The Geese In The Bog jig

I play this tune in C, and I think most other people do to, but I’ve also seen it written in D.

This is an unusual key for a jig to be in, and it can be played together with jigs in A minor to make an interesting change.

The actual melody is very straightforward and shouldn’t take long to learn. Then, you can start throwing in triplets for ornamentation.

Tin whistle players will probably find it easier to learn this tune as if it were in D and then play it it on a C whistle in order to reach that low C note.

T:Geese in the Bog, The
M:6/8
L:1/8
S:Sean Kane, Matt Molloy, Liam O’Flinn: "The Fire Aflame"
R:jig
Z:G.M.P.
K:ADor
B|cEE GEE|cEE GAB|cEE GED|EAA A2B|
cEE GEE|cEE GAB|cBA GED|EAA A2:|:B|
cde ged|eaf ged|cde ged|eag ~a3|
cde ged|eaf ged|cBA GED|EAA A2:|

I find Jeremy’s version a little bit unusual. What Gian Marco posted above is the standard session setting as far as I know, and whistle players don’t have any problem with it. I think the first part is in Cmaj and the second in Ador.

i know the second half as

cde ged eaa ged | cde ged | eaa ~a3 |
cde ged eaa ged | cBA GED EAA A2 :|

not too different. just doubling the a when you go up is all.

"Geese in the Bog" ~ 2-parts in B minor
Submitted on June 3rd 2002 by Jon Kiparsky.
https://thesession.org/tunes/723

This is the version that the Tannahill Weavers play on their third album.

The Tannies play the 4-part Highland pipes version. I don’t see that anywhere here yet.

As played in Music at Matt Molloy’s track 7/3

|:cEE GEE|cEE GEE|cEE GED| EAA A2B|cEE GEE|
cEE GEE|cBA GED| EAA A2B:|cde ged| eaa ged|
cde ged| eaa a2B|cde ged| eaa ged| cBA GED| EAA A2B:|

i play out on the ocean in dmaj i think after this, sounds good

For the benefit of D whistlers, a transposition of the above, sans impossible low C:

X: 1
T: Geese In The Bog, D Major version
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
R: jig
K: Dmaj
|:dFF AFF|DFF AFF|dFF AFE| FBB B2c|dFF AFF|
DFF AFF|dcB AFE| FBB B2A:|dff aff| bff aff|
dff aff| abb b2f|dff aff| bff afe| dcB AFE| FBB B2c:|

Apologies to Jeremy for orignally posting this as a separate version of the tune. Still fairly green, as far as The Session goes.

No need to transpose this tune to Dmaj. I’ve been playing the Ador version posted above on the D whistle.

As a reel, isn’t it cool?
c~E3 G~E3|c~E3 G2AB|c~E3 GEED|EAAG A2AB|
c~E3 G~E3|c~E3 EGAB|c2BA GEED|EAAG A3B:||
c2de geed|eaaf g2ed|c2de geed|eaag ~a3B|
c2de geed|eaaf gfed|c2BA GEED|EAAG A3B:||

You’re not the only person to think so https://thesession.org/tunes/4967

O_O ah.. but… I like my simple version better…

This one I know well (as the session version and Matt Molloy’s version above) but does anyone know the relationship to the tune Micho Russell plays second on this clip…?

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=y9eC_MYp-5I

play video

He calls it the Little Black Pig and it would seem closely related to the Geese.

This tune appears, I believe, in Bulmer & Sharpley’s "Music from Ireland" (book 4, #55) as Ken Fahey’s. Interestingly, Andrew Kuntz at
http://www.ibiblio.org/fiddlers/HUMOURS_HUMP.htm#HUMOURS_OF_LISTOWELL_[2]
connects the setting in B & S with The Humours of Listowel, but not with the Geese in the Bog et al.

I play it much the same as Gian Marco’s version. I dislike Jeremy’s version as it is very tedious and monotonous to play especially on the tin whistle which cannot reach the low C’s

X:1
T:The Geese in the Bog
M:6/8
L:1/8
R:Jig
C:
Q:132
K:HP
|:g|g{a}B{G}B d{e}B{G}B|g{a}B{G}B def|g{a}B{G}B {g}d {GAG}A2|{g}Be{A}e {A}e2 f|
|g{a}B{G}B d{e}B{G}B|g{a}B{G}B def|{a}gfe {g}d {GAG}A2|{g}Be{A}e {A}e2:|
|:d|{gef}e2 a eg{f}g|{ef}e2 a ged|{gef}e2 a eg{f}g|{a}ea{g}a {g}a2 d|
|{gef}e2 a eg{f}g|{ef}e2 a ged|{a}gfe {g}d {GAG}A2|{g}Be{A}e {A}e2:|
|:g|g{a}B{G}B {g}B{G}B{G}B|{g}dB{G}B {g}B{G}B{G}B|g{a}B{G}B {g}d {GAG}A2|{g}Be{A}e {A}e2 f|
|g{a}B{G}B {g}B{G}B{G}B|{g}dB{G}B {g}B{G}B{G}B|{a}gfe {g}d {GAG}A2|{g}Be{A}e {A}e2:|
|:d|{g}ea{g}a eg{f}g|{a}ea{g}a ged|{g}ea{g}a eg{f}g|{a}ea{g}a {g}a2 d|
|{g}ea{g}a eg{f}g|{a}ea{g}a ged|{a}gfe {g}d {GAG}A2|{g}Be{A}e {A}e2:|

Its still too small and it does not work well unless you read it on computer and try 150%. I am sure there is a reason for doing this and so I am not complaining…Just mentioning the obvious.

"Its still too small and it does not work well unless you read it on computer and try 150%. I am sure there is a reason for doing this and so I am not complaining…Just mentioning the obvious."

That may well be your eyesight you know, it’s not far off standard printed sheet music size for me at 100%

X: 2
T: The Geese In The Bog
R: jig
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
K: Ador
|:eAA ABc|eaf efg|B3 BAB|d3 dBA|
eAA ABc|BAB G2 B|cEE GED|EAA A2:|
B|cEE GEE|cEE GAB|cEE GED|EAA A2B|
cEE GEE|cEE GAB|cBA GED|EAA A2:|:B|
cde ged|eaf ged|cde ged|ea^g a3|
cde ged|eaf ged|cBA GED|EAA A2:|

People round where I live play cBA BAG | EAA A2B at the end of the parts, for some reason. Joe Burke also does so on his Traditional Music Collection records. Dunno where the locals picked this up from. No one else has transcribed such a setting here or elsewhere, from the looks of things. Michael Cooney played it that way on the pipes but he and Joe were musical partners for a good long while. Ted Furey also played that phrase. Everyone else played CBA GED | EAA A2B, all the way back to Dinney Delaney on his 1898 recording.