The Pretty Girl Milking Her Cow waltz

Source: Harry Bradley
Transcription: g.m.p.

Is it a waltz or a mazurka?

ARGHH!! I wrote the ABC with 1/4 as default note lenght (L🙂.,
but here the default lenght is 1/8 . Sorry.

This is a beautiful melody and is derived from an ancient traditional slow air "Cail

Here’s the version I learned. Very beautiful on the flute.

X:1
T:Pretty Girl Milking The Cow
D: The Drummer’s and Fifer’s Guide, 1861
M:3/4
Q:1/4=90
K:Adorian
AB|cz e3d|Bzd3B|AGHE4|z2z2AB|cze3d|Bzd3B|HA6|zzAB|
cze3d|Bzd3B|AGHE4|z2z2AB|cBAGED|E2A2((3^GAB)|HA6|zz:|
|: AB|c2d2e2|eza2((3^gab)|azA4|z2z2AB|c2d2e2|eza2((3^gab)|Ha6|z2z2ab|
c’2b2a2|(ge3)d2|cA3dc|AGE4|z2z2AB|cBAGED|E2A2((3^GAB)|HA6|z2z2:|

Here’s the lyrics:
It was on a fine summer’s morning,
When the birds sweetly tuned on each bough;
I heard a fair maid sing most charming
As she sat a-milking her cow;
Her voice, it was chanting melodious,
She left me scarce able to go;
My heart it is soothed in solace,
My Cailín deas crúite na mbó.
With courtesy I did salute her,
"Good-morrow, most amiable maid,
I’m your captive slave for the future."
"Kind sir, do not banter," she said,
"I’m not such a precious rare jewel,
That I should enamour you so;
I am but a plain country girl,"
Says Cailín deas crúite na mbó.

"The Indies afford no such jewel,
So precious and transparently fair,
Oh! do not to my flame add fuel,
But consent for to love me, my dear;
Take pity and grant my desire,
And leave me no longer in woe;
Oh! love me or else I’ll expire,
Sweet Cailín deas crúite na mbó."

"Or had I the wealth of great Damer,
Or all on the African shore,
Or had I great Devonshire treasure,
Or had I ten thousand times more,
Or had I the lamp of Alladin,
Or had I his genie also,
I’d rather live poor on a mountain,
With Cailín deas crúite na mbó."

"I beg you’ll withdraw and don’t tease me;
I cannot consent unto thee.
I like to live single and airy,
Till more of the world I do see.
New cares they would me embarrass,
Besides, sir, my fortune is low,
Until I get rich I’ll not marry,"
Says Cailín deas crúite na mbó.

"An old maid is like an old almanack,
Quite useless when once out of date;
If her ware is not sold in the morning
At noon it must fall to low rate.
The fragrance of May is soon over,
The rose loses its beauty, you know;
All bloom is consumed in October,
Sweet Cailín deas crúite na mbó."

"A young maid is like a ship sailing,
There’s no knowing how long she may steer,
For with every blast she’s in danger;
Oh! consent, love, and banish all care.
For riches I care not a farthing,
Your affection I want and no more;
In comfort I’d wish to enjoy you,
My Cailín deas crúite na mbó.."

Andrew Plett

Two settings in O’Neill’s 1850.

X:102
T:"The Pretty Young Maid Milking Her Cow" (1st Setting)
S:O’Neill’s Music Of Ireland (The 1850)
Q:1/4=70
M:3/4
L:1/8
K:C
"_vb"(AB)|(c2e2c2)|(B2d2B2)|(A2G4-|G4)(AB)|(c2e2c2)|(B2d2B2)|A6-|A4(AB)|
(c2e2c2)|.B2"^>"g2.B2|.A2G4-|G4(e3/2d/2)|(c2B2A2)|(E2A2B2)|A6-|A4||
(AB)|(c2d2e2)|(e2^f2^g2)|a2A4-|A4(AB)|c2d2(e{fe}d)|e2(a2{c’}b2)|a6-|a2(b3a)|
(g2e2d2)|.B2"^>"g2.B2|.A2G4-|G4(ed)|(c2B2A2)|(E2A2B2)|A6-|A4|]

X:103
T:"The Pretty Maid Milking Her Cow" (2nd Setting)
S:O’Neill’s Music Of Ireland (The 1850)
Q:1/4=70
M:3/4
L:1/8
K:C
"_vb"(AB)|(c2e2c2)|(B2d2B2)|(A2G4-|G4)(AB)|(c2e2c2)|(B2d2B2)|A6-|A4(AB)|
c2e2c2|B2g2B2|A2G4-|G4(e3/2d/2)|(c2B2A2)|(E2^F2^G2)|A6-|A4||
G2|c3(de^f)|(g2e2c2)|(B2G4-|G4)G2|c3(de^f)|{a}g2 e2^g2|a6-|a4(ba)|
g3(fed)|B2g2B2|A2G4-|G4(ed)|c3(BAG)|(E2^F2^G2)|A6-|A4|]

Tá blian nó níos mó ‘gam ag éisteacht
Le cogar doilíosach mo mheoin,
Ó casadh liom grá geal mo chléibhe
Tráthnóna brea gréine san fhómhar.
Bhí an bhó bhainne chumhra ag géimneach
Is na h-éanlaith go meidhreach ag ceol,
Is ar bhruach an tsruthán ar leathaobh dhom
Bhí cailín deas crúite na mbó.

Tá a súile mar lonradh na gréine,
Ag scaipeadh trí spéartha gan cheo,
‘s is deirge a grua ná na caora
Ar lasadh measc craobha na gcnó,
Tá a béilin níos dílse na sméara,
‘s is gile ná leamhnacht a snó,
Níl ógbhean níos deise san saol seo
Ná cailín deas crúite na mbó.

PS. key signature should really be Adorian (rather than C)

Hiya,

Just a comment to add that a realy lovely version of this tune has been recorded by an excellent guitarist named Hielke de Boer in the Netherlands. Check out the website:

www.hielkedeboer.nl

keep milking…

greenthings

I think that this should be L:1/4. I don’t know how to change it.

Write Gian Marco…

Here is is as it would be using L: 1/8

X: 1
T: Pretty Girl Milking Her Cow, The
M: 3/4
L: 1/8
R: waltz
K: Ador
|: A/B/ |\
c2 e2 ed | B2 d2 dB | AB G4- | G4 AB | c2 e2 ed | B2 d2 dB | A6- | A3 B AB |
c2 e2 ed | B2 g2 dB | AB G4- | G3 f gf | ed cB AG | E2 A3 B | A6- | A4 :|
AB |\
c2 cd ef | g2 ge dB | AB G4- | G4 AB | c2 cd ef | g2 e2 g2 | a6- | a3 a ba |
g2 ge dc | dg GB dB | A/B/A G4- | G3 f gf | ed cB AG | E2 A3 B | A6- | A4 AB ||
c2 cd ef | g2 ge dB | AB G4-| G4 AB | c2 cd ef | g2 c’3 b | a6- | a3 a ba |
g2 ge dc | dg GB dB | A/B/A ^G4- | ^G3 f gf | ed cB AG | E3 A3 B | A6 | A4 |]

Correction ~ at the end ~ | E2 A3 B | A6 | A4 |]

Peter Brock plays the air from which Pretty Girl Milking Her Cow derives on his album Mo Chairdín: https://thesession.org/recordings/display/1823/comments.

He plays it in D dorian and very rubato, particularly the B section, which makes it impossible to transcribe perfectly. He does not repeat the A section but rather plays the whole piece twice with increasingly complex ornamentation as he proceeds.

My attempt at transcription without ornamentation follows.


X: 2
T: Cailín Deas Crúite Na mBó
M: 3/4
L: 1/8
R: Waltz
K: Ddor
DE| F2 A3 F|E2 G3 E|D2 (C4|C6) DE|
F2 A3 F| E2 G3 E| (D6|D4) DE|
F2 A3 F|E2 c3 E |D2 (C4|C6)|
A3 G FE|D A,3 DE|(D6|D4)||
DE|F3 G AB|c G3 FE| C4 DE| F3 GAB|
c2 A2 (3ABc |d6|e3 d c2|G2 FE c2 |
ED C4 |A2 GFED| A,2 D2 E2 |D4|

I recently heard this tune played in a session and I recognised it from the Manx traditional music collections. I have posted the Manx variant above.

The title as collected in the Isle of Man suggests the tune was used for the ballad Terence’s Farewell, a mid-19th century ballad published in England (London). Like many such ballads it actually has an Irish theme, in this case emigration from Ireland.

My setting follows the phrasing of the tune as collected in the Isle of Man, with the fermata’s (pauses) being at the end of each line of the verse. Doing it this way results in a 12 bar tune but the time taken in the pauses makes it seem like 16 bars (hum it through with the words and you’ll what I mean - difficult to explain without demonstrating!). Follow this link for the words: http://www.musicanet.org/robokopp/eire/somykath.htm.

It was collected in D dorian but I have transposed it to A dorian, being suitable for whistles and flutes, but I’ve also heard it played in B dorian.

A lovely tune to throw in amongst the reels and jigs.

This is pretty close to Finbar Furey’s version, one of the best versions I’ve heard.

X: 9
This setting is my transcription of the piping of David Power, from his CD "the eighteen Moloney" (track #3).
A beautiful air that sits particularly well on flat pipes.

I see you’ve fixed it but I’d like to add add two observations of my own.

1) I copied and pasted your first score into EasyABC on my mac and EasyABC sort of crashed. I re-started and then added a space after every "H" and the crash did not re-occur. I’m not certain that’s an entirely valid observation but there it is.

2) When I’m check something that I’ve scored, I add a second part with just time markers to cross-check my work - because I make a LOT of mistakes!
What I did to the (new) score was add the V:2 after the last line of the tune like this:

V:2
z2| z6 | z6 | z6 | z6 | z6 | z6 | z6 | z6 |
z6 | z6 | z6 | z6 | z6 | z6 | z6 | z6 |
z6 | z6 | z6 | z6 | z6 | z6 | z6 |

Everything is good up to the first bar in the third line and then the bars no longer match up.

Thanks callison, I found another timing (dotted eighth note and sixteenth couplet) error in the first bar of lines 3 and 7, and edited the posted file to fix those too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQ-NmVc2hg0

play video

The lyrics added above were written by Thomas Moore. There is an older set of Gaelic Lyrics as well, but as I don’t speak Gaelic I don’t know them.

I don’t remember where I picked this flute and harp version.

Redfern Mason in The Song Lore of Ireland (1911) calls this "one of the loveliest of folk tunes" and also says it is an example of what was considered "fairy music;" unfortunately, he doesn’t give a score of the melody he knew. The song has been often recorded. I don’t think it’s been mentioned that Judy Garland sang a version of it in the 1940 film "Little Nellie Kelly:"

https://youtu.be/iwbNk4pOalw

play video

The Maine-based folk band the Old Grey Goose recorded a polka version of it on their 1980 Smithsonian/Folkways album Old Grey Goose: Maine Country Dance Music and Song.

If you want to play it as the original air rather than the (*ugh*) waltz, you can’t do better than listen to this exquisite version by Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh:

https://youtu.be/0PuQZAKf-nE

play video

That will help you to get the right feel for the phrasing and acceptable margin of variation in melody and ornamentation.
Moore’s translation betrays the original, which is a much simpler and more sincere, straightforward love song.

The tune is also the basis of a double jig "Purty Molly Brannigan" - the word "purty" suggesting that this is an American name for it.