My Dungannon Sweetheart jig

What a smart little jig this is - Composed by the late Graham Townsend, a Canadian fiddle player. Recorded by Sharon Shannon, and also by Gerry O’ Connor with Skylark on the first track of “All Of It”.

Thanks Domhniaill; this is a great jig which deserves to be played a lot more at sessions - it’s only when I tried playing it I realised how familiar the melody was but I couldn’t pinpoint the source. Tunes like this are a great argument for continued posting as it’s a great way to get those less familiar tunes into circulation.

Great…thanks heaps. I love this jig and have been wanting to learn it for ages after hearing Sharon Shanno play it but have been too slack to sit down and learn it off the CD. Now i have the dots there’s no excuse.

This tune is called “My Dungannon Sweetheart”, and was written in honour of Eleanor, wife of Graham Townsend. She was from Dungannon, Ontario. I believe this was written in the key of C major originally.

Yes I love this tune as well, discovered it about 1/2 hour ago and can’t stop playing it.

http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/

http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=U1ARTU0003456

“Townsend recorded some 200 of his 400 fiddle tunes. His best-known pieces include Royal Princess Two Step, Rocking Chair Jake, Debbie’s Waltz, Maytime Swing, Black Jack Whiskey, My Dungannon Sweetheart, Swinging in the 80s, and Ice on the Road. His compositions have been recorded by Natalie MacMaster and April Verch.”

http://www.rounderarchive.com/media/liner_notes/1166170072.pdf

“The late Graham Townsend recorded an enormous number of fiddle albums ~ Graham continued to record for varaious Canadian labels throughout the eighties and did a truly phenomenal amount of backup work behind a wide array of well-known artists. He also published several collections of his own compositions. After a year’s illness he died of colon cancer on December 3, 1998. Tragically, his wife Eleanor, who was also a well-known violinist, died in a house fire just four weeks later, as she tried to rescue her granddaughter from the flames.”

K: C Major
G, |:
C2 E Gcd | e3 e2 B | dc/c/c cGE | GFF FDB, |
G,B,D GBd | g3 g2 e | fdB GAB |1 cEA GED :|
2 c3 c2 d ||
|: ee/e/e ecA | G3- GEA | GEA GEA | GFF FEF |
fff fdB | GB/c/d g2 e | fdB GAB |1 cEA Gcd :|
2 c3- c2 ||

K: D Major
A |:
DDE FAd | f3 fec | edd dAF | A>GG GEC |
A,CE Ace | a3 agf | gec A>Bc |1 dFB AFE :|
2 d3- d2 e ||
f3 fdB | A3 AFE | AFB AFG | AGG GB/c/d |
g3 gec | A>ce a2 f | gec A>Bc |1 dFB A3 :|
2 d3 d/d/d ||

Ok, mea culpa, I did a copy & paste job from Henrik. I did try to do the ABC’s first, but his version seemed the best as a standard. Does that constitute credit where credit’s due? The main thing in my view is that this lovely tune is now in the database here.

Good on yuh Danny, a brave and considerate soul. I’ll think of you the next time someone sings “Danny Boy”… 😉

I know this is not about the tune, but I felt I had to say this. I am not a fiddle player, but am a lifelong connoisseur of fiddle music, and in my opinion, there’s no better fiddling, no better fiddlers, than Graham and Eleanor Townsend. They were the greatest 🙂

Damn fine dance music… 😉

why is it every time i go to look for a tune it costs me 4 or 5 sheets of paper in a time when we are supose to coserve

Why does it cost you any paper at all?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91HrZhM9kYM

play video

# Added by ceolachan December 8th, 2005

A favourite of my wife’s and one we’ve enjoyed dancing to as well…

X: 3 ~ I’ve added some alternate notes, an octave up, for ‘D-limited’ instruments, like winds - whistle/flute/pipes.

My take on this tune

I’ve heard a recording by Graham Townsend himself where he plays the first part and repeat in C and goes into the second part in D. It’s a bit more tricky to finger than playing the entire tune in either key, but it gives it great lift.

Here’s a really nice version. The fiddle playing has a touch of that Winston Fitzgerald sound to my ears. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGtpaiqv8v8

play video