Tatter Jack Walsh jig

This popular jig was requested about 7 weeks ago. Finbar Furey recorded it years ago, well before his “When You Were Sweet Sixteen” days, (and I don’t think he gets the credit he should as a traditional musician these days).
I heard Tim Lyons sing a wonderful song to this tune when he was a member of “De Danann”.It was called “The Woman Who Robbed Me The Price Of My Pig”. To get some idea of the language involved, try singing this last 4 lines to the 2nd part of the tune.

“Sincerely I swear, and I’m swearing sincere,
A week will go by, or a month or a year,
Upon this base action I’ll have satisfaction
All on the transaction that cost me my pig ! “

I love it ! Larry Nugent recorded a version of this on his last CD, which sounds as though he has put it in D minor rather than major,and I heard “Dervish” play another very different version on radio two weeks ago.

I think Finbar is one of the very few great pipers of his generation and important link to traditional piping. Many of the recorded tracks with his brothers and Davey Arthur are not at all to my taste either. But on many records there are one or two grat pipe tunes, too. I think twenty years ago it was necessary to that kind of ballads for the irish-american market to earn enough money to survive….

Oh, I forgot to mention Finbar is tthe key person besides Bernard Overton in the invenion of the low whistle - and that changed the face of irish music for ever !

I am curious, Is this supposed to be in D. My head might be cloudy but should the C# be in the key signature? Set me straight please.

Mark

1000 apologies ! I meant to put this in as in D mixolydian, which I think is correct. Sounded correct in this mode when I checked it on“ABC“, but I stupidly posted it as in D major. The “dots” for the tune are correct if you ignore the c# in the signature and play them as naturals. If it’s easier, Jeremy, delete the tune and I’ll re-submit it. As penance, I promise not to listen to Harry Bradley for a week.

…….err, would 24 hours be enough?

I like it also in Dmaj, with all the C #.

I prefer it in Dmaj!

T:Tatter Jack Walsh
M:6/8
L:1/8
S:Laurence Nugent
R:jig
Z:g.m.p
K:DDor
e|fAd ded|^cAB ^c3|d^cA GFG|A2d efg|
fAd ded|^cAB ^c3|d^cA GFG|Add d2:||:A|
dfa afa|dfa afa|gef g2a|gef g3|
af/e/d ded|^cAB ^c3|d^cA GFG|Add d2:|

Rita Connolly sings a song called The Dean’s Pamphet (with Liam O’Flynn on pipes) set to the tune of Tatter Jack Walsh. It is on O’Flynn’s album: “Out To An Other Side”. The lyrics are taken from Jonathan Swifts 1720 writings on boycotting imported English fabrics in favor of domestic Irish fabrics. Here are the lyrics if anyone is interested:

The Dean’s Pamphlet

Brocades and damasks and tabbies and gauzes
Are by Robert Ballantine lately brought over.
With forty things more now hear what the law says
Who wear or not wear them is not the King’s law.
Though a printer and dean seditiously mean
Our true Irish hearts from old England to wean.
We’ll buy English silks for our wives and our daughters
In spite of his deanship and journeyman Waters.

Whoever our trading with England would hinder
To enflame both the nations does plainly conspire.
Because Irish linen will soon turn to tinder
And wool it is greasy and quickly takes fire.
Therefore I assure ye, our noble grand jury
On seeing the dean(‘s) book, we’re in a great fury.
They would buy English silks for their wives and their daughters
In spite of his deanship and journeyman Waters.

The qu…. ____ Waters who always is sinning
Before callin’ oh so oft has been called
Henceforth we shall print neither pamphlet or linen
If swearing can’t do it, they’ll be swingeingly mauled
And as for the dean, you know who I mean
If the printer would bleach him he’d scarced come off clean
Then we’ll buy English silks for our wives and our daughters
In spite of his deanship and journeyman Waters.

I remember Sonja O’Brien in Kilfenora playing the second part like this:

dfa dfa|dfa agf|~g3 ged|cde ~g3|…

It’s more pipey and fun to play.

The very funny song King Lear is also set to this tune. You can find that on the album It’s No Secret, featuring Hammy Hamilton, Séamus Creagh, and Con Ó Drisceoil.

Dervish played this in concert recently, pretty much as recorded on their Spirit cd. Goes as follies:

X: 1
T: Father Jack Walsh
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
D: Spirit, Dervish
K: D dor
~f3 ded|cAB ~c2 A|dcA ~G3|Add efg|
~f3 ded|cAB ~c2 A|dcA ~G3|1 Ad^c dag:|2 Ad^c dBA||
dfa dfa|dfa agf|~g3 ged|^cde ~g3|
afd fed|cAB ~c2 A|dcA ~G3|1 Ad^c dBA:|Ad^c dag||

You can also play bar 4 in the A part as: |Add ^cde| and bars 3 and 4 in the B part as: |gef ~g2 a|gef gfe|

Oops…meant that to be in Dmix.

One chap out of the Wrenboys did a song to this tune very well. It involved some guy called Paddy McCarthy I think.

What does “Tatter” mean. Or should I say what does An T-Athair mean?

As far as I know, it means “Father”, as in priest.

I first heard this tune on a live Chieftains recording, An Irish Evening, I think it’s part of a medly on track 8, took me the longest time to find the name of this tune. They do a really nice treatment of it though with just bodhran and whistle. It was kind of a surprise to realize the Dervish had the same tune on Spirit, with a slight variation in the B part. I’ve played it at my session a couple of times following Lilting Banshee. The tune usually gets a strong positive response, and I find that like Sligo Maid, it’s one of those tunes that seems to follow almost anything well.

Howie MacDonald plays Tatter Jack Walsh with the A part made of two identical halves so it becomes like a four bar jig.
Like so:
X: 1
K: Dmix
fe|:d2e fed|cAB c2d|cAF GFG|Add dfe|
d2e fed|cAB c2d|cAF GFG|[1 Add dfe:|[2 Add d2A|
|:dfa afd|dfa a3|ceg gec|ceg geg|
fdf e^ce|dAB c2d|cAF GFG|[1 Add d2A:|[2 Add d||

The NE England band Cuig recorded that song about the pig on their album “Prospect”.

Right? Can someone fix this?

I hear from Alan Ng at irishtune.info that this is a piping tune and that the pipe C is a little below C#, placing this tune in the gray area between D Maj and D Mix.

With a bit of tidying up, I’d suggest the words run

Brocades, and damasks, and tabbies, and gauzes,
Are, by Robert Ballantine, lately brought over,
With forty things more: now hear what the law says,
Whoe’er will not wear them has not the king’s love.
Though printer and Dean,
Seditiously mean,
Our true Irish hearts from Old England to wean,
We will buy English silks for our wives and our daughters,
In spite of his deanship and journeyman Waters.

Whoever our trading with England would hinder,
To inflame both the nations doth plainly conspire,
Because Irish linen will soon turn to tinder,
And wool it is greasy, and quickly takes fire.
Therefore, I assure you
Our noble grand jury,
When they saw the Dean’s book, they were in a great fury;
They would buy English silks for their wives and their daughters,
In spite of his deanship and journeyman Waters.

This wicked rogue Waters, who always is sinning,
And before “coram nobis” so oft has been call’d,
Henceforward shall print neither pamphlets nor linen,
And if swearing can do’t shall be swingingly maul’d:
And as for the Dean,
You know whom I mean,
If the printer will ‘peach him, he’ll scarce come off clean.
Then we’ll buy English silks for our wives and our daughters,
In spite of his deanship and journeyman Waters.

X: 1
T: Tatter Jack Walsh
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
R: jig
K: Dmix
|:GA|BAB GBg|fde =f2d|g3 gdB|cBc Adc|
BAB GBg|fde =f2d|gfd cBc|dGF G3:||
|:D|GBd dBG|GBd d2B|cAB cAG|FGA cdc|
BAB GBg|fde =f2d|gfd cBc|dGF G3:||

Here it is by Vinnie Kilduff http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X17HLvE7MWY

play video

Here’s the second tune https://thesession.org/tunes/4501

http://youtu.be/NWVtuyIKY9M

play video

Starts off with “Coppers & Brass”, “Tatter Jack Walsh” is the second jig.

As best I can decipher, this is how it is played in my local session. It seems a bit simpler to play (for a beginner like myself) than some of the settings above:

X: 1
T: Tatter Jack Walsh
R: jig
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
K: Dmix
|: fef ded | cAB c2 A | dcA GFG| Ad^c d3 |
fef ded | cAB c2 A | dcA GFG | Ad^c d3 :|
|: dfa afd | dfa a3 | d^ce fge | d^c ef g2 |
fef ded | cAB c2 A | dcA GFG| Ad^c d3 :|

It just means ‘father’ as in ‘father and mother’.

…and you know this how ?

“Athair “ does mean Father as in mother and father but in this context there can be little doubt its meaning is in reference to a priest - Fr. Jack Walsh. We can draw this assumption based on the use of the word “An” before “Athair”

Piping version

Actually the ‘traditional’ legend is that it doesn’t refer to a priest, but to a poet. Take it away, the Very Rev. Canon Moore:

“The Walshes, as we are all aware, came oyer to Ireland from Wales with Fitzstephen. They eventually settled down in our county amidst those hills, called from them the Slieve Brannach, or the Walsh Mountains. They possessed in all eighteen castles in that
district. One of their principal residences was at Inchacarrin, in the
valley opposite Mullinavat. Another chief seat of the family was Castle Hoyle, or Castle Howel, so called from a branch of the Walsh family, whose name was Ap Owel, or Howel. It is said to hare been a square castle, flanked by four round towers, and stood near Kilmoganny, about three miles from the Ballyhale railway station.

The Walshes, who appeared in arms against Cromwell, were here totally defeated, cruelly put to the sword, and their bodies burned at the foot of the hill, near the castle. It is, however, as the residence of John McWalter, the celebrated poet of the Walsh Mountains, that Castle Howel is chiefly interesting to us. John Mac Walter was son of Walter Walsh, of Castle Howel, chief of his sept, and, as such, titular Baron of Shancaher. The poet, who flourished about 1630, was so distinguished for great and varied talents that Hardiman says he might be termed “ the Irish Admirable Chrichton.“ He was married to Johanna Strong, or Strange, a member of another old Anglo-Kilkenny family, that in course of time became “ more Irish than the Irishmen.“ Amongst his countrymen of the Walsh Mountains John Mac Walter is better known under the sobriquet of “ Tatter Jack Walsh,“ which is also the appellation given by them to one of their most popular dancing airs. His beautiful elegy on the death of
Oliver Grace of Inchmore, translated from the original Irish by the Rev. John Drummond, in the second volume of Hardiman’s Irish Minstrelsy, has been the chief means of bringing him under the notice of the present generation“

This is from “Buckley’s Guide for the Banjo”, 1868. Buckley calls it “Pat’s the Boy”.

This a New England version of the tune, transcribed from Susan Kevra’s album “Full Swing” by me.

There is a fine rendition by Jackie Roche – if you can find the recording.

Suggestion try playing the first C sharp as a C sharp and II C sharp slightly flat.

Drink! Arse! Feck! Girls! ……………..Drink!

R: jig
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
K:Dmix
:f2 d ded|cAB c2d|cAF GFG|A2d efg|
f2 d ded|cAB c2d|cAF GFG|Ad^c d3:|
|:dfa afd|dfa a3|ceg gec|ceg g3|
fdf ece|dAB c2d|cAF GFG|Ad^c d3:|

As I mentioned above , a mere 17 years ago :
https://youtu.be/p3S30Qdx6-E

play video

# Posted by Tash Ó Treasaigh - April 18th, 2014
- as given in the comments, see above…

# Posted by brian boru - February 10th, 2019
- as given in the comments, see above…

Just what this tune needs – another setting, haha. Well, here’s a seemingly widespread alternate setting to this tune that uses F naturals and more use of the lower D that transforms the tune from a fine if basic tune into a bit more interesting one, in my opinion.

I’ve heard Patrick Ourceau play this version, the Kane sisters as well, and it’s in Martin Mulvihill’s manuscript this way more or less. All are slightly different in detail of course but sharing the same approach. I’m not sure where the setting is ultimately from. According to the liner notes on “Side by Side”, Liz and Yvonne got their setting from East Galway musicians Martin Byrnes and Aggie Whyte. Martin Mulvihill hails from Eyrecourt as well, so it’s probably safe to call this an “East Galway setting.” Unfortunately, the tune isn’t on the recently released collection of Aggie Whyte recordings, I’d really love to hear her play this. In Breathnach’s Vol V the source is attributed to Aggie, but the notation doesn’t show F naturals.

Thanks for posting X:12, joe fidkid. It’s beautiful, although it almost sounds like a different tune.

X:12 is close to the version of the tune as played by the Wexford accordion greats like George Ross, Tom Ferris and Liam Gaul, all Mayglass band players. I learned it from Tom and will try to work on an ABC of his setting, which is similar to this one. On it sounding like a different tune there’s a story told of them playing it in some Comhaltas competition years ago, and the adjudicator said in his announced comments at the end that the Wexford group had Tatter Jack Walsh wrong or mixed up with something else…which brought the inevitable fury of Liam Gaul, who is quite an authority on trad music and settings etc. Liam apparently marched up to the adjucators table, grabbed pen and paper, and wrote out the notation of the standard setting and the ‘second setting’ and threw them on to the table, announcing to the audience ‘there’s the two settings of the tune. If you want to adjudicate us, you better know what your’e talking about’ and stormed off. Needless to say….they didn’t win!!

This is the Wexford setting of Tatter Jack Walsh as played by Tom Ferris, who would have acquired it from other Mayglass ceili band members like George Ross etc. It’s (as I said in my earlier post) similar to version 12, without the F natural. It’s also my first attempt at posting atune with ABC, so hopefully makes sense. I couldn’t decide what key suited the notation best, so went with G with the random c# notes marked as accidentals.

Robbie Hannan plays this tune wonderfully on the pipes.

John E. Roche, thanks for that great story about Liam Gaul at the Comhaltas competition and for the explanation about the two, quite different, settings. And thanks for posting the X:13 setting. All great stuff!

Setting with no rolls or triplets (as X:1), alternating anacrusis and with chords (as X:8).

Interesting to note that this tune is quite good for mouth whistling along in the session. It fits quite well and there is no need to do octave changes.