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Bidh Eoin strathspey

Also known as Seallaibh Curraigh Eòghainn.

There are 6 recordings of this tune.

Bidh Eoin has been added to 3 tune sets.

Bidh Eoin has been added to 37 tunebooks.

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Three settings

1
X: 1
T: Bidh Eoin
R: strathspey
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
K: Bmin
|:d>cB>A F2E>F|A2A>B c<AA>c|d>cB>A F2E2|f>ed>c c<BB>c:|
|:d2d>f e2e>f|d2d>f e>cA2|d>cd>f e2e>f|f>ed>c c<BB>c:|
2
X: 2
T: Bidh Eoin
R: strathspey
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
K: Bmin
|: B>c |d>cB<A F2 E>F | A2 A>B c<AA>c |\
d>cB<A F2 E>F | f<ed>c B2 :|
|: (3ABc |(3ddd d>f (3eee e>f |[1 d2 d>f e<cA>c |\
d2 d>f e>^de>g | f<ed>c B2 :|
[2 d2 d>f e<c A2 | B>^AB>c d>cd>b | a<fe>c B2 |]
3
X: 3
T: Bidh Eoin
R: strathspey
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
K: Ador
c>BA>G E2D>E|G2G>A B<GG>B|c>BA>G E2D2|(3gfe (3dcB c<AA>B:|
c>Bc>e d2d>e|c>Bc>e d>BG>B|c>Bc>e d2c>d|(3gfe (3dcB c<AA>B:|

Ten comments

Bidh Eoin (highland)

I happened to record Gerry O’Connor playing this tune in a radio programme. It really sounded familiar to me, and then I noticed Cape Breton singer Mary Jane Lamond sings in Gaelic to this melody. The song has a phrase "bidh Eòghann," and so the relation between the tune and the song is obvious. For the lyrics and the English translation, see this page: http://www.maryjanelamond.com/songs/seallaibh.html

Well, another setting of this melody is already posted as "The Drummer": https://thesession.org/tunes/2041 It’s in a different key and has a somewhat different first part. Is my transcription worth of a separate entry? What do you think?

It doesn’t have to be ‘slow’ necessarily. As is classic, ‘highland flings’ have tended to be reincarnated, get a second wind, as single reels.

"Bidh Eoin" ~ taken with a highland malt single malt

R: highland fling
K: b minor
|: B>c |
d>cB*A F2 E>F | A2 A>B c*AA>c | d>cB*A F2 E>F | f*ed>c B2 :|
|: (3ABc |
(3ddd d>f (3eee e>f |1 d2 d>f e*cA>c | d2 d>f e>^de>g | f*ed>c B2 :|
2 d2 d>f e*c A2 | B>^AB>c d>cd>b | a*fe>c B2 :|

In Ador

Here’s the transcription of the tune based on Bradley and O’Shaughnessy’s duet playing:

K: Ador
c>BA>G E2D>E|G2G>A B<GG>B|c>BA>G E2D2|(3gfe (3dcB c<AA>B:|
c>Bc>e d2d>e|c>Bc>e d>BG>B|c>Bc>e d2c>d|(3gfe (3dcB c<AA>B:|

I gave them the lyrics of the original Scots song after a workshop, and they sang it for me. http://www.maryjanelamond.com/lyrics/lan/9.htm

Bidh Eoin

There’s an interesting version of this tune done in Puirt a Beul(Gaelic Mouth Music) style in a medley of four such tunes on "Music of the Western Isles" CD(Greentrax) which was played on BBC Radio 3’s "Late Junction" last week - a programme which never fails to produce all sorts of weird, wonderful, quite often unknown tracks from all over the world which you would be unlikely to hear anywhere else(in between the likes of Nat King Cole and Al Bowlly!).

Bidh Eoin( follow-up to my posted comment of 2 minutes ago)

Incidentally, the third tune in the Puirt a Beul medley mentioned sounds suspiciously like that Bothy Band short, fast Gaelic Mouth Music song, the name of which escapes me without going to search for the CD in the attic. I remember that it begins with an ‘F’!