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The Jig Of The Dead jig

Also known as John Kimmel’s, Turas An Bhodhránaí.

There are 5 recordings of this tune.

The Jig Of The Dead has been added to 8 tune sets.

The Jig Of The Dead has been added to 93 tunebooks.

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Three settings

1
X: 1
T: The Jig Of The Dead
R: jig
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
K: Emin
|:D|EGE GEG|BAB e2f|gfe dcB|ABG FED|
~E3 ~G3|~B3 e2f|gfe dcB|AGF E2:|
f|~g3 GBd|edB ABd|gfe dcB|ABG FED|
~g3 GBd|edB Aaf|gfe dcB|AGF E2f|
~g3 GBd|edB ABd|gfe dcB|ABG FED|
~E3 ~G3|~B3 e2f|gfe dcB|AGF E2||
2
X: 2
T: The Jig Of The Dead
R: jig
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
K: Emin
EGE GEG|BGB e2a|gfe dcB|ABG FED|
EBE ~G3|BGB e2a|gfe dcB|AGF E2D|
EBE ~G3|BGB e2e/f/|gfe dcB|AdA FED|
EBE ~G3|BGB e2a|gfe dcB|AGF E2D|
~g3 GBe|dBG G2a|gfe dcB|ABG FED|
g~G4 {f}e|dBG G2a|gfe dcB|AGF efd|
g~G4 {f}e|dBG G3|gfe dcB|AdA FED|
EBE ~G3|BGB e2f|gfe dcB|AGF E2||
3
X: 3
T: The Jig Of The Dead
R: jig
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
K: Emin
|:D|"Em"EGE GEG|BAB e2f|"Bm"gfe dcB|ABG FED|
"Em"~E3 ~G3|~B3 e2f|"D"gfe dcB|AGF "Em"E2:|
f|"G"~g3 GBd|edB ABd|"Bm"gfe dcB|ABG FED|
"Em"~g3 GBd|edB Aaf|"D"gfe dcB|AGF"Em" E2f|
"G"~g3 GBd|edB ABd|"Bm"gfe dcB|ABG FED|
"Em"~E3 ~G3|~B3 e2f|"D"gfe dcB|AGF "Em"E2||

Thirteen comments

The Jig of the Dead

Learned from Harry Bradley’s flute playing. He writes: ‘our friend Seamus Tansey informs us that the second jig was employed for an unusual funeral rite performed in the countryside around his native Gurteen. According to Seamus, during the waking of the deceased, it was customary for a couple of hardy dancers to lift the body and dance it around the room one last time before it was removed to its final resting place. This is the piece of music that was habitually performed as a theme tune to that end. Oddly enough it is also played as a march in the Antrim fife and drum tradition. Its title in that tradition, as if to emphasise a contrast, is "Young Men in Their Bloom".’

Anyway, this jig goes nicely together with "Scotsman Over the Border," and not to mention "I Buried My Wife and Danced on Top of Her."

Young Men in Their Bloom

https://thesession.org/tunes/3549

The two tunes share basically the same first part, but they are different enough to be posted as different tunes with different second parts.

And yes, they are from different traditions.

hi slainte! thanks for transcription.i found this jig more or less same as jig recorded on skylark ‘skylark’ album, they called him sean maguire’s jig.some of title for this jig is also john kimell’s jig.you could check in database for other transcriotion, where is only second part slighty different than jig of the dead jig.
marin

Thanks!

Thanks so much slainte. I meant to learn this one but never got around to it and forgot about it until I saw you transcribed it. Awesome!

Thanks Marin. Yes, this is just a version of the tune already posted as Haley’s: https://thesession.org/tunes/925 Associated with Sean Maguire and John J. Kimmell, this tune must be an old tune. If Jeremy decides to delete this transcription as a duplicated post, I’ll post it in the comments of "Haley’s".

celtic marine, this is more or less my interpretation of the tune, so I hope you won’t stick to it!

Recorded also by Seamus Tansey

A nice version played on two keys of the Jig of Dead played by Seamus Tansey on the Album "To Hell With The Begrudgers"

Recorded also by Seamus Tansey

A nice version played on two keys of the Jig of Dead played by Seamus Tansey on the Album "To Hell With The Begrudgers"

recorded by DeDannan on Ballroom Album

JIg recorded as Jimmy Kimmels jigs on the Ballroom album

The Jig Of The Dead, X:3

Tried my hand at some chords.