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The Blackberry Blossom reel

Also known as Bargy, The Black Berry Blossom, Blackberry Blossoms, The Blackberry Blossoms, Blackbury Blossom, Strawberry Beds.

There are 69 recordings of this tune.

This tune has been recorded together with

The Blackberry Blossom appears in 7 other tune collections.

The Blackberry Blossom has been added to 15 tune sets.

The Blackberry Blossom has been added to 468 tunebooks.

Download ABC

Three settings

1
X: 1
T: The Blackberry Blossom
R: reel
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
K: Gmaj
ge|dBAc BGGA|B2BA (3Bcd ge|dBAc BG~G2|eaag ageg|
dBAc BG~G2|DBBA B2ge|dBAc BG~G2|eaag agef||
g2gf gaba|~g3b agef|g2gd gbag|eaag agef|
~g3f gaba|gfgb ~a2ga|(3bag af gfed|eaag a2||
2
X: 2
T: The Blackberry Blossom
R: reel
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
K: Gmaj
ge|"G"dBAc BGGA|.B2 .BA B2 ge|dBAc BA.A.G|"Am"eaag a2 ge|
"G"dBAc BGGA|B2 BA (3B^cd ge|dBAc BGGG|"Am"eaaa a>zef||
"G"~g2 gf gaba|"C"~g3 b "D7"agef|"G"~g2 gf gabg|"Am"eaaa agef|
"G"~g2 gf gaba|"C"~g3 b "D7"a2 ga|"G"bgaf "D7"gfed|"Am"eaag a2 ||
3
X: 3
T: The Blackberry Blossom
R: reel
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
K: Gmaj
ge|"G"dBAc BGGA|ABBA B2 ge|dBAc BGBd|"Am"ea ~a2 "D7" a2 ge|
"G"dBAc BGGA|B2 ~B2 B2 ge|dBAc BGBd|"Am"eaag "D7" a2 ge||
"Em"~g2 gf gbaf |gfga beef| gfga bagf |"Am"ea ~a2 a2 ef|
"Em"~g2 gf gbaf |gfga beeg| bgaf gfed |"Am"eaag a2 ||

Thirteen comments

I’m posting this in an attempt to get it out of my head where it’s been playing incessantly the last couple of days.

I first heard this reel while in Corofin on my honeymoon. We had met up with Siucra while there and they came to stay with us for a few days. I had bought a 100 Best Session Tunes (Walton’s) tunebook from Custy’s, and Shannon Heaton was going through them for me to check out the settings to see if they were any good (they were). She had been wanting to learn this one, and so she asked me to play it for her so she could learn it. I was floored; it was my first real intro to the way Irish players learn. I can still remember the scent of the peat fire as I played the thing and heard how she transformed it from my playing it off music into real Irish music. So the tune is one of my most nostalgic. 🙂 Thanks for posting it, Mark!
Zina

Aaaaaahhh, what a nice story 🙂

Yes, although knowing Shannon, it may have been her tactful way of letting me know the pitfalls of learning off music vs. learning by ear… 🙂

help with finding a tune

I know tune requests are not allowed in discussions, but a tune of this name is already on The Session. If anyone has either the ABC or dots for Natalie MacMasters version of "Blackberry Blossom" (beginning of track 13. A Compilation) I would be eternally grateful if you gave them to me.
Thanks in advance

snowyowl

Tommy Stanners calls it the Bargy Reel. This is one of my favourite tunes.

What’s the tune that sounds a bit like this one, but is in A and has four parts?

That’s the one! Thanks very much!

Yep, No 3154 is "Roddy McDonald’s Fancy", an adaptation / elaboration for the Highland chanter.

X:1
T:Blackberry Blossom
M:4/4
L:1/8
S:Planxty "After the Break"
K:G
ge|"G"dBAc BGGA|.B2 .BA B2 ge|dBAc BA.A.G|"Am"eaag a2 ge|
"G"dBAc BGGA|B2 BA (3B^cd ge|dBAc BGGG|"Am"eaaa a>zef||
"G"~g2 gf gaba|"C"~g3 b "D7"agef|"G"~g2 gf gabg|"Am"eaaa agef|
"G"~g2 gf gaba|"C"~g3 b "D7"a2 ga|"G"bgaf "D7"gfed|"Am"eaag a2 ||

The Blackberry Blossom, X:3

A slightly different take with catchy phrasing from a Comhaltas session.
Exceptional about this G tune is it ends high on a non-tonic, just begs to upshift to A mix or dor in the next tune.
Though I suppose could go to something in D that starts on the high A, like St Anne’s.