The Star Of The County Down march

I know this as a song - try listening to the version by the Doonan Family on the album Fenwick’s Window.

I’d imagine that it was originally a tune with another name. It’s quite possibly already on the site. Any thoughts anyone?

This is the plain tune of the song and has little to do with a reel. The melody is used for quite a few songs. Amongst them:
Crooked Jack, Dives an Lazarus …
The list ist longer but I would have to do a longer search.

It bears some similarities with The Peacock’s Feather, https://thesession.org/tunes/663, a version of which is used for the song The Parting Glass.

I know a different version of this tune in A minor. It’s quite a lovely one, & one of my favourites.

I first learned this in A minor and in 3/4 time.

Somebody asked for the Amin 3/4 version, so here it is:

X: 1
T: Star Of The County Down
M: 3/4
L: 1/8
R: waltz
K: Amin
E2G2|:A4AB|A3GA2|c4c2|d3cd2|e2d2c2|A2G2E2|G6-|G2c2B2|
|A4AB|A3GA2|c4c2|d3cd2|e2d2c2|A4G2|A6-|1 A2E2G2:|2 A4e2||
|:g4e2|e3dc2|d6|d4cd|e3dc2|A2G2E2|G6-|G2c2B2|
|A4AB|A3GA2|c4c2|d3cd2|e2d2c2|A4G2|A6-|1 A4e2:|2 A6||

I went ahead & submitted an Amin 3/4 version, similar but not exactly the same as Bob himself’s posted version.

What a haunting tune this is! 🙂

https://thesession.org/tunes/6155

I guess I should have posted it here instead of submitting a new tune, but I thought some would have appreciated having the dots instead of just ABC. …& I didn’t save the ABC version that I wrote out exccept to my tunebook here (painstakingly I might add, while looking at a guide to writting ABC notation), but the submission is gone now since the tune was already submitted here.

Sorry guys. If you want the dots, just send me a message & I’ll scan it & can email it to you instead.

Do any of you play this tune in 4/4? What’s the most popular key that it seems to be played/recorded in? I’m curious.

Near Banbridge town, in the County Down
One morning in July
Down a boreen green came a sweet colleen
And she smiled as she passed me by.
She looked so sweet from her two white feet
To the sheen of her nut-brown hair
Such a coaxing elf, I’d to shake myself
To make sure I was standing there.
From Bantry Bay up to Derry Quay
And from Galway to Dublin town
No maid I’ve seen like the sweet colleen
That I met in the County Down.

As she onward sped I shook my head
And I gazed with a feeling rare
And I said, says I, to a passerby
“who’s the maid with the nut-brown hair?”
He smiled at me, and with pride says he,
"That’s the gem of Ireland’s crown.
She’s young Rosie McCann
from the banks of the Bann
She’s the star of the County Down."
From Bantry Bay up to Derry Quay
And from Galway to Dublin town
No maid I’ve seen like the sweet colleen
That I met in the County Down.

I’ve travelled a bit, but never was hit
Since my roving career began
But fair and square I surrendered there
To the charms of young Rose McCann.
I’d a heart to let and no tenant yet
Did I meet with in shawl or gown
But in she went and I asked no rent
From the star of the County Down.
From Bantry Bay up to Derry Quay
And from Galway to Dublin town
No maid I’ve seen like the sweet colleen
That I met in the County Down.

At the crossroads fair I’ll be surely there
And I’ll dress in my Sunday clothes
And I’ll try sheep’s eyes, and deludhering lies
On the heart of the nut-brown rose.
No pipe I’ll smoke, no horse I’ll yoke
Though with rust my plow turns brown
Till a smiling bride by my own fireside
Sits the star of the County Down.
From Bantry Bay up to Derry Quay
And from Galway to Dublin town
No maid I’ve seen like the sweet colleen
That I met in the County Down.

Am F C G Am F Em Em
Am F C G Am F Am Am
C C G G Am F Em Em
Am F C G Am F Am Am

Can this tune be played on a D min whistle???

I think “ed eee” instead of “bd eee” also sounds okay when you want to play it on a D whistle. At least I usually do it this way on my whistle. ;)

I’m having an argument about the A and B parts of the tune. I recollect that the first part of the verse is AA, the second part is BB and the chorus is BB (i.e., AAAA and BB) My protagonist says the never heard of a tune where the chorus repeats the verse but rather the chorus has a different form to the verse. On this logic he goes for AAAA and BB. Who is right. I’m not at all struck on the AAAA and BB version.

Anyone know the origins of the custom of introducing and singin and playing this tune as a reel, but then at the end of the song breaking into a jig (6:8) version as an instrumental?
DIDGE

Jig version here:
http://www.nigelgatherer.com/tunes/tab/tab3/star.html
Brother Steve’s solutions to the low B for D whistle here:
http://www.rogermillington.com/siamsa/brosteve/tonguing.html

Anyone ever play this as an air? Being a bassoonist as well, I’ve played Vaughn Williams’s “Five Variants of Dives and Lazarus” and the melody sounds great slower, and I think it could be really heart-wrenching given the right inflection.

from Bantry bay until Dary’s quay
and from Gallway to Dublin town,
no maid i’ve seen
like the brown Coleen
that i met in the conty down.

thats all i or my father can remember, ill ask my grandmother.

Key signature: a minor
Submitted on July 15th 2009 by ceolachan.
https://thesession.org/tunes/9747

The beginning of the melody is remarkably reminiscent of the song from Munster “Cad é sin Don té sin” .

Also known as “The Flower of the County Down”?

Never heard it called “The Flower of the County Down” but I have a half formed notion that I’ve heard a variant version of it under that name. When I play and sing it I only use 2 chords, Em and D and I throw in a few bars in jig time near the end, but hey, what do I know? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqwxfIIOW4c

play video

I grew up in Banbridge. As you can imagine, it’s a popular song there!
Alex.G.

“The Flower of the County Down” is on The Light and Half Light by Sean Doyle, dad of John Doyle (who accompanies him on guitar). Liz Carrol also play fiddle on a couple of tunes. “Flower” has the same tune as the first version of “Star”, above.

The melody is in English County Songs, 1893, collected by John Maitland, later harmonised by Ralph Vaughan Williams as the hymn tune Kingsfold and used with words by Horatius Bonar, “I heard the voice of Jesus say, ‘Come unto me and rest’ ”.

Version with chords in Am key, suitable for mixer/32 dance.

A close variant published as Baledwyr Nefyn in Nicholas Bennett’s Alawon fy Ngwald in 1896. In G minor

Great version from Scot, Robin Nicholson of “Incredible String Band” - correct me if Robin’s surname wrong.

Certainly.

Robin WILLIAMSON

JJ - you beat me to it, had just recalled surname Williamson. I just love his version (wot I posted)/

Other songs that use the same tune, but haven’t yet been mentioned above, I think:
Crooked Jack
Van Diemen’s Land (aka Come all ye gallant poachers)

For a (single) jig version see CRE2.90, referenced in Collections above. This version was collected from Seán Ó Catháin, Annascaul, Co. Kerry. Breathnach says it is a version of “My Love Nell” and its offspring (!) if my translation is accurate.

Paul de Grae’s translation:
“90. Untitled from Sean Keane (accordion), Anascaul, County Kerry. P. [Pat] Mitchell made the recording for me, VIII, 1970. This is a version of My Love Nell and its offspring [My Love Nell is perhaps better known as the tune of ”The Star of the County Down“; it is a descendant of the old Scottish air Gilderoy].”

It’s a very old tune which appears in various guises in Britain and Ireland.

In the world of Hymns this tune is called KINGSFOLD. (It’s customary to write Hymn-tune titles in all caps.)

The Hymnody version is in 4/4 time and generally in the key of E minor.

In traditional Hymnody any Hymn (set of words) can be sung to any tune as long as it has the right syllabic pattern (what they call “meter”). KINGSFOLD and a huge number of other tunes are in Common Meter and any of them can serve as the vehicles for any Hymn (texts) also in CM.

So you’ll hear Amazing Grace and many other Hymns sung to this tune.