Daily Archives: May 5, 2014
When Sick is it Tea You Want? (D)
The title of this jig, “When Sick is it Tea You Want?,” is rhetorical question.  It is meant to elicit a negative response. What, then, does one want when sick if not tea? This tune is in Francis O’Neill and James O’Neill, Music of Ireland (1903) – which is commonly called “O’Neill’s 1850” because it has […]
Merry Blacksmith (D)
The reel “Merry Blacksmith” is a lively, popular tune in both the Irish tradition and in American old-time. Â Though once known as “The Peeler’s Jacket,” it is not any more — unless one calls it “Peeler’s Jacket #1” and one is a supreme fan of the Fiddler’s Companion, which I am. Â The tune is often […]
Monaghan Twig (Amix)
The name of the reel “Monaghan Twig” probably refers to a switch or something similar, and as the name “O’Manacháin” means “descendants of monks” it might be a euphemism that downplays the severity of corporal punishment.  It could also be a meiosis, and reference a Monaghan shillelagh. As for the tune, there are many versions of “Monaghan Twig,” […]
Chase Me Charlie (Amix)
This slide, “Chase Me Charlie,” is in O’Neill’s Music of Ireland (1903),[1]  but first appeared in print in 1816 as a fiddle tune in Jack Kopstein’s World Book Of Military Music and Musicians under the title “Cock of the North.” Surprisingly, this tune has coarser connotations than the one above, as this title comes from a lewd […]
Behind the Haystack (D)
The tune we call “Behind the Haystack” is no so-called by everyone.  Seamus Ennis, who has an album entitled The Pure Drop (1974), calls this tune “Munster Buttermilk,” and it has been recorded under both names fairly often since then, but there are some very different tunes called “Munster Buttermilk” as well, about six of […]
Jerry’s Beaver Hat (G)
The jig “Jerry’s Beaver Hat,” also known as “The Returned Yank,” is a very popular session tune in some areas. The title “Jerry’s Beaver Hat” is a reference to a time when beaver hats were much more popular than beavers. It was not a good time for beavers then. According to Andrew Kitchener’s Beavers (2002), […]
The Kesh Jig (G)
“The Kesh Jig” is on the Bothy Band album called The Bothy Band (1975), and thereafter became a popular session tune. Often just referred to as “The Kesh,” it’s not as popular as it once was, in the 1980s for example, mostly because it is considered by some to have been over-played. It probably wouldn’t […]
Harvest Home (D)
The hornpipe “Harvest Home” is also called “The Cork Hornpipe” by people from cork, and called “Baile an FhĂłmhair” by people who prefer its Irish name.  The tune was known in the States in the 1840s. It’s probably more fun to play than to listen to. It requires some work to make the melody flow smoothly […]
The Old Favorite (G)
This popular jig is from co. Clare.  Sometimes called “The Clare” or “The Club CĂ©ili Jig” and played as a slide, “The Old Favorite” is sometimes referred to as a “jiggy slide” since it can go either way. Usually played in G, it can also be played in Gaeol for a very different feel. As for its […]