The Hag At The Spinning Wheel jig

I learned this from Brian McNeill’s first solo album.Is it a modern tune? I only began to hear it in sessions in the late 80’s.

It’s an old tune, favourite from the pipers.

among the pipers.

T:Hag at the Spinning Wheel, The
M:6/8
L:1/8
S:Paddy Moloney & Sean Potts : “Tin Whistles”
R:jig
Z:g.m.p.
K:G
~G3 B2G|BcA B2D|~G3 cAG|F2G AFD|~G3 B2G|BcA Bge|fed cAF|1 GAG G2D:|2 GAG
G2c||
|:BAG AFD|~D3 AFD|~D3 AFD|EFG ABc|BAG AFD|~D3 FEF|ded cAF|1 GAG G2c:|2 G
AG G2D||
|:GBd gba|gdB ecA|dBG cAG|F2G AFD|GBd gba|gdB ~e3|fed cAF|1 GAG G2D:|2 G
AG G2c||
|:BAG Afd|Bfd Agd|Bfd AFD|EFG ABc|BAG AFD|~D3 FEF|ded cAF|1 GAG G2c:|2 G
AG G2D||

Essentially a 2-part version of “The Maid At The Spinning Wheel” (or the Maid At The Spinning Wheel is a 3- or 4-part version of this tune … take your pick). One of the few tunes named after the town in whose hinterland I grew up.

A true story … I was playing this one night and somebody asked me the name. “The Road To Lurgan” I answered. A sour face … “Jayz. I’d sooner hear the road *out of* thon kip!”

Jerry O’Sullivan plays the fourth part as follows:

c|BAG Afd|Bgd Afd|Bgd AFD|EFG ABc|BAG AFD|~D3 AFD|ded cAF|AGF G2 c|

Will, on what recording(s) does Jerry O`Sullivan play the Hag At The Spinning Wheel?
I would like to learn this tune but have not heard any piping versions so far.

It’s on Eileen Ivers’ “Wild Blue” cd, 2nd track. They do Maid at the Spinning Wheel, Scatter the Mud, and Jimmy Ward’s Favorite. In the sleeve notes, Eileen says she learned “the last part–the really piping, cranny, fun part” from Jerry O’Sullivan.

I’ve heard the two of them do the same set live, and they’re both just cranking on all three reels. Good stuff.

thanks Will.

Er, “reels”??? Sorry, don’t know what I was smoking on March 24. Jigs, obviously. :8)

Like most of the other pipe jigs, this sounds nice on banjo. Enda Scahill recorded it, and one of my friends in Yorkshire sometimes plays it on banjo too.

Submitted on September 1st 2004 by Aidan Crossey.
https://thesession.org/tunes/3474

Submitted on August 29th 2003 by dafydd.
https://thesession.org/tunes/2254

The first two parts of this tune are “The Road to Lurgan”, maybe the next two are “The Road out of Lurgan”?

Watch Martin Ryan and Marcus Maloney play this jig: http://comhaltas.ie/music/detail/comhaltaslive_249_1_martin_and_noel_ryan_and_marcus_maloney/

~ /discussions/23988
# Posted on March 7th 2010 by jasonlburnfield

The last one I submitted turned out to be a duplicate (sorry). I did attemt to seach for reasonable variations on the ABC. Before I post this one, I’d like to see if anyone recognizes it and if it is indeed already on the site.
Thanks! ~ jasonlburnfield

X: 3
T: Hag At The Spinning Wheel
S: Iona, ‘The River Flows – Anthology Vol 1, Dunes’
Z: Transcribed by Jason Burnfield
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
R: Jig
K: GMaj
|: D |\
GGG ABG | BcA B2 D | G2 G BAG | F2 G AFD |
GGG ABG | BcA Bdg | fed cAF | AGF G2 D :|
|: c |\
BAG AFD | D3 AFD | D3 AFD| EFG ABc |
BAG AFD | D3 AFD | ded cAF | AGF G2 :|
|: D |\
GBd gba | gdB ecA | dBG cAG | F2 G AFD |
GBd gba | gdB ecA | fed cAF | AGF G2 :|
|: c |\
BAG Afd | Agd Afd | Agd AFD | EFG ABc |
BAG AFD | D3 AFD | ded cAF | AGF G2 :|

Oops! forgot to remove that D, the A-part, bar 8… 😛

X: 2
T: Hag at the Spinning Wheel, The
S: Paddy Moloney & Sean Potts : “Tin Whistles”
Z: g.m.p.
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
R: jig
K: GMaj
|: D |\
~G3 B2 G | BcA B2 D | ~G3 cAG | F2 G AFD |
~G3 B2 G | BcA Bge | fed cAF | GAG G2 :|
|: c |\
BAG AFD | ~D3 AFD | ~D3 AFD | EFG ABc |
BAG AFD | ~D3 FEF | ded cAF | GAG G2 :|
|: D |\
GBd gba | gdB ecA | dBG cAG | F2 G AFD |
GBd gba | gdB ~e3 | fed cAF | GAG G2 :|
|: c |\
BAG Afd | Bfd Agd | Bfd AFD | EFG ABc |
BAG AFD | ~D3 FEF | ded cAF | GAG G2 :|

This tune appears twice in O’Neill’s ‘Music of Ireland’ (“the 1850”), as #830 ‘The Road to Lurgan’, and again (in a different setting) as #920 ’Kiss Me Darling“.

This great version appears in Breandan Breathnach, Ceol Rince na hÉireann, vol. 1, 1963, p. 3, no 1 as Cailleach an Túirne.
According to the Fiddler’s Companion and Breathnach, this tune has many other names : “Cailín an Túirna”, “Garrett Barry [’s Jig]”, “Gearoid de Barra”, “Is Maith Le Nora Ciste” (Nora Likes Cake), “Kiss Me Darling”, “The Ladies’ Fancy”, “The Maid at/of the Spinning Wheel”, “Maire an Phortair”, “Noran Kista”, “Nora’s Purse”, “Nora with the Purse”, “Norickystie”, “Port an Achreidh”, “Sergeant Early’s Jig”, “The Spinning Wheel”, “Tune the Fiddle”, “The Wild Irishman”, “Wreathe the Bowl”.

This lovely tune invites you to be playful and inviting you to an abundance of variations and inventions. I would like to invite you to have a listen to Fergal Scahill’s project “a Fiddle tune a day (2017)” where he in his creative and playful way is fiddling, frolicking and rollicking around with this maid ;+). The tune doesn’t sound as a hag at all! For your conveniance : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSC-KaA9ydE

play video

As recorded by “Na Fili” :
https://youtu.be/QYcE8-XVGFw

play video

There are great versions of this tune on Na Fili’s The Chanter’s Tune and Danu’s When All Is Said and Done.

Oh, and both are the four-part version.

My take on Eileen Ivers’ version.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcqqHdSiopg

play video

Version in Clinton’s Gems of Ireland, no. 114, as “Noresnkeesta.”

NylonFlute’s version crops up in the Winder manuscripts as a version of “ Behind the Bush in the Garden“.

X:1
T:88 Behind the Bush in the garden
M:6/8
S:James Winder Ms, Lancashire, 1835-41
K:D
A|d2e f2d|g2e f2d|d2e f2d|c3 e3|!
d2e f2d|g2e f2d|faf ece|d3 d2:|!
|:g|fed cBA|BcB A2g|fed cBA|B3 d2g|!
fed cBA|BcB A2g|faf ece|d3 d2:|

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cszJkUZiN3g

play video