Sleepy Maggie

reel

Key signature: Bminor

Submitted on June 19th 2002 by no longer exists.

This tune has been added to 140 tunebooks.

Also known as Sleeepy Maggie, Small Coals An' Little Money, Small Coals And Little Money, Small Coals And Ready Money, To The Quick.

Recordings of a tune by this name:

A' Sireadh Spòrs by Dr. Angus MacDonald
Across The Borders by Battlefield Band
Against The Storm by John And Phil Cunningham
An Clàr Geal - The White Album by Alasdair White
An Clár Geal by Alasdair White
Cape Breton Fiddle Music Not Calm by Howie MacDonald And Ashley MacIsaac
Cascade by Capercaillie
Classic Cuts by Winston 'Scotty' Fitzgerald
Crashing Through The Trees by Warblefly
Dancing Fingers by Jennifer And Hazel Wrigley
English Fiddle Tunes by Pete Cooper
Full Circle by Bill Lamey
Golden, Golden by Silly Wizard
Hi (TM) How Are You Today? by Ashley MacIsaac
In Jig Time! by Brenda Stubbert
Irish Cream by Irish Cream
Master Cape Breton Fiddler by Jerry Holland
Passing Time by Mary And Jim Coogan
Return To Kintail by Alasdair Fraser With Tony McManus
Roaming by Jeremy Kittel
Roughshod by Horseplay
Smiddyburn by Dave Swarbrick
Stepping On The Bridge by Hamish Moore
The Robin by Kirkmount
The West Of Ireland by Boys Of The Lough
Threads by Battlefield Band
Tickled Pink by Savourna Stevenson
Toss The Feathers by Ted Furey And Brendan Byrne
Traditional Music From Cape Breton by Various Artists

Details ABC Sheetmusic Comments

There are a couple tunes on this site with the name Sleepy Maggie. They are NOT the tune "Sleepy Maggie," They are the tune "Drowsy Maggie" -- which is played after Sleepy Maggie, because Drowsy Maggie is "Sleepy Maggie When She Wakes." After all, isn't that what Drowsy Maggie is? Now all we need is a "Completely Woken Up Maggie" but that isn't a very catchy title....

# Posted on June 19th 2002 by no longer exists

Scottish

I believe this is a Scottish tune which is the basis for that famous reel Jenny's Chickens

# Posted on June 19th 2002 by donnchad

Completely Woken Up Maggie

Okay, you have presented the challenge, and I'll take it. I'll get working on it right away.

# Posted on June 20th 2002 by Josh Kane

Josh: You do realize that "Completely Woken Up Maggie" must be a very slow air, seeing as Sleepy Maggie and Drowsy Maggie are both very very fast. Make sense? :-)

# Posted on June 20th 2002 by no longer exists

Maybe Maggie was Drowsey & Sleepy from being played too damn much. Howsabout "Leave Maggie Alone"

# Posted on June 20th 2002 by Mad Baloney

Scottish

I believe it's related to the same reel as well....just a little updated, that's all.

# Posted on December 6th 2002 by BluFiddle

Here is a link to an easy Irish version: http://thesession.org/tunes/display.php/78

# Posted on October 24th 2004 by slainte

Sleepy Maggie

There are lots of different settings of this with 2, 3 or 4 parts. I've collected some of the important ones together for the benefit of anyone else confused by all of these versions:

The posted version is a basic 2-part setting. Another common one is the early 20th century O'Neill's version which has 3 parts. The B-part has a run which I suspect was a late addition to substitute for a missing part:

X: 1
T: Sleepy Maggie
R: reel
Z: O'Neill's (1903)
M: C|
K: Bdor
f2de fBde|f2df eAce|f2de fBde|fgaf eAce:|
|:fBdB fBde|fBdB eAce|1 fBdB fBde|fgaf eAce:|2 dcBc defg|abaf eAce||
|:fBbB fBde|fBbB aAce|fBbB aBgB|fBgB aAce:|

The 4-part Bdor setting appears in a few sources including Ryan's Mammoth Collection from the late 19th century (I've simplified the abc a bit):

This same setting appears in the much older Lionel Winship manuscript (dated 1833), albeit under the title "Sleepy Meggy" and in the mode of Ador, having been arranged for the Northumbrian pipes, which uses the scale of Gmaj for transcription purposes. I think it sounds nicer in this key - less shrill and a little more mellow:

# Posted on April 28th 2005 by Dow

Cape Breton version

I took the liberty of transcribing a Cape Breton setting of this tune from Rodney MacDonald's tape entitled Dancer's Delight (not on this site, but then it's not especially Irish.)

Crucially, it has an alternate B-part which seems to be played every other time instead of the B-part above:

# Posted on January 3rd 2006 by Loftus Loveness

Sleepy Maggie: piping version in Ador

Pipers and fluters don't have to struggle with Bm fiddle versions. Here's a much simpler yet effective one from Scots piper Hamish Moore.

I suspect very similar versions are still being played by Cape Breton pipers.

# Posted on June 25th 2006 by slainte

Yeah, that reminds me of Mick Hoy's Jig Away the Donkey: http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/1231; and The Flowers of Redhill: http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display.php/442

# Posted on June 25th 2006 by slainte

I found that a 2-part version of this reel often appears in Northumbrian collections as Small Coals an' Little Money.

# Posted on January 8th 2007 by Dow

Working on our holidays eh? You just can't keep away... ;-)

# Posted on January 8th 2007 by ceolachan