Ruidhle Mo Nighean Donn reel

This melody really sounds familiar to me, but I don’t remember where I heard it. According to my poor knowledge of Gaelic, it means something like “my brown-haird girl.” What does the first word mean?

AKA The Brown Haired Maid
Nice tune, but unfortunately incomplete… I know a 6-part version for the Highland pipes.

I think Ridhe or ridhle is just reel, isn’t it?

This didn’t exist in more than two parts up until the early 20th century, AFAIK, when it was just one more gaelic pipe reel in G.

The six-parter in A is just Donald MacLeod showing off how many variations he can write, and I don’t think he did it any favours putting it in A. For a good pipe setting, see GS MacLennan’s…now *that* is a setting for pipes. Eight parts and not a cheesy variation amongst them.

Another good ‘variation’ is Allan MacDonald’s Tar the House.

on iain morrisons recording…. in A, there is G natural…..so here there would be a C natural

When played on Highland Pipes or Smallpipes the 7th is natural because you don’t have a sharp G. The correct version, which can be played on border pipes has the sharpened 7th.

Why would you put a sharpened 7th in it when it’s not meant to be there, that’s just silly…

It’s also a puirt-a-beul (mouth music) with only two parts and “Ruidhle mo Nighean Donn” literally translates as "my brown haired/eyed girl’s reel. Sin agad e! 🙂

Ruidhleadh Mo Nighean Donn by Shooglenifty:

https://shooglenifty.bandcamp.com/track/ruidhleadh-mo-nighean-donn-am-buachaille-dubh-fionnghal

I transcribed this version in Amix after listening to several recordings of the song.

The title translates to: “Reel My Brown Haired Girl.” 🙂

This is what I play - I got it originally from the Vale of Atholl’s recording Live n Well I think but no promises as to accuracy! I have a suspicion it came to them via Gordon Duncan from the playing of the MacDonald brothers, but that’s just a guess.

Would that version not be listed with one sharp Calum as it is in G? I know it’s a pipe tune and there are no c’s as is usual with pipe tunes in G but for others it would be in G major.

Going back to greenbutton’s comment, “Why would you put a sharpened 7th in it when it’s not meant to be there, that’s just silly… ”, all the usual versions of this tune have a sharpened 7th - which is why it is/it was more commonly played on the pipes in G. It’s the A pipe version that would be unusual to fiddlers etc with the flattened 7th.

Thanks Calum, that’s a cracking version of the tune!

Aye, quite right, bogman. Bad habit when writing out pipe tunes!