Contentment Is Wealth jig

I got this from a very battle beaten session tape of Tony DeMarco (at Paddy Reilly’s in NYC around 1997), he played it in a set with Larry O’Gaff’s. He was really going crazy with melodic variations so I tried to keep it as simple as possible while keeping the good stuff in it too. There may be phrases which he just came up with on the fly that I may be taking as the basic framework of the tune; but I think I this is the ‘bones’ of it. Those double stops are really nice on the second time through on the high bar (B part) but they should be used sparingly.

I knew this was familiar so I looked through some tunebooks and found it in Karen Tweed’s as The Miner’s

Here’s the setting:

~g3 edB | BAB EFG | F/2G/2AF DFA | dAF Adf | ~g3 edB |
BAB EFG | B/2c/2dB AGF | GE=C E3 :|
~e3 Beg | bge gfe | ~d3 Adf | afd fed | ~e3 Beg | bge gfe | B/2c/2dB AGF | GE=C E3 :|

That’s good - I wasn’t too far off. I’m going to have to get that Karen Tweed book. Sounds like it has *all* the good tunes in it.

Source: Moher - "over the edge"
Transcription: g.m.p.

A good tune from a good album.

I like the name, really speaks to me…

I’m used to another setting of this tune that goes like this

X:47
T:Contentment is Wealth
S:Trad, arr. Paddy O’Brien
R:jig
E:11
I:speed 350
M:6/8
K:D
G/2A/2|GFG Eed|BAB EAG|(4FGAF DdB|AFD Def|\
gfe edB|BAB dcd|(4BcdB DFA|GEE E2:|\
e/2f/2|gbe gbe|gfg bag|fdd add|fdf afd|\
gfe edB|BAB dcd|(4BcdB DFA|GEE E2:|**

I lifted that setting from http://www.ceolas.org/pub/tunes/abc.tunes/OBrien.abc which is very similar to the way I’ve heard it

This setting sounds like it’s been influenced by "The Miner’s"
https://thesession.org/tunes/740

Isn’t the title a bit ambiguous? You could either take it as meaning that "contentment is achieved by being wealthy" or "contentment is wealth of a more wholesome kind than money". I think I prefer the latter 🙂

This jig was recorded by Sean Ryan (fiddle) and P.J. Malony (flute) on their LP, "Traditional Music of Ireland, Vol. 1" (Avoca).

You can also find the sheet music in

Traditional Irish Tin Whistle Tutor by Geraldine Cotter. Here it is titled as Molloy’s Favourite.

The Complete Irish Tin Whistle Tutor by L.E. McCullough

This tune is a great one - It might help to know that even though the key signature may lead one to believe it’s G, it’s actually in E minor. Something good to look for especially when learning a new tune/playing it for the first time, so you can see how the harmony is leading the tune itself to where it’s naturally going.

Source: John Creavan - " the story so far"
Transcription: gmp

Greetings ye faceless ones of the ITM ether

I was not sure whether to post this in the tunes section or under discussions. I opted for discussions as there is a greater chance for many a varied reply.

I noticed in the tunes section that the sheetmusic to the jig titled O’Connell’s Farewell to Dublin is the same as that for Contentment is Wealth. However, in the versions I know of these tunes the B parts are the same but the A parts differ.

Or put another way (to avoid confusion)
O’Connells: The first 8 bars differ from Contentment but the melody in the 8 bars of Part B are the same.

I am also aware of Paddy O’Brien’s version where the first 8 bars of Contentment is the same as the Contentment version I am aware of, but the B part is different.

Does anyone know how these tunes evolved or mutated?

Thanks
Simon

Ha ha - not completely faceless, Simon. THere are a few of us with links to webpages and sites with our photos up. So then you know you’re talking to Real People.
In answer to your question - well, a bit of waffle actually, as there is no easy answer. This happens all the time and is one of the endearing features of the music.
It could be that the tune transmogrified as it crossed a county border way back. Maybe the player who took it to the neighbouring county remembered the first part really well but forgot exactly how the second part went - so (s)he sellotaped his own bit on. Or maybe, to make the tune their own the player changed a bit of it and that then became the standard rendition in that part of the world. As I say, it happens all the time.

Thanks for the reply, Lordy.

I doubted there was a specific answer, but you don’t know unless you ask. Your reply confirmed my suspicions as to possiblities of the various versions.

Cheers
SJT

This tune is already in the tune database under "Molloy’s Favourite". Its also known as "Contentment is Wealth".

Check who posted the other version: https://thesession.org/tunes/1662

by Karen Tweed
Publisher: Dave Mallinson Publications, 2001
Mel Bay A128
ISBN: 1-899512-12-8
93 Irish session tunes compiled by piano accordionist Karen Tweed, for all instruments, with chords, tips and anecdotes. These tunes are also available on two of her CDs: "The Silver Spire" & "Drops of Springwater".

Key signature: e minor
Submitted on November 20th 2003 by Grack.
https://thesession.org/tunes/2174

Key signature: e minor
Submitted on May 15th 2003 by gian marco.
https://thesession.org/tunes/1662

Key signature: E minor (not E Dorian)
Submitted on March 12th 2004 by gian marco.
https://thesession.org/tunes/2642

Key signature: E minor (rather than E Dorian)
Submitted on March 12th 2004 by gian marco.
https://thesession.org/tunes/2642

"Contentment Is Wealth"
Key signature: E minor (not E Dorian)
Submitted on May 15th 2003 by gian marco.
https://thesession.org/tunes/1662

"Paddy Carty’s Favourite"
Key signature: E minor (not E Dorian)
Submitted on March 12th 2004 by gian marco.
https://thesession.org/tunes/2642

I don’t know why, but Cape Breton fiddlers call this tune the Golden Keyboard.

Another transcription of the tune: https://thesession.org/tunes/740

https://thesession.org/tunes/1662

Often called after Tony Molloy, who played the flute in the All-Ireland champion Leitrim Ceili Band, a group from East Galway that also included box player Joe Burke c. 1960.

The real "Contentment is Wealth" is a different tune in O’Neil’s collection. Paddy Reynolds often played it together with this one, which was "Tony Molloy’s" (after the flute player with the Leitrim Ceili Band of east Galway) on a recording by Sean Ryan and PJ Moloney.

Key signature: E Dorian
Submitted on February 20th 2007 by slainte.
https://thesession.org/tunes/6842

Duplication?, well, just in case it is seen that way, here is Slainte’s transcription, similar to the Paddy O’Brien setting as given above by Mad Baloney:

K: E Dorian
|: F |
GFG Eed | BAB EFG | FEF DdB | AFD Def |
gfe edB | BAB dcd | BdB DFA | GED E2 :|
|: f |
gbe gbe | geg bag | fdd Add | fdf afd |
gfe edB | BAB dcd | BdB DFA | GED E2 :|

"There are 2 distinct (or distantly related?) tunes known by this name, but I believe this is the more common one. I picked it up from the playing of Leeds Ceili Band recorded more than 10 years ago. Brian Rooney recorded a very similar version on the box, citing Paddy Killoran as the source." ~ slainte

While listening to John Williams’ Celtic Passion recording, I saw that John Williams calls this jig Tongs by the Fire, which is actually a completely different tune. But this is the one that matches it. It’s weird, mayhaps there was confusion and they guessed what the name was. Either way, a fun tidbit that can give a bit more confusion to the mix=D

Harry Bradley also recorded a version of this as the Tongs by the Fire though he doesn’t provided where the title comes from.

Haha, I think I tried to type "he doesn’t inform where the title comes from."

John Skelton performed a beautiful flute version of this tune with the title "O’Connell’s Farewell to Ireland" on his 1993 album, "One at a time."

On the album liner he says this:

The title of this reel, like the better known "O’Connell’s Welcome to Parliament," refers to Daniel O’Connell (1775-1847). Sean Keane plays a version of this tune as a hornpipe, and I also remember hearing it played by P.J. Crotty, the Co. Clare flute player. My own setting, however, is based upon the reel in Brendan Breathnach’s "Ceol Rince na h’Eireann, 2."

I just noticed that the tune is listed here as a jig. It’s performed as a reel by Skelton.

https://thesession.org/tunes/4090

The above is the tune John recorded, which has nothing whatsoever in common with this jig, as far as I can see.
The title is "O’Connell’s Farewell To Dublin", not Ireland.

Wrong? Thanks for the gracious welcome, Kenny.

You are right, I typed the title incorrectly; it is Dublin.

Listening to the two, I think they’re related, but sometimes these tunes sound similar to my ears when they’re not.

Welcome to the session, art, although I see you posted here in August last year, so a "welcome" is a bit belated. Would you like to tell us a bit about yourself in your biography, please ?

Thanks for the welcome, Kenny. I’ve added a description to my profile. That was a good idea. I hadn’t noticed that possibility.

Karen Tweed also plays this tune as ‘The Miner’s Jig’.

I first heard this tune played by James Keane on the 1979 LP "A Time with Ryan’s Fancy" by the (Irish-) Canadian group Ryan’s Fancy. This tune opened the jig set on track 4 which finished with the Portroe and then the Mooncoin.

I received this album as a seventh birthday present (in 1980)and recently converted it to digital format. The memory of the lovely playing on this recording has since kept this tune near the surface of my repetoire (on whistle/pipes).

On Paul Cranford’s website he (a Cape Breton fiddler) calls this jig Contentment in Wealth. His version is the first one I have posted. The second version I have here is from Andrea Beaton’s playing.

Tate, I wish you had posted those two versions here: https://thesession.org/tunes/6842

From the playing of Jackie Daly, I love this version.

@blarneystar: No, the O’Neill’s version (#729 in the 1850, #28 in the 1001) is a version of the same tune, just played in A minor instead of E minor:

X:28
T:Contentment is wealth
R:Double jig
C:anon.
B:Francis O’Neill: "The Dance Music of Ireland" (1907) no. 28
O:Ireland
Z:Transcribed by Frank Nordberg - http://www.musicaviva.com
M:6/8
L:1/8
Q:3/8=128
K:Am
%http://www.musicaviva.com/abc/oneill1001-1-100.abc
(A/B/)|c>BA (A<a)g|e>^de A2c|B>AG Gge|d>(cB/A/) G2 (a/b/)|\
c’ba gba|edB g2e|dBG GAB|cAA A2:|
(c/d/)|ecA Acd|e^de A2 B/c/|dBG GBc|d^cd G2 c/d/|ecA Acd|\
eag e2d|edc Bcd|cAA A2:|
(e/d/)|cea cea|cAA A2 (d/c/)|Bdg Bdg|BGG G2 e/d/|cBA a^ga|\
bag a2d|edc Bcd|cAA A2:|

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXuGAjaae3M

play video

Slightly simplified, and loosely based on a Joe McKenna version (which is in a different key, but nobody’s perfect).

This is the second tune here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojUp9RqP3jY

play video

Enjoy !

Is anyone aware of a song of this name, sung to this tune? I’m sure I’ve heard it long ago. Would be from the time of The Beggar’s Opera (late C18th), although it’s not part of that work.

I made a piano and low whistle arrangement for this tune. With some sparse bodhran beats for effect. It’s such a lovely tune.

https://youtu.be/KlvCeFYZlFU

play video

I made a piano and low whistle arrangement of this tune with some sparse bodhran beats for effect. It’s such a lovely tune

https://youtu.be/KlvCeFYZlFU

play video

I learnt this unusual version from the playing of Paul Brock.

This is how Mary Bergin plays it in the video clip from Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy included on this page although she does incorporate some further variations.