Morgan Rattler jig

This is Henrick Norbeck’s transcription of Morgan Rattler (1046) from O’Neill’s 1850. I know that not many people are ever going to play this is a session (although one member of the session I play with has been known to give this an airing, albeit transposed to D).

The reason I’ve posted it is in response to a discussion in the discussion threads where I suggested that this is a “jigathon” in itself. So here you go, Dave, now you can have a wee shuftie and see what you think!

This is an extremely popular tune at the moment.Peoplelike Andy Cutting, 422, Jabadaw and the Pack are all blasting it our, often twinning it with Oswestry Rakes.
Its origins are obscure asit has variously been claimed as Irish, Welsh, English and even Northumbrian. Its a sign of a good tune if everyone wants it for their own.

Incidently, up here in the North-east of England,it sometimes gets called the Marsden Rattler after the train that used torun up the coast between Sunderland and Newcastle. This has now been replaced by the Metro.
Noel Jackson

We play this at just about every gig we do - and I just haven’t tired of it! We originally heard it from Spiers and Boden.

Have been playing a 48 bar version of this tune for many years using the first two parts with the last part and in that order but in the key of ‘D’. It is one of my favourite jigs and I have put it with Paddy Carey’s and Bucks of Westmeath to make up a set for dancing. As far as I can tell neither of the latter two tunes have been submitted to the session so I will contribute them shortly. I use this set for a dance called ‘the Trencher Boy’

there’s a similar tune (in 9/8) on a Siobhán People’s album methinks. totally entrancing! (I forgot the name)

The Cordal Jig: https://thesession.org/tunes/864

There’s a 48 bar version of this in the tune book put together by triple harper Robin Huw Bowen from the manuscripts of John Parry Ddall of Rhiwabon. John Parry Ddall was a blind harper from Nefyn who lived from 1710 - 1782 and is thought to be one of the first in Wales to play the triple harp.

This tune, with the name spelt slightly differently, is on a barrel organ made in London in 1805.

X: 1
T: Morgan Ratler
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
R: jig
K: Dmaj
d |: AGF EFG | FEF D2 d | AGF EFG | B2 A Bcd |
AGF EFG | FEF D2 A | def edc | B2 A Bcd :|
|: d2 e fdB | c2 d ecA | d2 e fdB | g2 e fga |
d2 e fdB | c2 d ecA | def ecA | B2 A Bcd :|
|: D2 d dcd | E2 e ede | D2 d dcd | B2 A Bcd |
D2 d dcd | E2 e efg | agf edc | B2 A Bcd :|

https://thesession.org/tunes/2831

# Posted on July 4th 2012 by I ♥ Dow


Ssshh - he’s trying to get his 5

# Posted on July 4th 2012 by Dr. Dow

Morgan Ratler

Here is a short video, featuring this tune, on Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=101858053180161&oid=314048169119

Modesty almost prevents me from who was playing this (but the link does, I regret to say)

All the best

Peter Jenkins

# Posted on July 4th 2012 by Peter Jenkins


well nearly all the tunes he has submitted are crap cumbrian tunes… not nice cool trad irish ones, this is a dupl and should be removed with the abc being posted into the comments of the original Morgan Rattler tune submission

# Posted on July 4th 2012 by I ♥ Dow

Morgan Rat(t)ler

I googled Morgan Rattler and found this

http://abcnotation.com/tunePage?a=www.village-music-project.org.uk/abc/Vwml_anon_1/0241

Very interesting!

All the best

Peter Jenkins

# Posted on July 4th 2012 by Peter Jenkins


There is an 18th century Scottish bawdy song fragment (in the manuscripts of C.K. Sharpe, I think) where “morgan rattler” is used to mean “penis” - I think its primary meaning is “truncheon”.

# Posted on July 5th 2012 by Jack Campin

Is this really 9 parts?… Should be called the Compensation jig…

Love it Smash ~ you beat me to it… 😉

Setting as played at the Golden Guinea pub session, Bristol, UK.

Here is the version found in James Aird’s Selection of Scotch, English, Irish and Foreign Airs, vol. 5, p. 41, no. 108. The last variation is fun!

This seems to explain the origin of the tune, a two-parter with additional parts added later.
Gary, it would be interesting to know which collection Robin Huw Bowen got the tune from, as John Parry Ddall would have been a contemporary of Walker Jackson and one of Parry’s collections was called ‘A collection of Welsh, English and Scotch airs with new variations’.
Could he be the composer of the two additional parts?
https://tunearch.org/wiki/Annotation:Jackson%27s_Bouner_Bougher

We play the 48-bar (X2) version in a set of 48-bar jigs for The Waves of Tory ceilidh dance. Great bounce on those octave leaps in the 3rd section!

This is how we play this tune in Guernsey. I first heard it at Sark Folk Festival some years ago with the classic pairing of Paddy Carey’s at the start.