The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #108475   Message #2259377
Posted By: Jack Campin
11-Feb-08 - 09:30 AM
Thread Name: Folk clubs - what is being sung
Subject: RE: Folk clubs - what is being sung
Something I wrote to a visitor to Sandy Bell's, Edinburgh in 2006. This is a mainly-instrumental session, not a folk club.

: I would be very happy if you could send me a list of some of
: the names that was played at sandy bells

Okay, I took in a notebook, put my ethnomusicologist's hat on and wrote
down everything we played this afternoon. Most led off by George, none
by me this time; I'll be starting more next week when George isn't there,
so I'll do another list then. Definite shortage of songs this time.

Four probably-Irish jigs we didn't know the names of (Anette knows the
third one, I'll try to ABC it)

2/4 marches
   Jean Mauchline (Bm)
   Ben Gullion (Am)

Strathspey versions of:
   The Road to the Isles (A)
   The Lea Rig (A)

Jigs
   Father O'Flynn (A)
   Rakes of Kildare (A dorian)
   Saddle the Pony (A)
   The Irish Washerwoman (G)

2/4 marches
   Mrs McDonald of Dunacht (D)
   Jim Christie of Wick (Bm)

Jigs
   The Ferry
   Three we didn't know the names of

2/4 marches
   McKenzie Highlanders
   The Poor Old Woman (or Glengarry's Farewell)
   72nd's Farewell to Aberdeen (or The Boy's Lament for his Dragon)
   The Hills of Perth (A mixolydian)

Jigs
   The Earl of Errol (C)
   McAlister's Jig (G)
   Boys of North Connel (D)
   Anderson's Delight (A)

Schottisches
   The Keel Row (A) - nb when I start this I do it in D
   Glasgow Highlanders
   Katie Bairdie (D) (or Kafoozalum - remember I've got the words
                                     if you're *really* curious)
   Orange and Blue (D) (or Brochan Lom)

2 strathspeys and 2 reels
   Banks of Spey (A dorian)
   Source of Spey
   Johnnie Lad (Em) (dance version of the song Johnnie Sangster)
   Inver Lasses

(interlude at this point for an extended discussion on attitudes
to vegetarianism around the EU)

Reels
   The Merry Blacksmith
   The Barrowburn Reel (D)
   Little Donald in the Pigpen (same as Little Donald's Wife? not sure)
   Lexie McAskill (A dorian)
   The Ale is Dear (Bm)

Waltzes
   Farquhar and Hetty's Waltz (D)
   Midnight on the Water (D)
(others of the same type sometimes put together: Margaret's Waltz,
The Stronsay Waltz, The Tennessee Waltz - if you get one you will
get one or two of the others but there's no telling which, and
Margaret's Waltz might be in A, D or G)

Reels
   The Burning of the Piper's Hut (Bm)
   a Tom Anderson tune we don't know the name of
   Far from Home (G)
   The New-Rigged Ship (A mixolydian/A dorian)

The Shetland Two-Step (G/C/D, I think)

Hakki's Polka

Duke of Perth reel set
   The Duke of Perth
   ?
   The Kettledrum
   J.B. Milne

Louis's Waltz (D)

4/4 marches
   Stella's Trip to Kamloops (A)
   The Braes of Dunvegan
   Memories of Father Angus McDonell (G)

Jigs
   I Am a Young Man that Lived with My Mother
   Kenmure's On and Awa
   Hot Punch
   The Rock and a Wee Pickle Tow

Jigs
   The Leg of a Duck (this has more names than any other tune I know)
   Scarce of Tatties
   The Banks of the Allan

Reels
   ? something about Prince Charlie (but *not* "Prince Charlie" itself)
   ?
   Staten Island
   The Breakdown (George only does the first 2 parts, there are three)

Polkas
   Egan's Polka
   Dennis Murphy's Polka
   Ger the Rigger

Retreat marches
   Pipe Major J.K. Cairns (hard to find so I've attached it)
   Torosay Castle
   Kirk Hill (or Kirk Brae? - I might have a copy of this somewhere)

Odessa Bulgar (Gm, there are several tunes of this name on the web)

2/4 marches
   Blackberry Bush
   The Brolam (A)
   Donald MacLeod's Reel (Am) (The Traditional Reel, The Nameless Reel)

Jigs
   Anne Fraser Mackenzie
   Charlie Hunter
   The Drunken Parson
   Biddy from Sligo

Jigs
   Rory MacLeod (A)
   Jig Runrig (G)
   Lark in the Morning (D)

Memories of Willie Snaith (G/C, not the keys it was written in)

Reels
   Jimmy Allan (G) (or The Reel of Tullochgorum, which has nothing to do with
                   the song/strathspey Tullochgorum, which we don't play much)
   Davy Davy Knick Knack (G)
   The Lass of Gowrie
   Aiken Drum (G)

Jigs
   The Lowland Lads Think They Are Fine
   Colonel Quigley

Marches and a reel
   The Battle of Waterloo (Am) (My Braw Highland Laddie, Mor Nighean a
                               Ghiberlain, Marion the Beggarman's Daughter)
   Flett from Flotta
   The Howl

Reels
   The High Road to Linton (A mixolydian/A major)
   The Fairy Dance (D)
   Loch Leven Castle (Am)
   ? (A)

Song: The Rocks of Merasheen (Em) (a Canadian woman called Susie sang this -
                                  she might still be around when you're here)

Two-step (6/8 march tunes)
   The 6:20 Two-step
   The Dancing Dustman

at which point the night session arrived, and two fiddlers (Jamie
and Kirsty) who hadn't played in the afternoon session before did
a linking set of very recent and rather obscure reels mostly by
Claire Mann that they mostly couldn't put names to.