Da Auld Resting Chair barndance

By Tom Anderson

Also known as The Auld Resting Chair, Da Auld Restin Chair, Da Auld Restin’ Chair, The Old Resting Chair, The Resting Chair.

There are 27 recordings of this tune.

This tune has been recorded together with

Da Auld Resting Chair has been added to 8 tune sets.

Da Auld Resting Chair has been added to 126 tunebooks.

Download ABC

Five settings

1
X: 1
T: Da Auld Resting Chair
R: barndance
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
K: Gmaj
B3 c A3 B|G2 D2 B,2 G,2|C2 A2 B,2 GD|^CEAG F2 D2|
B3 c A3 B|G2 D2 B,2 G,2|C2 A2 D2 F2|1 G6 D2:|2 G6 d2||
cBAG g3 d|e2 g2 d2 B2|c3 d B2 G2|E2 AG F2 D2|
cBAG g3 d|e2 g2 d2 B2|c3 e d2 F2|G6 d2|
cBAG g3 d|e2 g2 d2 B2|c3 d B2 GD|^CEAG F2 D2|
B3 c A3 B|G2 D2 B,2 G,2|C2 A,2 D2 F2|G8||
2
X: 2
T: Da Auld Resting Chair
R: barndance
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
K: Gmaj
z2|(g3 a) (f3 g)|(d2 B2) (B2 G2)|c4 d4|^c4 d4|
(g3 a) (f3 g)|(d2 B2) (B2 G2)|(cd)(ec) d2 c2|B6:|
d2|(ed)(cB) B4|c4 B4|A4 (G2 B2)|^c4 d4|(ed)(cB) B4|
c4 B4|A2 (Bc) B2 c2|B6 d2|(ed)(cB) B4|c4 B4|
A4 (G2B2)|^c4 d4|(g3a) (f3 g)|(d2B2) (B2 G2)|(cd)(ec) (d2c2)|B6||
3
X: 3
T: Da Auld Resting Chair
R: barndance
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
K: Gmaj
|:D2|B3 c A3 B|G2 d2 B2 G2|c2 A2 B2 G2|E2 AG F2 D2|
B3 c A3 B|G2 d2 B2 G2|c2 A2 D2 F2|G6:|
d2|cBAG g3 d|e2 g2 d2 B2|c3 d B2 G2|E2 AG F2 D2|
cBAG g3 d|e2 g2 d2 B2|c3 e d2 F2|G6 d2|
cBAG g3 d|e2 g2 d2 B2|c3 d B2 G2|E2 AG F2 D2|
B3 c A3 B|G2 d2 B2 G2|c2 A2 D2 F2|G8||
4
X: 4
T: Da Auld Resting Chair
R: barndance
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
K: Dmaj
|:f3 g e3 f|d2 A2 F2 D2|G2 e2 F2 d2|B2 ed c2 A2|
f3 g e3 f|d2 A2 F2 D2|G2 e2 A2 c2|d6 A2:|
GFED d3 A|B2 d2 A2 F2|G3 A F2 d2|B2 ed c2 A2|
GFED d3 A|B2 d2 A2 F2|G2 AB A2 c2|d6 A2|
GFED d3 A|B2 d2 A2 F2|G3 A F2 d2|B2 ed c2 A2|
f3 g e3 f|d2 A2 F2 D2|G2 e2 A2 c2|d8||
5
X: 5
T: Da Auld Resting Chair
R: barndance
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
K: Dmaj
|:A2|f3 g e3 f|d2 A2 f2 d2|g2 e2 f2 d2|GB ed c2 A2|
f3 g e3 f|d2 A2 f2 d2|G2 e2 A2 c2|d6:|
a2|gfed d3 A|B2 d2 A2 f2|g3 a f2 d2|B2 ed c2 A2|
gfed d3 A|B2 d2 A2 f2|G2 AB A2 c2|d6 a2|
gfed d3 A|B2 d2 A2 f2|g3 a f2 d2|GB ed c2 A2|
f3 g e3 f|d2 A2 f2 d2|G2 e2 A2 c2|d8||

Twenty-seven comments

Barndance, hee hee that’s a good one!

It think its full name is “The (or Da) Auld Resting Chair” and it is an air.

Yes it’s an air, which isn’t an option when submitting tunes. What’s the closest thing to an air? I didn’t know what to put :-|

The hee hee wasn’t directed at you Conway. I’ve come up against the same problem - I submitted a piece by Carolan and had to call it a waltz (barf).

No offense taken & I really am grateful to be corrected! I didn’t know what it was until I looked at a different file.

Lovely tune. Thanks Brother Steve.

Da Auld Resting Chair

Isn’t this a shetland tune - by Tom Anderson. It certainly has a similar feel to Da Slockit Light.
Noel Jackson
Angels of the North

Tom Anderson

Tom Anderson is the composer of this tune.
Good Luck.
Mike Allen.

Posted by .

Da Auld Resting Chair

I have Tom Anderson’s CD The Silver Bow with me today, and according to his liner notes he wrote this tune upon finding, in the ruins of his grandfather’s cottage, the remains of the “resting chair” his grandfather used to sit on while teaching Tom to play the fiddle. Rather a touching story.

The Auld Resting Chair

Fiddler and former band mate of the ubiquitous Mick Maloney, Eugene O‘Donnell plays a splendid variant of this tune on his solo album from the late 70s or early 80s. If I’m not “misremembering”, the album was called, aptly enough, Eugene O’Donnell. Great stuff, altogether.

This tune also appears on “Lios A’Cheoil, Traditional Irish Music” by Tom and Kerry Barrett with Paul de Grae. Their liner notes indicate that it was composed by Tom Anderson and is a tribute to his grandfather as well. A brilliant Air!

Peace,
Ed

“Haand me doon da fiddle” ~ Tom Anderson & Pam Swing

The University of Stirling, 1979
ISBN: 0-901636-25-8

#33: “Da Auld Resting Chair”

Da Auld Resting Chair

Does anyone know or have a second part or counter melody for this lovely tune ?

Da Auld Resting Chair - second part

By a remarkable coincidence, I was given a copy of both parts last week (looking at transcribing it for guitar).

I took it out to look at it this evening and looked it up on thesessions, and noticed your post. So, your luck’s in!

Here’s the second fiddle part (my first attempt at transcribing into ABC).

Best regards,
Dave

X: 1
T: Resting Chair, The (second fiddle)
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: air
K: Gmaj
z2| (g3 a) (f3 g) |(d2 B2) (B2 G2) |c4 d4 |^c4 d4 |
(g3 a) (f3 g) |(d2 B2) (B2 G2) |(cd)(ec) d2 c2 | B6 :||
d2 | (ed)(cB) B4 |c4 B4 |A4 (G2 B2) |^c4 d4 |(ed)(cB) B4|
c4 B4 |A2 (Bc) B2 c2 |B6 d2| (ed)(cB) B4| c4 B4 |
A4 (G2B2) |^c4 d4 |(g3a) (f3 g) | (d2B2) (B2 G2) |(cd)(ec) (d2c2)|B6 ||

Da Auld Resting Chair

Thanks a million, Dave, for transcribing the second part and sharing it. Sounds nice. Do you know the author ?

René

James Scott Skinner

A friend of mine plays this tune and calls it “The Old Racking Chair.” He has always told me it was a James Scott Skinner tune. Any idea how he could have been confused? Does Skinner have any connection with the tune in the slightest?

The Old Resting Chair

This song appears on Buttons and Bows first album with the title “The Old Resting Chair” - at least in the version that I have.

C: Tom Anderson - of Shetland fiddling fame

“Any idea how he could have been confused?” - 52Paddy

Drink, pickling himself or the person who gave him the wrong name and the wrong composer… Also composer of others, like “Da Slockit Light”:

https://thesession.org/tunes/1863

The WORST thing that can and has been done to these fine tunes, by people who have obviously not bothered to hear the composer’s own ways with them, is to drag them out as a melodramatic dirge, some folks misguided concept of what an ‘air’ is, Hollywood fashion and slurpy… They definitely lose something when butchered that way.

“haand me doon da fiddle” - Tom Anderson & Pam Swing

ISBN: 0-901636-25-8

First published in 1979 by the Department of Continuing Education, The University of Sterling

Page 44, tune #33 ~ “Da Auld Resting Chair”

“Dis is a slow air o‘ me ain at I composed in 1968 whin I fan at Hamnavoe, whaur me grand feider bedd, da brucks o’ da auld resting chair dat he sat upo whin he wis learnin me ta play da fiddle.” ~ Tom Anderson

University of Stirling, Ceolachan - it’s not a banking school!

Credit where credit is due, Weejie. He spelled it correctly in 2005!

Posted by .

At least on this thread he did.😲

Posted by .

Da Auld Resting Chair, X:4

This setting in D allows the entire first part to be correctly played on the uilleann pipes, keyless Irish flute, or whistle. The second part has to be taken down the octave and folded, otherwise there will be 3rd octave notes.

Playing this setting on a medium/mezzo/alto G whistle will allow you to play along with others playing it in its normal key of G.

Da Auld Resting Chair, X:5

This is arranged for the Scottish pipes (Great Highland, Scottish Smallpipes, Border Pipes).

The “Low G” in bars 4 and 20 should be G# but the pipes lack that note. You can play the pipe’s ordinary G, or substitute bar 12 for bars 4 and 20.

Re: Da Auld Resting Chair

I heard a Tune called “Shetland Air-The old Rocking Chair” played by Brendan Lynch on the CD Irish traditional Fiddle Music from the Heart of Fingal, but the melody is complete different to this “Da Auld Resting Chair” here. Does anybody know the Shetland Air by Brendan Lynch, a name, abc or sheetmusic? I like that tune much. Sorry for my English

Re: Da Auld Resting Chair

@Peter Sassenhagen: It is an interpretation of the same tune (and correctly titled ‘The Old Resting Chair’, not ‘… Rocking …’). Brendan Lynch takes some artistic liberties with the tune, adding a lot of extra notes.

https://youtu.be/4W_feaIdTEA?t=519 @8:39