Saddle the Pony (G)

This jig, Cuir Diallaid Air An Clibin in Irish, will be played in Amix as well as G, and is a member of the family of tunes which includes “Buttermilk Mary” (G). A cousin of this tune, the Donegal jig “The Pet in the Kitchen,” has a very similar B part, at least in some versions (Caoimhin Mac Aoidh).  In O’Neil’s 1850 (1903) it’s #718 and in O’Neil’s 1001 (1907) it’s #18, and in both it’s titled “The Priest’s Leap” — in Walsh’s collection (1994) it has both names — while in the Joyce collection (1873) it’s entitled both “Down with the Tithes” and “The Widow Well-Married.”  In the States the version is derived from playing partners Sergeant James Early (pipes) and John McFadden (fiddle), both from Connacht province and both on the Chicago police force around the turn of the last century. Kevin Burke (b. 1950) teaches this tune on his Homespun Videos DVD “Learn to Play Irish Fiddle: Polkas, Jigs & Slides” (Homespun Videos, 2005), where he teaches it with “Connaughtman’s Rambles.”  The tune has not been often recorded, but does appear as the first track of Patrick Street’s album Street Life (Green Linnet, 2003).  The composer/collector Martin Mulvihill (1919-1987) put together annotated tunes calling it First Collection of Traditional Irish Music (1986), the tune is there reported as an accompaniment for the dance called “The Haymakers’ Jig.”

For the ABC click Saddle the Pony

Saddle The Pony, med-fast tempo (Glen Pekin, fiddle)

Saddle the Pony