailin Tuirseac). AKA and see “Buain Na Rainich.” Irish, Air (4/4 time) or March. A Minor. Standard tuning. AABB. Martin Burns finds “The Weary Maid” in pipe repertoire, perhaps derived from a Gaelic air called “Tha mi sgith.” Indeed, the tune appears in Morison’s Highland Airs and Quicksteps, vol. 1, in the march section under the title “Tha mi sgith” (translated as “I am weary”). The tune also appears in bluegrass repertoire as “Misty Morn” and was adapted by the Iona Community as a hymn entitled “Dance and Sing.” Another song (performed as both a fast tune and a lullaby) which employs the melody is “Buain na Rainich” (Cutting/Reaping the Bracken), which tells the story of a fairy who fell in love with a human woman. The two met regularly in the forest while she was gathering bracken for the hearth. Hearing of the affair, her father and brothers disapproved and locked the woman up to prevent her trysting, but the fairy kept going to the wood, singing. See also Scots tunes with similarities: “Cutting Ferns” and “Drummond Castle.” “Buain na Rainich” can also be sung to “Ca' the Yowes to the Knowes.” Words to the tune go:

***

chorus:

Tha mi sgith, 's mi leam fhin

Buain na rainich, buain na rainich;

Tha mi sgith, 's mi leam fhin

Buain na rainich daonnan.

***

Cul an tomain, braigh an tomain,

Cul an tomain bhoidhich;

Cul an tomain, braigh an tomain,

H-uile latha 'm onar.

***

'S tric a bha mi fhin 's mo leannan

Anns a' ghleannan cheothar,

'G eisdeachd coisir bhinn an doire

Seinn 'sa choille dhomhail.

***

Anns an t-sithean, O gur sgith mi,

'S tric mo chridh' 'ga leonadh;

Nuair bhios cach a' seinn nan luinneag,

Cha dean mis' ach cronan.

***

Ciod am feum dhomh bhi ri tuireadh,

De ni tuireadh dhomhsa,

'S mi cho fada o gach duine

B'urrain tighinn g'am chomhnadh

***

O'Neill (Music of Ireland: 1850 Melodies), 1903/1979; No. 348, pg. 60.

X:1

T:Weary Maid, The

T:Tha Mi Sgith

M:C

L:1/8

R:Air

N:”Moderate”

S:O’Neill – Music of Ireland (1903), No. 348

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:A Minor

e|AA a2 g<e g2|e>dBA GABG|AA a2 ge g2|e>dBc A2A:|

|:B/d/|e>dBA GABG|BGBc d2 Bd|e>dBA GABd|g>edB A2A:|

                       


WEARY PUND O'TOW, THE. Scottish, Slow Air (3/4 time). B Flat Major (Gow): G Major (Howe). Standard tuning. AAB (Gow): ABA (Howe). The tune and song are printed in Johnson’s Scots Musical Museum (No. 350). The title has to do with the processing of flax, and tow is made up of the short fibers of flax. The process involves taking the retted stems of the plant and running them through hackles (akin to sharp tined combs). This splits the fibers of the stem of the flax plant and removes the short pieces from the long—it is these short bits that are the tow. References to human hair have derived from this process; tow-headed boys are boys with short blonde hair, while flaxen-haired girls are blondes with long hair (as in the long combed-out flax fibers).  Spinning a pound of tow would be a lot of work indeed. David Kilpatrick points out that the phrase ‘weary pund o’ tow’ has a double meaning: the literal sense of labor-intensive difficult work with flax plants in the process of making linnen, and the metaphorical sense of getting a very small quantity of reward from a large amount of effort.

***

Bruce Olson finds a related song, “Wary Bachelors” (from Jean Thomas’s Devil’s Ditties, 1931) relevant to an explanation of the Weary Pund title; it goes in part:

***

I bought my wife ten pound of flax

As good as ever growed

And out of that she hackled me

One single pound of tow.

***

Beware of a pound of tow

Before it is begun

I am afraid my wife will end her life

Before the tow is spun.

***

Carlin (The Gow Collection), 1986; No. 563. Gow (Complete Repository), Part 3, 1806; pg. 11. Howe (1000 Jigs and Reels), c. 1867; pg. 120.

X:1

T:Weary Pund O’ Tow, The

M:3/4

L:1/8

R:Slow Air

S:Gow – 3rd Repository  (1806)

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:B_

F|B>B B2B|(3Bcd c3B|A>B e3d|(dc) c3f|B>B B3B|(3Bcd {d}c3B|A>B c2d2|B4 z:|

e|d>e f2 z z/B/|e>f g2 z z/B|A>B e3d|(dc) c3 (3f/g/a/|b>b {b}a3g|ff b3 B| A>B c2d2|

B4 ze|~d>e f2 c3 B/|~e>f g2 z z/B/|A>B e3d|dc c3 (3f/g/a/|b>b {b}a3g|f{gffe}f b3B|

F>B d2 c>B|B4 z||

                          

WEARY WE HAVE BEEN. See “Bi Falbh Anns a Mhionaid.”

                          

WEARYING ON THE GILL STOUP. See note for “The Drummer.”

                          

WEASEL [1], THE. Canadian, Reel. Canada, Cape Breton. Composed by John Morris Rankin (Cape Breton, N.S.). Celestial Entertainment CECS001, Brenda Stubbert (Cape Breton) - “In Jig Time!” (1995).

 

WEAZLE [2], THE. AKA and see “Howlet and the Weazle.” Scottish (?), Jig. G Major. Standard tuning. AABB. One meaning of ‘weasel’ was an implement used in the making of shoes (as in “Pop Goes the Weazle”), however, in the alternate title a ‘howlet’ is a young owl, so perhaps ‘weazle’ refers to the animal. Aird (Selection), vol. II, 1782; No. 46, pg. 17.

X:1

T:Weazle, The [2]

M:6/8

L:1/8

S:Aird, vol. II (1782)

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:G

GAG B2c | ded d2g | f2a A2c | BAB G3 | GAG B2c | ded d2g | f2a A2^c | d3 d3 :|

|: ded d2b | cdc c2a | BAG dcB | ADD D3 | GAG B2c | ded d2g | dBG cAF | G3 G3 :|

                       

WEASIL IN THE DYKE. Scottish. Composed by J. MacKay. Green Linnet SIF‑1094, Capercaillie ‑ "Sidewaulk" (1989).

                       

WEAVER, THE. Scottish, Jig. A Mixolydian. Standard tuning. AABB. Kerr (Merry Melodies), vol. 4; No. 262, pg. 28.

X:1

T:Weaver, The

M:6/8

L:1/8

R:Jig

S:Kerr – Merry Melodies, vol. 4, No. 262 (c. 1880’s)

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion
K:A

a|AAA cBA|cde =g3|=GGG B2G|d2=G BAG|AAA cBA|cde =g2a|

ede =gdB|AAA A2 :: e|c2e ece|AA=g f3|c2e ecA|B2c dB=G|

c2e ece|AA=g f^ga|ece dB=G|AAA A2:|

                       

WEAVER AND HIS WIFE, THE. Scottish, Jig. A Major. Standard tuning. AABB (Martin): AA’BB (Cranford). A 20th century composition by Scottish fiddler and composer Andrew Rankine. Source for notated version: Winston Fitzgerald (1914-1987, Cape Breton) [Cranford]. Cranford (Winston Fitzgerald), 1997; No. 171, pg. 68. Martin (Ceol na Fidhle), vol. 4, 1991; pg. 45.

X:1
T:The Weaver and His Wife
C:Andrew Rankine
S:Jim Paterson
Z:Jack Campin <http://www.purr.demon.co.uk/jack/> 2004
M:6/8
L:1/8
Q:3/8=120
K:A
c | E2E EAB|c3  A3|c3  A2c|edc B3 | E2E EBc | d3  B3 | E2e dcB | A3  A2 :|
c | EAc e3 | EAe c3 | EAc edc | d3  B2c | ded BdB | G3  F3 | E2e dcB | A3  A2 :|

 

WEAVER FLYNN REEL. Irish, Reel. D Major. Standard tuning. AABB. Composed by Eamonn Flynn, originally from County Limerick and now resident of Vermont state. Black (Music’s the Very Best Thing), 1996; No. 96, pg. 49.

X:1

T: Weaver Flynn Reel

C: Eamon Flynn

Z: transcribed by B.Black

Q: 350

R: reel

M: 4/4

L: 1/8

K: D

A, | FD (3FEF ADFA | fedf efdB | ADFA dAFD | EA,CE GECE |

FD (3FEF ADFA | fedf efdB | ADFA dAFD | EA,CE D3 :|

B, | (3A,G,A, EA, EFGE | FD D2 FGAB | dA A2 dfab | afdf g2 fe |

dfed BAdB | AdFA EFDF | dFAd FAdF | EA,CE D3 :|

 

WEAVER HAS A DOCHTER/DAUGHTER, THE (Tha Nighean aig a'bhreabadair). AKA and see “The Weaver’s Daughter” [1]. Scottish, Slow Strathspey. G Minor. Standard tuning. AABB. "The words sung to this melody express surprise at the success of the weaver's daughter in finding a husband, and, for the comfort of her new yoke‑fellow, give a ludicrous detail of her former intimacy with many well‑known characters around Lochness" (Fraser). Fraser (The Airs and Melodies Peculi