Chord Req: The Creggan White Hare

Subject: Chord Req: The Creggan White Hare
From: Coinneach1916
Date: 16 Aug 08 - 10:50 AM

Hi kids! New here. Anyone know the chords to this old song?
Go raibh maith agat!
(Thanks!)

Subject: RE: Chord Req: The Creggan White Hare
From: Gulliver
Date: 16 Aug 08 - 09:34 PM

I've heard several different versions (melodies) of this. Dunno which one you mean.

Subject: RE: Chord Req: The Creggan White Hare
From: Coinneach1916
Date: 17 Aug 08 - 01:40 PM

As recorded by Karan Casey on the Songlines CD.
In the Lowlands of Creggan, there lives a white hare.....

Subject: RE: Chord Req: The Creggan White Hare
From: Coinneach1916
Date: 18 Aug 08 - 01:38 PM

Any help??

Subject: RE: Chord Req: The Creggan White Hare
From: GUEST,Gulliver
Date: 18 Aug 08 - 06:13 PM

The version I sing, which I do acapella, I learned years ago from Jem Kelly, and is a variant of the Cod liver Oil melody. Simple chords would be, for each line, in E minor:

Em      D    Em
D
Em      G    D
Em      D    Em

Don

Subject: RE: Chord Req: The Creggan White Hare
From: van lingle
Date: 18 Aug 08 - 09:39 PM

In Drop- D (DADGBE):

D                               G
In the lowlands of Creggan there lives a white hare,
D                            A
As swift as the swallow that flies through the air.
G                               D          A
You may tramp the world over but none to compare,
G                               Bm    A    Bm
To the pride of old Creggan that bonnie white hare.

etc. with variations

Subject: RE: Chord Req: The Creggan White Hare
From: van lingle
Date: 18 Aug 08 - 10:27 PM

That didn't work out quite right, so:

/D/In the lowlands of Creggan there /G/lives a white hare,

/D/As swift as the swallow that /A/flies through the air.

You may /G/tramp the world over but /D/none to com- /A/pare,

To the /G/pride of old Creggan that /Bm/bonnie /A/white /Bm/hare.

Subject: RE: Chord Req: The Creggan White Hare
From: Gulliver
Date: 19 Aug 08 - 08:18 PM

I listened briefly to the Karan Casey version and to my ears it sounds minor, something:

Bm             D            A

A             G         A

Bm         D          A

Bm         F#m       Bm F#m   Bm

But you can use any chords you like!

Don

Subject: RE: Chord Req: The Creggan White Hare
From: van lingle
Date: 19 Aug 08 - 08:23 PM

I took mine from the Andy Irvine and Dick Gaughan version which is fairly similar to Casey's.

Subject: RE: Chord Req: The Creggan White Hare
From: GUEST,David Ingerson
Date: 19 Aug 08 - 09:59 PM

I'd recommend singing it unaccompanied with no harmonic support at all. That was the way it was originally sung, of course, and many traditional singers still sing it that way. The story, the melody, even the imagery are powerful enough to carry the song (and an audience) without any guitars or whatevers. In fact, often when I hear a song like this sung with accompaniment, the instruments frequently obscure the words, ruining the whole point of the song.

Just my two cents.

It is a great song, fun to sing and can definitely hold an audience.

Cheers,

David

Subject: RE: Chord Req: The Creggan White Hare
From: Gulliver
Date: 19 Aug 08 - 11:31 PM

Yes, I agree-that's the way I do it myself. Though after hearing it, I like Karan Casey's version too.

Subject: RE: Chord Req: The Creggan White Hare
From: ard mhacha
Date: 20 Aug 08 - 04:35 AM

The first person I heard singing this song was the late Sean Dynes from Coalisland County Tyrone, the song is from that County, placenames in the song are all from Tyrone. Some jolly sportsmen came down from Pomeroy Dungannon and Cookstown and likewise the Moy, with their pedigree hounds which they brought from afar, and they landed in Creggan in their fine motor-cars.
Sean also recorded this song on an LP around the mid 1960s, his singing of this song, is the best version I have heard.

Subject: RE: Chord Req: The Creggan White Hare
From: Gulliver
Date: 21 Aug 08 - 11:33 AM

Thanks for that info, ard, I must try to get some recordings (next time I'm in the Trad Archive). As I mentioned I learned it from Jem ("Bones") Kelly in Toner's back in the 70's, but I've never heard it anywhere else as far as I can recall. Jem sang Dominic Behan songs (among others), so I was wondering whether he might have had it from him. Don

Subject: RE: Chord Req: The Creggan White Hare
From: GUEST,Kavik
Date: 05 Aug 14 - 12:15 PM

Would anyone happen to have a better idea of the chords used for this tune. The ones above don't seem to be quite right (?). Seems like there should be more of a minor sound to it.

D G A Bm as given above in the second post by "van lingle" seem to almost work, but not quite.

Looking to play this on both octave mandolin (GDAD tuning) and guitar (standard and DADGAD tunings).

Thanks!!

Subject: RE: Chord Req: The Creggan White Hare
From: michaelr
Date: 05 Aug 14 - 06:49 PM

Try this:

D Dmaj7 B7 G
A A Bm A
Em Em G A
Em F#m G G

Subject: RE: Chord Req: The Creggan White Hare
From: michaelr
Date: 05 Aug 14 - 06:50 PM

Crap! Sorry, that should read:

D Dmaj7 Bm G
A A Bm A
Em Em G A
Em F#m G G

Subject: RE: Chord Req: The Creggan White Hare
From: GUEST
Date: 05 Aug 14 - 08:11 PM

I do it close to the way Van Lingle posted it:

D                  BM             G
In the lowlands of Creggan there lives a white hare,
D                A          G                A
As swift as the swallow that flies through the air.
G                               BM          A
You may tramp the world over but none to compare,
       G                        Bm      A    Bm
To the pride of old Creggan that bonnie white hare.

Subject: RE: Chord Req: The Creggan White Hare
From: GUEST
Date: 06 Aug 14 - 08:45 PM

Thanks! I'll give it a try!