The Boys From Wexford march

A well known march and song. This another one that is fun playing in a couple of keys on the trot, as given - with a few variations thrown in.

Marches are great for ‘rhythmic variation’ while demanding you keep that steady march feel throughout. These were also used in the dance halls, for couple dances such as ‘The Heel and Toe’, and for the quadrilles (sets of -), …

It seems Jeremy got in here, which usually means I wasn’t as together on my ABCs as he’d like, however, in his rephrasing the tune in the two different keys was slammed together. The (3ABc between them belongs to the second key as a ‘lead in’,in the key of ‘D’, the ‘c’ being sharp. Some folks play it in one key or the other, without doing as I like, playing the tune a few times in ‘G’ and then a few times in ‘D’ - or whatever takes my fancy at the time. Sometimes I just want to hold the one key. Anyway, I’ve made just that slight adjustment of putting the triplet back with the key it and part it belongs to.

Recorded way back when by Martin Beirne and His Irish Blackbirds as The Boys Of Ireland.

Listen in Tuesday 10pm myself will be playing some great hit of country and Irish music on Irish radio Leeds on the web I do hope you can tune into me on tTuesday Night at 10 pm .brendan gavin

This tune is almost identical to the Boys of Wexford but was collected in the 1890’s in the Isle of Man. The Manx Gaelic title is a translated version of the title given (the Pick on my Shoulder) but it’s not clear if both titles were used, perhaps with two sets of words, one in English the other in Manx.

I haven’t been able to locate the Pick on my Shoulder as a ballad from outside the Isle of Man, so if anyone comes across a ballad by that title, or containing those words, please let me know.

Like the Boys from Wexford, it isn’t actually a barndance tune and is usually played as a song air in the Island. It could equally be used/played as a march. I’ve put it on as a separate tune so it can be found using the search function and cross-referenced it with the “Boys”.

I hope it gets played and enjoyed.

This is known as the Pick on my Shoulder in the Isle of Man. I have added it separately with some extra info about it.

Song “The Snowy Breasted Pearl” has been set to this tune (X:1)

Tune’s been a setting for the Irish song “Snowy Breasted Pearl”

x:4 known by the title I have added “Snowy Breasted Pearl” (with Boys of Wexford as alternative name)

Hi Susan, where have you seen this march called “Snowy Breasted Pearl”? I’m more than familiar with the multiplicity of tune names etc., but this one surprises me a lot. Have you seen/heard that on a recording somewhere?

EC: here’s a clip of a chap singing ‘The Snowy-Breasted Pearl’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DT5bDalfDGQ . There’s another one available by John McCormack if you can bear to listen to two of them to compare, but I don’t think the tune of the song is the same as the one listed here as Boys from Wexford.

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