Sean Bui jig

There’ s a very nice recording of this tune by Liam O’ Flynn, Andy Irvine and Mick Hanly on the CD
" Magic Irish Instrumentals " .

Here’s a version in G https://thesession.org/tunes/882

thanks for the link to this better version.

X: 2
T: Over the Water to Charlie
S: "The Oregon Country Dance Orchestra Tune Book"
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
R: jig
K: Gmaj
|: G |\
"G" GBd dBd | "Em" egB BAG | "G" GBd dBd | "C" e3 g2 G |
"G" GBd dBd | "Em" egB BAG | "G" gbg "D" afd | "C" e3 "G" g2 :|
|: d |\
"G" gbg "D" afd | "Em" egB BAG | "G" gbg "D" afd | "C" e3 g2 d |
"G" gbg "D" afd | "Em" egB BAG | "G" GBd dBd | "C" e3 "G" g2 :|

Transposed for comparison

K: DMaj
|: D |\
DFA AFA | BdF FED | DFA AFA | B3 d2 D |
DFA AFA | BdF FED | dfd ecA | B3 d2 :|
|: A |\
dfd ecA | BdF FED | dfd ecA | B3 d2 A |
dfd ecA | BdF FED | DFA AFA | B3 d2 :|

Appears in two setting as "Yellow John" in O’Neill’s 1850 (numbers 1832 & 1833).
Both settings added here (copied from John Chambers’ transcriptions).
A "Seán bui" (yellow John) can be a disparaging term for a "pompous Englishman" (John Bull type) or even, so I’m told, England.
Whether the title of this tune refers to this, I don’t know.

The song "Over the water to Charlie", sung to a variant of this tune is well known. One of the best versions I’ve heard was sung by Tom McConville and Dab Hand. Tom playing fiddle and singing simultaneously.

It’s over the water, it’s over the sea
It’s over the water tae Charlie
Come weal, come woe, we’ll gather and go
To live or die wi’ Charlie

Piping version

Interesting to see the title "Sean Bui" for this well known tune. It can be found in a Scottish manuscript from the early 1700s (from the Inglis Collection - see http://digital.nls.uk/special-collections-of-printed-music/pageturner.cfm?id=94569172) as "Ian Buis" - an obvious link. Elsewhere it’s in Gow’s 3rd Collection (1792) as "O’er the Water to Charlie" and "Wishaw’s Delight".

There’s a nice 6-part version in James Oswald’s Caledonian Pocket Companion (Book 11, I think) under the name "Shanbuie".

As played by Nollaig Mac Cárthaigh on the NPU beginners piper tutor.

Piping version learned many many years ago from the french piper Marc Guilloux during workshops of the Paris’ piper’s club "Na Piobairi France" of that time.

Tommy Reck’s version from the field album ‘The Stone in the Field", of which was played on Pat Sky’s own Rowsome Flat set which Pat lent to Tommy whilst recording.