I Buried My Wife And Danced On Her Grave jig

Also known as I Buried My Love, I Buried My Wife, I Buried My Wife And Danced On Top Of Her, I Buried My Wife And Danced On Top Of Her Grave, I Buried My Wife And I Danced On Her, The Soup Of Good Drink.

There are 61 recordings of this tune.
This tune has been recorded together with

I Buried My Wife And Danced On Her Grave appears in 1 other tune collection.

I Buried My Wife And Danced On Her Grave has been added to 267 tune sets.

I Buried My Wife And Danced On Her Grave has been added to 1,311 tunebooks.

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Eleven settings

1
X: 1
T: I Buried My Wife And Danced On Her Grave
R: jig
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
K: Dmix
|:DDD F2G|AdB cAF|GGG BAG|FFF GEA|
DDD F2G|AdB cAF|GGG BAG|AFD D2A:|
|:d2e fed|faf gfe|d2e fed|dcA dcA|
d2e fed|faf gfe|dcA BAG|AFD D3:|
2
X: 2
T: I Buried My Wife And Danced On Her Grave
R: jig
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
K: Dmaj
|:DED F2 G|AdB =cAF|GFG BAG|FAF GEA|
DED F2 G|AdB =cAF|GFG BAG|1 AFD D2 E:|2 AFD DFA||
|:d2 e fed|faf gfe|d2 e fed|d=cA d=cA|
d2 e fed|faf gfe|d2 A BAG|1 AFD DFA:|2 AFD D2 E||
Added .
3
X: 3
T: I Buried My Wife And Danced On Her Grave
R: jig
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
K: Gmaj
|:G,A,G, B,2C|DGE =FDB,|~C3 EDC|~B,3 CA,G,|
~G,3 B,2C|DGE =FDB,|~C3 EDC|DB,G, G,3:|
|:G2A BAG|BdB cAF|G2A BAG|GFD GFD|
G2A BAG|BdB cAF|GFD EDC|DB,G, G,3:|
4
X: 4
T: I Buried My Wife And Danced On Her Grave
R: jig
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
K: Dmix
|:DAD F2G|AdB cAF|~G3 cAG|FAF GEA|
DED F2G|AdB cAF|G2B cAG|AFD D3:|
|:d2e fed|faf gfe|d2e fed|d^cA d^cA|
d2e fed|faf gfe|d^cA BAG|AFD D3:|
5
X: 5
T: I Buried My Wife And Danced On Her Grave
R: jig
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
K: Dmix
|:DED F2 G|AdB cAF|~ G3 BAG|FAF GEA|
DED F2 G|AdB cAF|GFG BAG|1 AFD D2 E:|2 AFD DFA||
|:d2 e fed|faf gfe|d2 e fed|dcA dcA|
d2 e fed|f/g/af gfe|d2 A BAG|1 AFD DFA:|2 AFD D2 E||
Added .
6
X: 6
T: I Buried My Wife And Danced On Her Grave
R: jig
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
K: Gmaj
|:dge fdc|B2B cAF|GGG ABA|GFG ABc|
dge fdc|BAB cAF|GGG ABA|GAF GBc:|
|:d2B cBA|BdB cAF|GFG ABA|GFG ABc|
dcB cBA|B/c/dB cAF|GGG ABA|GAF GBc:|
7
X: 7
T: I Buried My Wife And Danced On Her Grave
R: jig
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
K: Dmaj
|:DAD F2 G|AdB =cAF|G3 BAG|FAF GEA|
DAD F2 G|AdB =cAF|GFG BAG|1 AFD D2 A:|2 AFD DFA||
|:d2e g/f/ed|faf gfe|d2e g/f/ed|dcA dcA|
d2e g/f/ed|faf gfe|dcA BAG|1 AFD DFA:|2 AFD D2A||
8
X: 8
T: I Buried My Wife And Danced On Her Grave
R: jig
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
K: Dmix
|:D3 F2G|AdB cAF|G3 BAG|F3 GEA|
D3 F2G|AdB cAF|G3 BAG|AFD D2A:|
|:d2e fed|faf gfe|d2e fed|dcA dcA|
d2e fed|faf gfe|dcA BAG|AFD D3:|
9
X: 9
T: I Buried My Wife And Danced On Her Grave
R: jig
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
K: Dmix
|:DED F2G|AdB cAF|~G2G cAG|~F3 GEA|
DED F2G|AdB cAF|~G2G cAG|1 AFD D2 A|2 AFD DFA:|
|:d2e ~f2d|faf gfd|d2e fed|d^cA d^cA|
d2e ~f3|~a3 gfe|d^cA BAG|1 AFD DFA|2 AFD D3:|
10
X: 10
T: I Buried My Wife And Danced On Her Grave
R: jig
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
K: Dmix
|:DED F2G|AdB cAF|~G3 cAG|~F3 GEA|
DED F2G|AdB cAF|~G3 BAG|1 AFD D2A,:|2 AFD D2A||
|:d2e fed|f/g/af ge^c|d2e fed|d^cA d^cA|
d2e fed|f/g/af gfe|d^cA BAG|1 AFD D2A:|2 AFD D2A,||
11
X: 11
T: I Buried My Wife And Danced On Her Grave
R: jig
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
K: Dmix
|:DED F2G|AdB cAF|~G3 cAG|~F3 GEA|
DED F2G|AdB cAF|GFGcAG|1 AFD D2E:|2 AFD D3||
|:d2e fed|faf ge^c|d2e fed|d^cA d^cA|
d2e fed|faf ge^c|d^cA BAG|1 AFD D2A:|2 AFD D2E||

Forty comments

I Buried My Wife

Jeremy posted a version of this ages ago, although to me it was closer to Frieze Britches, a related but disinct tune.

The version I go by is in D major, and has been widely recorded, notably by Martin Hayes.

In Josh’s post here, I’m assuming those C’s are meant to be little c’s?

Posted .

I Buried My Wife and Danced on Her Grave

I’m concerned that we have several versions of this floating around on this site, but one is actually Frieze Britches, a similar but different tune, and the other (I Buried My Wife and Danced on Top of Her) matches no version I’ve ever heard.

Which left us without a session-able version--one that would likely fit in with what’s more commonly played under this name at sessions here and beyond. I think one of this site’s strengths is as a source of widely played versions of tunes. Learn them, and you can sit in at sessions everywhere. So I’ve posted that more common version here.

This is based on Martin Hayes’ playing on his early self-titled cd. He also sometimes playes it sharping the c’s in the B Part for a more major (less modal) feel. You can put rolls on those GFG’s in the A Part, and don’t be afraid to slide into that F in measures 1 and 5 of Part A.

Hope this doesn’t ruffle anyone’s hackles….
Will

Posted .

Correction

Yes, my careless mistake. The C’s are supposed to be little c’s. I’m sorry for the confusion, if any.

Jack Wright & I like to call this one “I’ll bury your wife & dance on her grave”

This Setting via Seattle

This setting comes from “Smoke In Your Eyes - A Complilation of Irish Tunes Played at Seattle Sessions” as collected by Caoimhin Gaimh.

It’s not surprising that Josh and I have the same setting for this tune as we both share the same teacher, Skip Healy (www.skiphealy.com), who is a good friend of Caoimhin and spends a lot of time out there at various tionols and trad events.

I don’t know if this makes this setting more or less legitimate, but that’s where it comes from.

Take care,
John Harvey
http://www.rhodeirish.net

Name Confusion

O’Neill’s lists this as “The Frieze Breeches” with the alternate title “I Buried My Wife And Danced On Top Of Her”.

Other recording of tune

I have no other name, but I learned it off Dervish’s album “Playing with Fire” (track 6). Good recording too! Jan

Posted by .

Other sets

I learned this tune a while ago in Dublin from Patricia Logan ,(excellent piper and teacher), learned it as the second tune in a set, first being, East of Glendart (Humours of Glendart) this one, and to wrap up with Sean Bui, three fairly easy tunes, but good practice especially for beginers!

This has gone to the top of my ‘tunes to learn list’… I sang with Silver Arm over Valentines weekend, and they played this one! (How funny is that??)

Frieze Breeches?

This sounds like a version of The Frieze Breeches to me, played in a different key.

Gan Ainm

It could be,I recorded it at a session and didn’t get the name.

I Buried My Wife ?

Looks like “I Buried My Wife And Danced On Top Of Her”, but “a string” lower, in which case, it’ already listed.

Kenny’s got it. Rodney Miller (US fiddler) recorded it in this key.

Posted .

T:I Buried My Wife and Danced on Top of Her
M:6/8
L:1/8
S:Eamon Cotter
R:jig
Z:gm
K:Dmix
DAD F2G|AdB cAF|~G3 cAG|FAF GEA|DED F2G|AdB cAF|G2B cAG|AFD D3:|
|:d2e fed|faf gfe|d2e fed|d^cA d^cA|d2e fed|faf gfe|d^cA BAG|AFD D3:|

I Buried My Wife

We play this as follows, in Dmix (F sharps, c naturals), although sometimes we do the |dcA dcA| phrase in the B part with c sharps because one of our local fiddlers learned it that way from Martin Hayes at a Valley of the Moon workshop.

X: 1
T: I Buried My Wife And Danced On Her Grave
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
R: jig
K: Dmix
DED F2 G|AdB cAF|~ G3 BAG|FAF GEA|
DED F2 G|AdB cAF|GFG BAG|1 AFD D2 E :|2 AFD DFA||
d2 e fed|faf gfe|d2 e fed|dcA dcA|
d2 e fed|f/g/af gfe|d2 A BAG|1 AFD DFA :|2 AFD D2 E||

Posted .

Martin Hayes’ Version

As noted above, Martin plays it Dmix.

i was at a workshop for singing in urm…….. what did you call that place…..? i’ll get back to you on that……

anyway, we learnt a song called “cunnla dear” the tune was exactly the same to the this tune…. has anyone any info on that…

it went
“who’s that there who’s knocking the ditches down?”

GOT IT !

MAGHERY, CO. SUMTHING NI NORTHEN IRELAND

PHEW, THE RELIEF!

I Buried My Wife And Danced On Top Of Her - totally different

I found a very nice set of 3 jigs on youtube by Mick Maloney and friends.

I Buried My Wife And Danced On Her Grave
The Rambling Pitch Fork
The Hag at the Churn
Listen Here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzz7g5dTb7k


The last 2 tunes are as expected, the first is totally different from any version of the Buried Wife I’ve heard or could find.

I wrote it out as best I could. If anyone knows of another name for it that would be nice.

X: 1
T: I Buried My Wife And Danced On Her Grave
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
Q: 1/4=180
K: G
Bc \
|: dge fdc | B2B cAF | GGG ABA | GFG ABc \
| dge fdc | BAB cAF | GGG ABA | GAF GBc :|
|: d2B cBA | BdB cAF | GFG ABA | GFG ABc \
| dcB cBA | B/c/dB cAF | GGG ABA | GAF GBc :|

That’s “An Tiocfaidh Tú Abhaile Liom”: https://thesession.org/tunes/1220 Well, Mick Moloney doesn’t state that’s “I buried my wife….” He just mentions it as another tune with a peculiar title.

That’s it - Will You Come Home With Me?

Sure enough, Thanks so much. And, you’re quite correct - he didn’t mention it as a tune they would play, but simply that it was a favorite silly name for a tune they had played before.

The reason I concluded that it was Danced on Her Grave was that about 2 seconds before they begin playing the fiddler on the end says “I danced on her” - or so I believe after listening to it several times - I really wanted know the name that tune! 🙂

Again, thanks very much.

Composer of “I Buried My Wife etc.”

though someone asked this quite a few years ago, I thought I’d give a less than timely answer. The tune “I Buried My Wife and Dance On Top of Her” was written by the blind piper Garrett Barry (1847-1899). I can’t find the source, but I seem to remember reading that it was likely composed around the 1870s, but I could be wrong so let’s keep that between us.

I buried..

Garret Barry was the source of the tune. I have never seen it claimed he was the composer.

Posted .

Re: I Buried My Wife And Danced On Her Grave

Is the title meant to be as hideous as it sounds, or is there an inside joke that I’m missing? Wonderful tune.

Re: I Buried My Wife And Danced On Her Grave

A bit macabre that this tune is top of the popular tunes list in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic! Stay safe everyone, but keep your sense of humour too!
Sincere condolences to anyone who has been affected or lost someone dear to them

Re: I Buried My Wife And Danced On Her Grave

This tune was around in the 1800’s under the more pleasant title “The Soup of Good Drink”. It is printed in O‘Neill’s Waifs and Strays of Gaelic Melody (#161). O’Neill took it from O’Farrell’s Pocket Companion 1804-10

Re: I Buried My Wife And Danced On Her Grave

Hummm. Seems there must be an interesting story behind this tune.