The Mist On The Mountain waltz

This tune was requested recently in a discussion thread. It can be played as a waltz, but it is in fact an old Scots air, presumably from a song.
The popular jig, ‘The Mist Covered Mountain’ was adapted by Junior Crehan from this tune.

Yep, this tune appears in Scots Guards, a pair of books with all the
“classic” settings of a lot of traditional Highland pipe music. It
works very well on the Highland pipes. I never thought to play it
on an Irish instrument . . . !

Also, for those of you who don’t know, this is the tune that was
played by the USAF pipe band at President Kennedy’s interrment. If
you go to the Book Depository museum in Dallas, they have an interesting
movie with this tune playing in the background.

Stuart

This tune is actually called “The Mist Covered Mountains”. It is in fact in the Scots Guards tune collection, but it’s really a slow march. I play this on the highland pipes, and it’s really nice. Not sure I could play it on my flute. Wouldn’t really want to hear that noise. It’s a pipe tune and that’s that, I’m afraid.
Mrs. JFK actually requested that the Black Watch Highland Reg. play the tune at the interrment, which is why it has become known as a ‘funeral march’. I have video footage and commentary on a set of videos called Born in Blood/Lady’s from Hell which describes the circumstances of the tune.

Perhaps this isn’t the tune that was requested. But, despite what anybody might say, I like it, and it IS the ancestor of the jig, The Mist Covered Mountain. I’ve just noticed that the note values are all wrong (it’s not my transcription), so I’ll try and correct it.

No, sorry. It’s all right after all. Don’t mind me.

This tune also exists as a folk song in Scotland and is about the Highland Clearances, at time when the people were evicted from the land to make way for sheep, because sheep were seen as more profitable. Many were forcibly removed to Canada,America,New Zealand and Australia. The song is called Hush, Hush.and sings of those terrible times. There are also others words to another song of the posted title but the one I mention is better known in folk music circles.

There’s a tune I’ve played at a couple different sessions…never knew the title. I recently was watching a John Sayles film (The Secret of Roan Inish)…the tune was featured, and titled ‘Mist Covered Mountain’. Definitely a different tune than the one discussed on this thread, though.

Does anyone know whether the ‘Roan Inish’ tune has an alternate title?

I would be curious to know when this tune was first published, as it was surely used in the film “Local Hero”, and I believe that all music in that movie was credited to Mark Knopler.
Sometimes a piece of music seems to have been with us for ever………
I would love to hear the true origins of this air.
GP

The Rankin Family did a vocal track of the piece on their first album, which was/is very nice to listen too. It’s a very haunting piece.

You can aso find this as the opening track on the debut album by Bill Jones, “Turn to Me”, BOING 0008 cd, from Bedspring Music, sung by Bill, which surprised me as I mainly knew her as a flautist and whistle-player when she was in my band……. the lyrics are listed as by John Cameron, who is described as “the late” on another website.

Here is my version of the tune:

Q: 120
K: Ador
A2A A>BA|e2e e>dB|G2G G2A|B>AB A>GE|
c2c d2d|e>fg B>AG|A>Be d>cB|A3 A3:|
e2e e2e|d>eg B>AG|G2G d2B|e2e d>cB|
c2c d2d|e>fg B>AG|A>Be d>cB|A3 A3:|

I was originally playing slightly different version of the tune mixing several different settings. But I had a chance to play it with a local fiddle player in Edinburgh several months ago, and modified it a little bit. Great tune.

Here’s the link to the sound clip of my version: http://slainte.web.infoseek.co.jp/mist-mt.mid

This is the tune for a Gaelic song, Chi Mi Na Morbheanna. It’s also commonly known as Mist Covered Mountains. An English Song by Jim MacLean using the same tune is Smile in Your Sleep, aka Hush, Hush, Time To Be Sleeping.

From JC’s Tune Finder:
X:323
T:Mist Covered Mountains, The
T:Chi Mi Na Morbheanna
B:Scots Guards Standard Settings V.1
N:Transposed from Bm for comparison
Z:Nigel Gatherer
L:1/8
M:6/8
F:http://www.nigelgatherer.com/tunes/abc/abc4/mistc.abc 2005-01-23 17:46:46 UT
K:Am
A3 A3|e2 e e>dB|G3 G3|B>AB A>GA|
c3 d3|e>fg B>AG|A>Be d>cB|A3 A3:|
e3 e3|d>eg e>dB|G2 G d2 B|e2 e d>cB|
A3 c3|e>fg B>AG|A>Be d>cB|A3 A3:|


Refrain:
O Chi, chi mi na mor-bheannaibh;
O Chi, chi mi na cor-bheannaibh;
O Chi, chi mi na coireachan ---
Chi mi na sgoraibh fo cheò.

1. Chi mi gun dàil an t-àit‘ ’s d’ rugadh mi,
Cuirear orm fàilt‘ ’s a’ chainnt a thuigeas mi;
Gheibh mi ann aoidh a’s gràdh ’n uair ruigeam
Nach reicinn air tunnachan òir

5. Chi mi ann coilltean, chi mi ann doireachan,
Chi mi ann màghan bàn’ is torraiche,
Chi mi na féidh air làr nan coireachan,
Falaicht’ an trusgan do cheò.

6. Beanntaichean àrd’ is àillidh leachdainnean,
Sluagh ann an còmhnuidh ’s còire cleachdainnean,
‘S aotram mo cheum a’ leum g’am faicinn,
A’s fanaidh mi tachdan le deòin.


Those are the three most popular verses out of the song. For more verses of the song go to:
http://ingeb.org/songs/mistcovd.html

Jim’s corrected MIDI file for this tune is found at:
http://ingeb.org/songs/chiminam.mid

The song’s original title is Duil ri Baile Chaolais Fhaicinn (Hoping to see Ballachulish). The information from An t-Oranaiche said that the original tune name was Johnny Stays Long at the Fair. The author of the song is Iain Cameron, and he wrote the song "on the first day of fall in 1856.

As argued many times, copying and pasting the transcription by another person aren’t much appreciated on this site. I was actually Nigel Gatherer’s student and refered to his transcription of the tune when learning it but invented my own version after listening to other settings. My version and the link to the sound file of it can be found in the comment space of this page: https://thesession.org/tunes/470

The title means “I can see the big mountains”. Faoi cheo is “under fog”
I’m always amazed how close Scots Gallic is to Donegal Gaelic.

Although I love pipes, and attend many MANY games, I have to say that this song sounds lovely with harp and whistle, guitar and whistle, harp and whistle and mandolin. We have a session group in Tacoma, WA that was just started this year- Tacoma Celtic Players- (search through Yahoo to find website) come join us!

https://thesession.org/tunes/3411

Sorry to jump in here, as i am new.
However, here is a site: http://ingeb.org/songs/mistcovd.html
on there, you will see the credits are as follows:

from Archibald Sinclair’s “The Gaelic Songster. An t-Òranaiche” (Glasgow, 1879). Sinclair notes that the tune is called “Johnny stays long at the Fair,” and that it was written on the first day of autumn, 1856, by Iain Camaron.

Hopefully this sheds some light.
If I can dig up some more, i’ll post it.

Gussy

I like the C sharp at the end of the parts. It gives a “middle-age ” touch to the tune.

M:3/4
L:1/4
K:Amin
S:Maggie Sansone : Mist & Stone
E |:A3 | A A/B/c/d/ |e A>B |A G E/F/ |G3|G>AB| BA>B| AGE |c>Bc|d>cd|e>fg|BAG|A<e^c |d>=cB|A>GA|A2z:||e|:e2e |e2e |d>eg |e>d B/A/ |G2G|d2d|e2e| dcB| c>Bc|d>cd|e>fg|BAG|A<e^c |d>=cB|A>GA|A2z:||

oups! K: ADor…

I really like this tune. It did feature on the soundtrack of “Local Hero”, that’s where I got it from (that version differs in a few notes from the settings on this site, but it’s the same tune nonetheless). I thought Knopfler’s “Local Hero” theme music was brilliant, and I’m sure (well, hope) he’s honest enough not to claim “The Mist-Covered Mountain” as one of his own compositions.
I’m told that the film was inspired not by the West Highland coast where it was actually made, but by Shetland at the outset of the oil boom.
And that’s incidentally where I first heard the film soundtrack, working there in summer ’87 with a group of archaeologists: someone had a tape, and it became our soundtrack for the duration.

I’ve just been trying to figure out why this tune is familiar. Isn’t it a bit like the Mist Covered Mountains of Home which John Renbourne plays? The rhythm is different but the shape’s the same.

maybe I should have looked at the first comment abover first!

“The song’s original title is Duil ri Baile Chaolais Fhaicinn (Hoping to see Ballachulish)” -wrong

The original title is “Chì mi na mòrbheanna” with the accents. Its literal translation is “Will see me the mountains”
Chi = will see
mi = me
na = the (in this case)
morbheanna = mountains

When you apply english grammer it becomes “I will see the mountains” refering to the mountains of Scotland. It’s a scottish gaelic song written by highlander Iain Camshròin around the mid 1850s. He wrote it in Cape Breton NS (where I’m from). A place where in some parts scottish gaelic is still regularly spoken.

If you want to hear a traditional version look up “The Rankin Family” aka “The Rankins”.

Wiki has a good enough translation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C3%AC_mi_na_m%C3%B2rbheanna

They have it as “I see the big mountains” which is close enough.

Laura Cortese plays a beautiful version of this on her “Hush” album.

The track ‘After the Games’ from “Bobby MacLeod - Vintage 78’s Volume One”
(http://www.footstompin.com/music/celtic_dance/bobby_vol_one) starts with this tune. Slowly and quietly on a single voice then a waltzy accompaniment comes in after a dozen bars or so, and maybe the tempo picks up a bit. All it needs is the sound of the sea on the shore and you would think he was copying Mr Knopfler…

Not ‘copying’ but ‘making a reference to’.

I recently heard Frankie Gavin play the jig derived from this and, possibly because I had just read read the bit above about this itself being derived from ‘Johnny stays long at the Fair’ , it brought to mind the three old ladies stuck in the lavatory rather than this tune

What I find remarkable is that I would not have linked this tune with either the (very similar) earlier song or the (fairly different) later jig without being told, but the jig reminded me of the song. Or maybe Mr Gavin threw in some phrases from the original.

Sorry if that’s a bit obtuse - there is a fairly well-known parody of ‘Johnny stays long at the Fair’ (first line - ‘Oh dear what can the matter be’) used as a kids skipping song in jig time. They were there from Monday til Saturday, nobody knew they were there. So wrong with this tune.

Cor, what a ramble last year.
The Bobby McLeod version has this first line:
A3 A3|e>AB A>GE|G3 G3|B>AB A>GE|
Otherwise almost as for the main entry

Would this tune be a suitable one to play on flute for an Irish funeral?

Does anyone know a version of this song -- NOT Mark Knopfler’s -- that is played on a whistle and ends with the sound of waves? I’ve been searching forever and if anyone could help me find this, I would be forever grateful!

X:1
T: Mist Covered Mountains
S: San Francisco Scottish Fiddlers - Feb 1997
M: 6/8
K: Bm
B3 B3 | f2f f>ec | A3 A3| c>Bc B>AB| d3 e3| f>ga c>BA| B>cf e>dc| B3 B3||
f3 f3| e>fa f>ec| A2A e2c| f2f e>dc| B3 d3| e>fa c>BA| B>cf e>dc|B3 B3||

Hi

Charlie Piggott plays this tune and recall it being given the name ‘The mist covered mountains of home’ and maintains that Junior Crehan used it as a basis for his jig ‘Mist Covered Mountain’.

As rightly mentioned on the details tab, it turns out to be (also) called ‘Chi mi na morbheanna’ or ‘I (will) see the big mountains’ (Scots Gaelic has no present tense).

The Acetones (with brothers Dale Winchester on piano accordion and Mark Winchester on fiddle) in the film Local Hero play this tune at the ceili.

Mark Knopfler is credited with the soundtrack and the album of the film states ‘music by Mark Knopfler’ though the track listing is given as ‘trad’. He calls it ‘The Mist Covered Mountains’.

Lyrics written by Jim McLean back in the 1950s: several versions of it on Youtube - but I particularly like this one by Bruce Davies: the tune is certainly a lot older than Mark Knopfler! Wendy Weatherby’s cello gives it an even more “hairs on the back of the neck” feeling.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArBs8IF48G4

play video

From Paul Hardy’s collection. Did not see this version on thesesion. It’s easier for my students to grab it here.

Just type ‘covered’ into the Tunes search box and you’ll find all of them.

I first heard this tune as sung a capella by the Woods Tea Company; it’s on their “Journey Home” album:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2nBFiGItFs

play video

You’ll notice that I’ve set the first two bars of the “A” part (the chorus) apart from the rest. They work well with the a capella rendition, but they sound out of place to me when I play them instrumentally, and half the time I play them only as an intro, and skip them for repeats. Of course, leaving them out makes the “A” part only 14 bars long… but those sorts of eccentricities are why folk music is such a great thing.

Although I’ve loved this tune for a very, very long time, it was only recently that I tried playing it myself. I was startled at how I was glissing some of the notes on the tinwhistle and barely being aware of doing it. It’s got a lot of pathos: surely the saddest-sounding song I know about being glad to go home!

An arrangement I made of this tune for piano and flute. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50NkYXeycCA

play video

The funeral procession of Queen Elizabeth II. 19/09/2022 (Bagpipes)
youtu.be/UnYutVX6FIY

play video

John F. Kennedy Funeral November 25, 1963
https://youtu.be/3KJQkn6zUvM?t=32m20s

play video