Cathleen Hehir’s slide

I got this tune from De Danann’s first album - haven’t heard it elsewhere. I usually play it on whistle, which has determined where I have written in the rolls. For example, in place of the repeated high D’s in the 3rd part. Also the long C# in bar 4 of the 3rd part (long C#’s are always awkward on whistle and flute) could be rolled on fiddle.

Please note, I have altered the abc so that it is now written as a slide, in 12/8.

https://thesession.org/tunes/4162

& in the comments to this one…

This comes from the sleeve notes of Ben Lennon’s “Natural Bridge” CD.

“This tune is in print in a two-part version in Roche’s collection under the title ”Rural Felicity“. The four-part version played here is a mosaic put together by Jackie Small in 1974 for ”De Danann’s“ first album. Parts 1 and 2 were played on the harpsichord by the composer and arranger Sean O’Riada, and parts 1 and 4 were played by the accordion player Joe Cooley. The third part was assembled from a catchy song in a French film ”Les Enfants du Paradis“ . The tune was named by ”De Danann“ after a wonderful lady from Connemara who was one of the group’s most devoted fans and patrons at the time.”

Wasn’t Cooley in O‘Rioda’s ensemble? O’Rioda also traveled to France and composed there at some point. maybe it all comes from him. I think it goes really well in C (down a whole step).

The 2nd part of this tune seems to be a rendition in 6/8 of the B music “The girl with the blue dress on”, and the 4th part similarly resembles a 6/8 version of the B music of “Smash the Windows”.

i think the song was rather “The tourbillon de la vie” from Jules et JIm by François Truffaut…

The first three parts of this tune are indeed from the song “Le Tourbillon de la Vie” as sung by Jeanne Moreau in the film´s soundtrack.
Used to be played a lot on France-Inter in the 60s.

Key signature: D Major
Submitted on February 23rd 2008 by Robert Jones.
https://thesession.org/tunes/8291

Key signature: D Major
Submitted on February 13th 2007 by Dan the Man.
https://thesession.org/tunes/6802

Key signature: D Major
Submitted on February 23rd 2008 by Robert Jones.
~ /tunes/8291

Gone in a haze of digital smoke…

X: 1
T: Rural Felicity
T: Cathleen / Kathleen Hehir’s
T: Hehir’s
M: 12/8
L: 1/8
R: slide
K: D Major
|: dcd e2 d c2 E EFG | B2 B BAG F2 D D2 A |
dcd e2 d c2E EFG | ABA GFE D3 D3 :|
|: F2 A d3 c2 B G3 | ABA G2 E B2 A F3 |
F2 A d3 c2 B G2 F | EFG ABc d3 d3 :|

As Kenny has offered us just above ~ “Kathleen Hehir’s” was and is a collage of melodies recorded by ‘De Danann’ that includes this 2-part slide as the first two parts… This tune, 2-parts, has an earlier existence and is also to be found in “The Roche Collection of Irish Traditional Music, Volume 2”, Francis Roche, 1912, page 23, tune #248, as “Rural Felicity”…

Fiddler’s Companion ~ Andrew Kuntz
http://www.ibiblio.org/fiddlers/
http://www.ibiblio.org/fiddlers/RP_RZ.htm#RURAL_FELICITY_[2]

While this was yet another another repeat attempt of someone to add this simple 2-part slide to this database, I’d hoped it might have finally earned itself a place of its own. But, alas, it was deleted ~ “POOF!” ~ and it is again moved to the ‘comments’ here for “Hehir’s”. The 2-part is an earlier seed and as you can read, predates DeDanaan’s modern arrangement, assemblage, collage of melodies, “Hehir’s”. But, having been recorded by one of the Irish ‘supergroups’ of the past ‘DeDanaan’ it has been burned into the memory of many people who came under their influence. They had swallowed this lovely two-parter into that mix.

It is the two-part tune I was most familiar with, but later, every time I started it, it was dragged into “Kathleen Hehir’s”. It just seemed, outside of Sliabh Luachra and a few other musicians, that everyone had taken on “Hehir’s” as gospel, and it had to be played that way, all 4 parts. I even have some painful memory of someone having at least one other part for it, as a 5 or 6 part tune. It isn’t the only tune that has been affected by escalating influences. We have recently had in discussion “The Mason’s Apron”, similarly suffering from extensions, and consequently often neglected, passed over.

Previous contributions of these two parts, which as repeated ~ are older than the ‘DeDanann’ collage ~ have been axed or if caught soon enough, moved. I would have thought that this take on the earlier tune deserved a place of its own, with the links given to connect it to its relatives. Alas, it was not to be, so I’ve moved the bits here, more to follow…

Here are another few basic takes on this 2-part slide.

This was collected long before I came across Hehir’s, back in the mid to late 70s, as “gan ainm”. Later it meant me facing DeDanaan devotees, enamoured with their 64 bar “Hehir’s”, and constant imposition of that on top of this lovely little 2-part slide, 32 bar tune. It sometimes left me wondering which came first as I was constantly told I had it either wrong or incomplete. I should have checked my copy of the Roche collection… 😏 People kept pushing the full 64 bars from the DeDanaan recording and I wasn’t left with any choice… 32 bars was definitely the precursor to the modern behemoth, “Hehir’s”…

I’d originally collected and played this in both G and D Major and have also known it in A Major:

X: 2
T: Rural Felicity
M: 12/8
L: 1/8
R: slide
K: G Major
|: d |\
gfg a2 g f2 A ABc | e2 e d2 c B2 G GB/c/d |
gfg a2 g f2 A ABc | d2 d cBA G3 G2 :|
|: A |\
B2 d g3 f2 d c3 | ded c2 A e2 d B2 ^A |
B2 d g3 f2 d c2 B | AA/B/c def g3 g2 :|

X: 3
T: Rural Felicity
T: Cathleen / Kathleen Hehir’s
T: Hehir’s
N: just these two parts, 32 bars, AABB
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
R: slide
K: D Major
|: A |\
dcd e2 d c2 E EFG | BcB BAG F2 D DFA |
dcd e2 d c2 E EFG | ABA GFE D3- D2 :|
|: E |\
F2 A dcd c2 B G3 | ABA GFE B2 A F3 |
DFA dcd c2 B G2 F | EFG ABc d3- d2 :|

X: 4
T: Rural Felicity
T: Cathleen / Kathleen Hehir’s
T: Hehir’s
N: just these two parts, 32 bars, AABB
M: 12/8
L: 1/8
R: slide
K: D Major
|: A |\
dcd e2 d c2 E EFG | B2 B- BAG F2 D DFA |
dcd e2 d c2 E- EFG | ABA GFE D3 DF :|
|: A |\
F2 A d3 c2 B G3 | A2 A G2 E B2 A F2 E |
DF/G/A ded c2 B G2 F | EE/F/G ABc d3 d2 :|

Le Tourbillon de la Vie:
“Téléchargement payant” (down£oad) at:
http://www.ina.fr/art-et-culture/cinema/video/CAF88038614/jeanne-moreau-chante.fr.html
<<Extrait de “Jules et Jim” de François Truffaut que le public verra vers la mi-janvier à Paris dans lequel Jeanne Moreau chante une chanson de Bassiak (pseudonyme de Serge Rezvani) qui l’accompagne lui-même à la guitare : “Le tourbillon de la vie” >> 1961

Free browses:
“Jules and Jim -1962” That famous song at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JH3O4HSs7g

play video

1963: as a soundtrack to an item of News:
http://archives.tsr.ch/player/personnalite-moreau

…So Rezvani ‘stole’ that tune, did he?! How durst he!
Well, the résultat is an absolute classic, here are the lyrics:

Sorry: Georges Delerue is credited(1962) with the Music,
(see: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4amsr_le-tourbillon-de-la-vie-jeanne-more_music)
Rezvani wrote the Lyrics:

*Elle avait des bagues à chaque doigt,
Des tas de bracelets autour des poignets,
Et puis elle chantait avec une voix
Qui, sitôt, m’enjôla.
-Elle avait des yeux, des yeux d’opale,
Qui m‘ fascinaient, qui m’ fascinaient.
Y avait l’ovale de son visage pâle
De femme fatale qui m’ fut fatale (x2).

*On s‘est connus, on s’est reconnus,
On s‘est perdus de vue, on s’est r‘perdus d’vue
On s‘est retrouvés, on s’est réchauffés,
Puis on s’est séparés.
-Chacun pour soi est reparti.
Dans l‘tourbillon d’ la vie
Je l‘ai r’vue un soir, aïe, aïe, aïe
Ça fait déjà un fameux bail (x2)

*Au son des banjos je l’ai reconnue.
Ce curieux sourire qui m’avait tant plu.
Sa voix si fatale, son beau visage pâle
M’émurent plus que jamais.
-Je m‘ suis soûlé en l’écoutant.
L’alcool fait oublier le temps.
Je m’ suis réveillé en sentant
Des baisers sur mon front brûlant (x2).

*On s‘est connus, on s’est reconnus.
On s‘est perdus de vue, on s’est r’perdus de vue
On s‘est retrouvés, on s’est séparés,
puis on s’est rechauffés. :- )
-Chacun pour soi est reparti.
Dans l’tourbillon de la vie.
Je l‘ai r’vue un soir ah là là
Elle est retombée dans mes bras (x2)

*Quand on s‘est connus,quand on s’est reconnus,
Pourquoi s’ perdre de vue, se reperdre de vue ?
Quand on s‘est retrouvés, quand on s’est réchauffés,
Pourquoi se séparer ?
-Alors tous deux on est r’partis
Dans l‘ tourbillon d’ la vie
On a continué à tourner
Tous les deux enlacés (x3).

A basic translation is given on the video (w. g. sound quality) at:
http://nezumi.dumousseau.free.fr/img6/tourbillon.htm

To me this is the French cinematographic equivalent of The Lass of Aughrim sung by Ewan ‘James Joyce’ McGregor and Susan ‘Nora’ Lynch in the film Nora: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFlTNB8CmDE

play video

Two Great Classic Songs!

I just checked that translation: it’s not basic it is, but rather poor!
At 1‘20“ Moreau has an interesting hand movement: she signals she sung the lines in the wrong order. It should be: ”On s’est retrouvés, on s’est rechauffés,
puis on s’est séparés". (We met again, got cosy, and parted)It’s interesting because you can HEAR her smiling at that point; :- )
But it was this take that made it to the final cut! ‘Shows you!’

The English words are not that bad actually birlibirdie, the translator made an effort to rhyme + at least, (s)he accurately translated ‘tourbillon’ as ‘whirlwind’ while you wrote ‘whirlpool’
Must be tired! You’re even speaking to yourself now! Leave this computer alone and step into the mad wet whirlwind of life outside!

X: 1
T: Le Tourbillon de la Vie
M: 12/8
L: 1/8
R: slide
K: Dmaj
DFB A2A|DFB ABA|1)EEE AAA| EEE A2A:|2)E2A B2c|d5A||
|:ddd d2e|f2d A3|1)fff f2d|c2d e3:|2)EGB A2A|D2D D2D|EGB A2c|d2d d3||

Bon vent!

Recorded on Martin Mulvihill’s 1978 album Traditional Fiddling from Limerick as “McAuliffe’s”.


X:949
T:McAuliffe’s
S:Martin Mulvihill, 1978 Trad Fiddling from Limerick
Z:Nigel Gatherer
M:12/8
L:1/8
K:D
A | d2d ded c2E EFG | ABA A2G F2D DFA | d2d ded c2E EFG | ABA GFE d3 d2 :|
e | f2d d2c d2f agf | e2A A@c e2f gfe | f2d d2c d2f agf | e2A ABc d3 d2 :|

Martin Mulvihill named this tune “McAuliffe’s” after his brother-in-law, John McAuliffe, a flute player from County Kerry.

Robbie MacGowran’s take on it, whistle, from his recording:

“The Irish Way”
https://thesession.org/recordings/4572
track 5, the first ‘jig’ of 2…

Piping version

By “De Danann” on “Youtube” [ audio only ] : https://youtu.be/QzGoP75tBm8

play video