The Oyster Wife’s Rant reel

This is a scottish reel….I have learned it from a whistle tutor

Great tune! It hasn’t changed since the last time you posted it. It’s still called the Oyster Wife’s Rant and it’s still in Ador :-)

Here’s another and probably older setting of the tune learned from Mary Jane Lamond’s singing:

K: Ador
edef g2fe|d2dB d2d2|edef g2fe|dBgB A2A2:|
e2ed eAAB|d2dB d2d2|e2ed eAAd|BdeB A2A2|
e2ed eAAB|d2dB d2d2|edef g2fe|dBgB A2A2||

Thanks Nigel and Dow for pointing out the connection between these melodies.

I remember Nigel informed us the translation of the gaelic title Mullindhu, or Muillean Dubh, is the Black Mill.

The version I transcribed appears on Cape Breton fiddler Ashley MacIsaac’s "Hi How Are You Today?" album. Watch the video version of the track: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoApELfgWcg

play video

The ABCs below are for the Skye Collection setting of the Muileann Dubh. This reproduces the way it is printed in that collection. As others have pointed out the key is Ador, so I have also included below ABCs for the tune in that mode.

X:1
T:Muileann Dubh
M:C|
L:1/8
R:Reel
B:K N MacDonald – The Skye Collection (1887)
K:C
a|ede^f g2fe|dGdB dGdg|ede^f g2 fe|dGdB A2 A>a|
ede^f g2fe|dGdB dGdg|ede^f gage|dBgB A2A||
a|eAed eAAB|dGdB dGGg|eAed eAAB|dGdB A2 A>a|
eAed eAAB|dGdB dGGg|ede^f gbge|dgBg A2A||

X:1
T:Muileann Dubh
M:C|
L:1/8
R:Reel
B:K N MacDonald – The Skye Collection (1887) Key signature adjusted.
K:Ador
a|edef g2fe|dGdB dGdg|edef g2 fe|dGdB A2 A>a|
edef g2fe|dGdB dGdg|edef gage|dBgB A2A||
a|eAed eAAB|dGdB dGGg|eAed eAAB|dGdB A2 A>a|
eAed eAAB|dGdB dGGg|edef gbge|dgBg A2A||

Entry at Ceolas:

MUILEANN DUBH (The Black Mill). AKA - "Mullin Dhu (The Dark Mill)," "Mullin Du." Scottish, Reel. A Dorian (Athole, Kerr, Perlman, Skye, Williamson): A Mixolydian (Gow). Standard. One part (Skye): AB (Athole, Kerr, McGlashan): AAB (Gow, Perlman): AABB (Williamson). "Very old" (Skye, Gow). Apparently, on Cape Breton Island the tune/song was not allowed to be played in certain parts because it was so closely associated with the MacDougalls of Margaree, who apparently were extremely touchy about hearing it played within their earshot! It appears that one line of a stanza of the puirt a beul set to the melody goes "Tha nead circe fraoiche ‘s a’ mhuilean dubh." (In the black mill is the heather-hen’s nest). The offense to the Margaree MacDougalls was due to a joke that was told about hens at the expense of the clan, and they were so sensitive to any reference to the joke that they could not tolerate mention of poultry of any kind, and took the playing of the tune to be a veiled insult against the clan.

http://www.ibiblio.org/fiddlers/index.html

MUILEANN DUBH (The Black Mill)
http://www.ibiblio.org/fiddlers/MT_MUI.htm#MUILEANN_DUBH

OYSTER WIFE’S/WIVES’ RANT
http://www.ibiblio.org/fiddlers/OP_OZ.htm#OYSTER_WIFE%27S/WIVES%27_RANT

Submitted on June 2nd 2011 by ceolachan.
https://thesession.org/tunes/11272

The ‘comments’ of that are to follow. ;-) It was my state of mind that committed the duplication. :-D

X: 5
T: Oyster Wives Rant, The
T: Muileann Dubh
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: reel
K: Ador
|: Bd |\
e2 ed eAAB | d>edB GA B/c/d |
e^de=d ef g/f/e | dBGB A2 :|
|: Ag |\
e2 ef g2 fe | d2 dB dedG |
e^def gage | dBgB A/A/A :|

X: 6
T: Oyster Wives’ Rant, The
S: "Kerr’s Second Collection of Merry Melodies"; page 10, tune No. 65
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: reel
K: Ador
|: B |\
e2 ed eAAB | dedB GABd | e2 ed efge | dBgB A/A/A A :|
|: B |\
e^def g2 fe | dedB dedB | e^def gage | dBgB A/A/A A :|

X: 7
T: Oyster Wives’ Rant, The
B: "The Athole Collection", James Stewart-Robertson, 1884, page 53 (47)
S: "The Skye Collection", Keith Norman MacDonald, 1887, page 110
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: reel
K: ADor
|: B |\
e2 ed eAAB | dedB GABd |
e2 ed efge | dBgB A/A/A A :|
|: B |\
edef g2 fe | dedB dedB |
edef g>age | dBgB A/A/A A :|

X: 8
T: Mulindhu, The
S: "Kerr’s First Collection of Merry Melodies"; page 7 - Set 9th, No. 2
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: reel
K: Ador
a |\
edef g2 fe | dGdB dGdg | edef g2 fe | dBgB A2 A>a |
edef g2 fe | dGdB dGdg | edef gage | dBgB A2- A ||
a |\
eAed eAAB | dGdB dGGg | eAed eAAB | dGdB A2 A>a |
eAed eAAB | dGdB dGGg | edef gbge | dBgB A2- A |]

X: 9
T: Am Muilleann Dubh
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: reel
K: Edor
eA |\
B^ABc d/e/d cB | ADAF ADAd | B^ABc d2 cB | ADAF E2 eA |
B2 Bc d2 cB | AD F/E/D ADFd | B^ABc de/d/ cB | AFdF E2 ||
ed |\
BEB^A BEEF | ADAF ADDd | B^AB=A BEED | ADAF E2 ed |
B2 B^A BE E2 | ADDF ADFd | B3 c deBd | AdFd E2 |]

Leafing through PM Donald Macleod’s book 6 I was rather taken with his arrangement of this;

X: 1
T: The Black Mill
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: reel
K: HP
a | edef g2f<g | B<Gd>B d>GG>a | edef g2f<g | B<Gd>B A>AA>a |
edef g2f<g | B<Gd>B d>GG>a | edef gaeg | dBgB AA A ||
a | eAed eAAg | B<Gd>B d>BG>a | eAed eAAg | B<Gd>B A>AA>a |
edef g2 f>e | d<gB<g d<gB<a | edef gaeg | dBgB AA A ||

and smoothed out

X: 2
T: The Black Mill
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: reel
K: Ador
a | edef g2fg | BGdB dGGa | edef g2fg | BGdB AAAa |
edef g2fg | BGdB dGGa | edef gaeg | dBgB AA A ||
a | eAed eAAg | BGdB dBGa | eAed eAAg | BGdB AAAa |
edef g2 fe | dgBg dgBa | edef gaeg | dBgB AA A ||

There is a series of manuscripts in the Advocates Library in Edinburgh, and I think they’re available to download from somewhere, but I can’t remember where. Anyway, this tune is in one of them, where it is called "Jamies Reel".

From the playing of Wendy MacIsaac.

Just for interest, this tune goes back a long way. It’s found in the 6th vol. of Aird’s Airs (1803) in a very similar form to some of those versions above. It can’t have have been a new tune then.

X:712
T:Mullindough or the Black Laddie, JBut.712, The
T:Oyster Wife’s Rant, aka. JBut.712
N:Also, same title, Aird’s Airs vol.6, No.3, p.3.
N:"The Black Mill" is a translation of "an Muileann Dubh", which may where the title derives from.
M:C|
L:1/8
Q:1/4=110
K:D
g|Tedef g2 (f>e)|dG (e/d/c/B/) dGGg|{f//}edef g2 (f>e)|dBgB e2eg & x4A2A2|
edef g2 f>e|d>gB>g d>gB>g|edef g>be>g|d>Bg>B A2A:|
g|e>Ae>d eAAB|dG (e/d/c/B/) dGGg|e>Ae>d e<AAB|d>Bg>d A2Ag|
e>Ae>d eAAB|e>Be>de eAAB|e>Ae>f g>be>g|d>gB>g A2A:|