Granny In The Corner reel

This reel followed by Father Kelly’s Reel (in G) makes a good set.

I like the title—I’m picturing Granny in satiny silver shorts with a big red waist band, pulled up over her navel, a black sports bra, and big red boxing gloves, sitting on a stool in the contender’s corner of the ring….

But I’m curious about the tune—is this old trad, or new, or your own composition?

From The Fiddler’s Companion: "GRANNY IN THE CORNER, THE. Irish, Reel. Shanachie 79002, "The Boys of the Lough" (1973. Learned from "the late" fiddler and story-teller Mickey Docherty, "of the travelling people")."

Excellent! Sorry— no doubt I beat you to the punch (groan) with my query.

Beat me to the punch too. I was going to post this reel this week, because it had been requested under it’s other title, "The Volunteer". "Any Old Time " recorded this reel as "The Volunteer" on their first LP. A fine tune on the flute.

And to think all this time Granny was hiding under the guise of The Volunteer in my M. Cranitch’s Irish Fiddle Book! My version of Granny is from Caoimhin Gaimh’s (Kevin Gow) "Smoke In Your Eyes" Seattle sessions tune book.

There’s a great performance of this tune on Rodney Miller’s Airdance CD. The tune follows Kilcommon waltz and is played at the beginning, brilliantly, by David Surette on guitar. He adds more notes in the first measures: it’s more like

|:DEGB AGBG|AGDE GABd|

I generally think of this tune as being in G, not Dmix. Even though both sections end in D, the tonality seems to be in G; I think it’s because of the G, C, D chord progression. Maybe it’s me.

It seems to have scottish overtones in the tune and rhythm;
Isn’t this what is called a ‘single’ or a fling ??
& the c’s can be moved up to d to give it full pentatonic flavour and the whole can be kept within the scottish pipe range…

A reel from Winifred Horan’s album ‘The Pleasures of Home’ (2002), where she says it’s a popular Irish reel played in sessions.

"Boys Of The Lough" used to play it, and also recorded by "Any Old Time". Both used to play it in "G".

As played by Mick Mulcahy.

i learned it from a scottish fiddler friend, Robin around four years ago as, "Mick Mulcahy’s," in Gmajor, then discovered it on a "three dog stone," CD as played by Erin Schrader with different phrasing and voicings, however the same tune …having just become a granny for the first time, related and fell inlove with the tune …

What are good chords to play with Granny in the corner?

A part: G C G Amin C
G C G Amin C D rpt
B part: G Amin G…….C
G Amin G…….C D rpt
Something like that. Check out Caladh Nua’s version