The Boys Of Ballisodare slip jig

This is a widely played slip jig, but I really like this setting, lifted from Martin Mullvihill (fiddle), Bill McComiskey (box), and Zan McLeod (guitar) on their cd One More Time, which Zina says was put out by the Culkin School of Traditional Dance in Washington DC. It’s just a few notes different from my old version, but to my ear those notes make a big difference.

This tune works great on fiddle, whistle, and flute, at slow tempos or bumped up a few notches on the metronome. I tend to keep it slow, and essentially unornamented. The important thing is to treat the last eighth note in each bar as a pick-up note to the following down beat, rather than the final note of that bar. That’ll give you the right amount of lift, and the dancers will appreciate you for that. As danceable as this slip jig is, I really enjoy its lyrical quality–leaves me in the mood for a picnic or a walk in the hills.

Ballisodare is just south of the town of Sligo, near the mouth of the Moy. There’s also a hornpipe by the same name. And I’ve seen Ballisodare spelled many different ways, including Ballysodare, Ballisadare, and Ballysidare. I’m sticking with what’s on my map of Ireland from Bord Failte, the Irish Tourist Board.

Don’t know about a hornpipe, Will, but there’s certainly a very well-known 3-part reel with the same name. John Carty has this tune on his “Yeah, That’s All There Is” CD, where he plays your slip-jig, followed by a reel version of the same slip-jig. Works very well ,too. I have a photo of myself and Sean White , a flute player from Limerick leaning over of the road sign as you enter Ballisodare. (spelt as such). We took it after the 1978 Ballisodare Folk Festival, and had decided that we were “The Boys Of Ballisodare”. Those were the days!

in portland, we often follow ‘boys of ballysodare’ with ‘the butterfly.’

sarah

This is one of those slip jigs that wants to be played fairly fast (I don’t do b.p.m.). I often find it difficult playing cetain slip jig together as some seem to me to demand a faster tempo than others. When going from a slip jig (such as this one) which is dominated by crotchet-quaver groupings, into a slip jig that is dominated by 3-quaver groupings, the impulse is always to slow down (rather like playing a single jig and a double jig together). As Sarah (eleyne) says above, The Butterfly is a good pairing for this tune. The Rocky Road to Dublin, The Dusty Miller and The Snowy Path are a few that might work.

Maybe there’s a case for calling them “slip slides”!….

David, on One More Time, the lads play it very slowly, and it’s really gorgeous. Try it, you’ll like it. 🙂

I’ve heard Kevin Burke play a nice slow/medium version of this somewhere many years back - I think with the Butterfly after. It’s got potential to be really dreamy and lyrical. That’s the version I always have in mind when I play it. Can anybody remember if he recorded it?

This is a hop jig.

Have you been eating locusts? (grasshoppers)

It wasn’t he, but his son Brendan.

My internet searches for the chords to accompany this tune have been unsuccessful. Can anyone recommend a site?

My internet searches have failed to turn up chords for accompaniment for this tune. Can anyone recommend a site?

Used in the soundtrack for the movie “High Spirits”.

Does anyone know what lies behind the name of the slip-jig Boys Of Ballisodare? Who were/are they and why do they have a jig named in their honour?

Thanks,
Charlie

It has and can be played without the repeats… For this transcription that would be simply AB…

This is the tune from Lunasa’s cd: “Lunasa”. It is the only one missing and is noted as “Gan Ainm” on it. But this is the missing tune from that album page. I would change it, but I don’t know how to.

What is the name of this tune if you play it as a reel/fling, in minor?

This may be a bit late, but these are the chords we use - beautiful tune, played fast or slow!
W

X: 1
T: Boys Of Ballisodare, The
M: 9/8
L: 1/8
R: slip jig
Z: TS
K: Gmaj
“G” D2 G G2 A B2 d | “C” ege d2 e g3 | “G” D2 G G2 B d2 B | “Am”AGA B2 G “D”E2 G |
“G” D2 G G2 A B2 d | “C” ege d2 e “D”g2 a | “Em”b2 a g2 e d2 B | “Am”AGA B2 G E2 G :||
“C” B2 d d2 B d2 B | “D” dBd e2 f “G”g3 | “C” B2 d d2 B d2 B | “Am”AGA B2 G E2 G |
“Am”B2 d d2 B d2 B | “Bm”dBd e2 f g2 a | “C” b2 a g2 e d2 B | “D” AGA B2 G E2 G :||

It’s never too late Wayne.
This is pretty much how it goes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pT55pgDd-bk

play video

Germoe’s setting is note for note exactly the same as X:1 posted 11 years ago.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjQ4AoTcIfs

play video

Piping jig.

The well-known reel referenced above is in thesession at this link: https://thesession.org/tunes/535

this hop jig (?) was the one I think the Rolling Stones played with the Chieftains on the Rocky Road to Dublin, and which Kieth Richards riffs electic guitar on

I second drdow’s hop jig diagnosis.