John Ryan’s polka

This is one of the Titanic tunes, it’s really common but I don’t know any polka names (or mazurka’s either) could someone help me out with the title.

I *think* this is called Ryan’s polka.

I’ve always heard this one called “John Ryan’s”…

Zina

This is a pretty widely played tune, but I’m useless for polka names, thanks for the help.

We’ve always played as “John Ryan’s” as well. Not my favourite actually, but everybody loves it and dance. We usually play at the end of a set of polkas. We play this one all together once at the beginning and once at the end, but everyone of us play a small jokish solo instead the ten first notes of the first part (this is to say, the sharp part of the beginning). It’s great fun!

It’s also sometimes known as the Armagh Polka

On the Totally Traditional Tin Whistle CD, Various Artists, Josie McDermott plays two polkas. The first is Murphy’s and the second is The Keadue polka a.k.a Ryans

K: D Major
dd Bd/B/ | AF AF | dd B/c/d/B/ | AF ED |
dd B/c/d/B/ | AF Ad/e/ | fd ec | d2 d2 |
d2 Bd/B/ | AF A/B/c | d2 B/c/d | AF E/F/E/D/ |
dd B2 | A/B/A/F/ A>e | fd ec | d>A B/c/d/e/ ||
fd- de/f/ | g/a/g/f/ ed/e/ | fd ad/e/ | fd/f/ aa/g/ |
fd d>f | gf e2 | fd e/d/c | d2 de |
f2 fd/f/ | gf ed | fd Ad | fd/f/ a/b/a/g/ |
f/g/f/e/ de/f/ | g>f ea/g/ | f2 e/d/c | d4 ||

The previous variations and choices are for ‘Flanno91’ who’d requested “The Keadue Polka” and who will have since recieved the link to here in their email…

From the Fiddler’s Companion: “Sean Ryan’s Polka” was coined “Keadue Polka” on Josie McDermott’s recording “Darby’s Farewell” and, as Josie had no name for it, the melody was called by the name of the nearby village.

Sounds like “Hills of Connemara”

Is there a guitarist out there who doesn’t do the ‘Dang Dang’ chords on the two D notes at the begining of the first, third and fifth bar of this tune? I have yet to meet one.

Are the two parts not meant to repeat? I normally hear this tune with repeats in it.

“Forty pound float” is the name it’s known by at the New Zealand sessions I’ve been to. Some sessions do the solo thing in the A part as well - everything except the couple of Ds played by one person and go around the circle until all have had a turn. Can make for many repeats…

Oh, and I always fancied going to New Zealand. What a shame.

When I first learned this tune several years ago, I learned it as the Dum Dum Polka.

Sara

“The Keadue” / “Sean Ryan’s” / “John Ryan’s” / “Ryan’s” / “Dum Dum” ~ Polka ~ & a few other options for it ~

X: 3
T: Dum-Dum Diddle-Liddle
T: etc…
M: 2/4
L: 1/8
R: polka
K: Dmaj
|: dd B/c/d/B/ | AF AF | dd B/c/d/B/ | AF ED |
dd B/c/d/B/ | AF Ad/e/ | fd ec |[1 df d2 :|[2 df dd/e/ ||
|: fd de/f/ | g>f ed/e/ | fd Ad | fd/f/ a>g |
fd- de/f/ | g/a/g/f ed/e/ | fd ed/c/ |[1 d2 d>e :|[2 d2 d2 |]

The reason for the popularity of the title “Forty Pound Float” in Australia and New Zealand is that this tune appeared under that title in the 1979 publication “Begged Borrowed and Stolen”. For details of the contents, go here http://www.celt.com.au/contents_pages/contbbs.html. I suspect that whoever gave it that title was going on memory and mixed it up with the tune that came before it in the famous Planxty set - “The Forty-two Pound Cheque” https://thesession.org/tunes/786.

Since I have read Free Reed’s comments re: the dang dang guitar chords, I am remembering this tune as the Dang Dang Polka….And that’s OK. It makes me laugh, and at my age, anything that helps me remember how a tune starts is Ok too. Thanks, FR!

You hear it played in a sort of responsorial fashion sometimes (eg: kids concerts) with the first two d quavers (Dang Dang indeed 😉) ‘called’ by a solist and the rest of the bunch ‘answering’ with the next three beats…
This fashion suits the tune well, it’s honest fun actually and sometimes you wish there was a bit more of that type of interactive fun in Irish trad… (but that’s just me)
(It’s not just about fun but a sense of owning the tune collectively, as in Black American or Breton traditional stuff…)

Setting as played at the Golden Guinea pub session, Bristol, UK.

Aha! Found it! Heard it under the name of John Ryan’s polka. Heard it in Titanic, and Gerry Mcfadden’s album.

Heard this version played on Gerry Mcfadden’s piping album. I like how it goes to the high A, showing the sweet, yet bright sound of the Uilleann pipe chanter.

Any info on who John Ryan was? The only musician of that name I know was/is from Mallow, Co. Cork and I believe played the fiddle.

Yep. I play with a minstrel troupe at a Renaissance faire in Virginia, and we have been doing Peg Ryan/John Ryan as a set for so long that I can no longer play Peg Ryan without autopiloting on into “Dum Dum.” We play it faster and faster until we make the dancers fall down.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTHAAqa6Kpo

play video

Bass and Chords For B/C Box
Upper case - Bass button / Lower case - Chord button

A fiddle version for anyone interested

https://youtu.be/6zLfHsX73rY

play video

First seen in begged borrowed and stolen

Already here (for more than twenty years) under John Ryan’s: https://thesession.org/tunes/441.

Just heard this played by a military band as part of Queen Elizabeth’s birthday/jubilee parade under the title ‘Irish Saffron’ with a composer announced (BBC TV). It may be the title refers to a medley as I think they have just played the Blarney Pilgrim as a third tune and the ‘composer’ is really an arranger

I heard it too, and because the “colours” being “trooped” were those of The Irish Guards, I also heard the melodies to the songs “Spancilhill”, “Paddy’s Green Shamrock Shore” and “The Cliffs Of Dooneen”. Didn’t hear “The Blarney Pilgrim” though.

A version from our local session.

My granddaughter is addicted to ‘Bluey’ an Aussie TV cartoon series and I’ve just seen an episode where John Ryan’s gets played continuously. Most times I’ve heard this at sessions over the years people feel obliged to play ridiculous arpeggios, deliberate bum notes or silly sound effects after those ‘Dang Dang’ chords - have I ever done it myself? No comment………………

Mystery solved.

A combination of some previous settings.

A simplified version of X14.