The Green Cottage polka

A thread about the tune called ‘Cottage in the Glen’ reminded me I had a Polka with a similiar title. Never thought a polka could be ‘cool’ until I heard an Irish polka! What were those Germans thinking?

I think the original transcription I had featured an incorrect title. Found the same tune covered by Cherish The Ladies called ‘The Green Cottage Polka’ (one and all, best of…). I’m pretty sure this is the ‘real’ tune title.

T:Green Cottage, The
M:2/4
L:1/8
S:Kelly, O’Brien, Sproule - “Traditional Music Of Ireland”
R:polka
Z:g.m.p
K:ADor
A/B/|:cB AG|EA A>B|cB AG|B/c/d e>d|
cB AG|ED Dc/d/|ed cB|1A2 A>B:|2A2 Ac/d/|:
ea a>b|ae ed|ea ag|a2 AB|
c2 B{c}B|Ae e>d|eA A/B/c/d/|1e2 e>d:|2e2 e|

I like to follow this tune with the Church Street Polka (aka Memories of Ballymote). I do the link by changing the last bar of Green Cottage to |B2 d>c|

Trevor

Good man - - - , this is one of my favourite Polkas.
Hope you don’t mind if I stick in my version of it, at least as I heard Jackie play it.

Up Kerry Music!

T: Glen Cottage, The
M: 2/4
L: 1/8
R: polka
K: Edor
|: B>A |
GE ED | B,E E2 | G>F ED | GA B/=c/B/A |
GE ED | B,E E2 | B>A GF | E2 B>A |
GE ED | B,D A,D | B,D A,D | B2 B/=c/B/A |
GE ED | B,E E2 | B/=c/B/A GF | E2 B>A ||
|: B>A |
Be ef | eB BA | Be df | e2 ef |
ga/g/ fg/f/ | ed BA | BE E/F/G/A/ | B2 :|

# Posted on Wednesday, October 26th 2005 by Ptarmigan

Moved from a later ‘identical’ note-for-note transcription, if only these folks had the respect to credit their common source, where they ‘copied’ it from… Anyway, it may not exist for long, but here’s where the above was fished from:

https://thesession.org/tunes/1520

Dorian ~ K: E Dorian

“Memories Of Ballymote” / “Church Street” ~ polkaKey signature: G Major
Submitted on April 1st 2003 by Bannerman.
https://thesession.org/tunes/1560

Trevor’s (Lazyhound) set ~ see recommendation above…

Submitted on June 15th 2009 by Airedale.
~ /tunes/9678

X: 6
T: Quarry Cross
M: 2/4
L: 1/8
R: polka
K: Edor
|: B/A/ |\
GE EE/D/ | B,E E>G | FD D>E | FG A/B/B/A/ |
GE EE/D/ | B,E E>F | GB AF | E2 E :|
|: B/A/ |\
Be e>d | eB BA | Be ed | e2 e>f |
ge fg/f/ | eB B>A | GE EF | GA B :|

~ with minor corrections and adjustments.
No comment was left by Airedale.

Here is Airedale’s original transcription, if anyone needs to make a comparison with the one I’ve given above:

X: 1
T: Quarry Cross
M: 2/4
L: 1/8
R: polka
K: Emin
G2E2 E2ED | B, E E3G | ^FD D3E | ^F2G2 ABBA |
G2E2 E2ED | B,E E3^F | GB A^F | E4 E2BA | :

B2e2 e3d | e2B2 B2A2 | B2e2 e2d2 | e4 e3^f |
g2e2 ^f2g^f | e2B B3A | G2E2 E2^F2 | G2A2 B2BA |:

I think this is a relative. I was a stage song during the American Civil War always thought the tune was borrowed.
X:1
T:Raw Recruit or Abraham’s Daughter
M:C
L:1/8
A:march
K:Bmin
|:fe|d2B2B3B|F2B2B3B|c2A2A2c2| e4f3e|d2B2B3B|F2B2B3B|c2f2fedc|B4B2fe|
|a2f2a3b|a2f2a3b|a2f2d2e2|f4b3e|d2B2B3B|F2B2B3B|c2A2A2c2|e4f3e|
|d2B2B3B|F2B2B3B|c2f2fedc|B4B2:|

has obvious parents in:

St Pat was a gentleman https://thesession.org/tunes/2116
and Dennis Doody’s polka https://thesession.org/tunes/1338/comments

Here is the version played by Seamus Creag on An Fidhil, Sraith 2, track 12.
https://thesession.org/recordings/671
Similar to Gian Marco’s version above. I have transcribed for A dorian (so I can play it on the flute), but on the album it is played four semitones lower, that would be F dorian.

X: 9
T: The Green Cottage
R: polka
M: 2/4
L: 1/8
K: Ador
ed|:cB BG|EA AB|cB AG|cd ed|
cB BG|EA A2|ed cB|A3 ed|:
e>a a>b|a>e e>d|e>a a>b|a2 ab|
c’2 b2|ae ed|eA A/B/c/d/|1e2 ed|:2e2 e|

This is a lovely tune, and I’ve no idea where I got this setting from, or the tune itself. I do love Jackie Daly’s version, where he takes the tune through slowly the first time and then speeds up for the rest of the set. This goes well with “Britches Full of Stitches” in G, and I like to go back to G and chase it with “Maggie in the Woods”, though the Scartaglen (the Sliabh Luachra cousin if you will) would probably go fine with it as well.

Just making the previous setting a little more readable, and altering a couple notes to better fit the Seamus Begley rendition of this.

I really like this setting in G Dorian on the fiddle. Perhaps not so nice on some other instruments. The G Dorian idea came from one of Anthony Sullivan’s “Session Tunes” books, but this isn’t an exact transcription of that setting. It’s titled there as “The Glen Cottage Polka” and acknowledged from the playing of Jackie Daly.

A version of this polka in the key of A dorian. I learnt it from a set made by Danú at their album “Seanchas” of 2010.

X:12 is clearly a slightly different setting of the same tune, which is one of several polkas and slides that I picked up from a box player called Nailus O’Connor in Knocknagoshel, Co. Kerry, in the mid-‘80s. I have it (unimaginatively) as ‘O’Connor’s Polka No. 3’ (a.k.a. ‘The Green Cottage’ - though this may not be correct). My outfit plays them in sets as listed in the tune library at www.rudemex.co.uk.

From the playing of The Here & Now.

From the playing of North Cregg.

Stubbled upon this tune years ago online under the name, The Quarry Cross, in a PDF titled KY-Contra-Tunes. The first page of the PDF bears the title Kentucky Open Band Contra Tunes 11-04-2005. There are folks playing this on You Tube as The Quarry Cross. Some players swing the 8th notes as do I. The second B part written out has a lick I’ve heard and like with the D sharp.

Denis Doody’s version of The Green Cottage polka from his 1978 LP that must have inspired Donal Lunny & Co. to record their arrangement of it, which now exists as a separate tune on The Session:

https://thesession.org/tunes/1338

A little nuance that didn’t make it to the ABC is that he added G/F/E instead of GE at the start of the tune when repeating part A.

My guess is that he actually played it in F# minor fingering, since many other sets on that LP feature him playing on a B/C accordion in C#/D style. The second polka in this particular set is in G, but sounds as if it’s played in A major fingering (judging by apparent push & pull patterns etc.)

Julia and Billy Clifford’s version of the tune as played on their Ceol as Sliabh Luachra LP. It is similar to the version now commonly known as Denis Doody’s, but they recorded it in A! Taking this polka to the extreme, with several prominent c’s up there in the second part.

Billy revisited this set with Gerry Harrington on their 2018 CD, Now She’s Purring.