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Tripping On The Mountain polka

Also known as The Ballymote, Buffalo Nickel, Chinkapin, Chinkapin Pie, Chinky Pin, Chinquapin, Chinquipin, Crumb Creek Posey, Darling Child, The Duke Of York, Farmer Had A Dog, Fourth Of July, The Fourth Of July, Hair In The Butter, I’m My Momma’s Darling, I’m My Momma’s Darling Child, Lady Bodinscoth’s, Lady Bodinscoth’s Reel, Lead Out, Lindsay Munnell Tune, Lindsay Munnell’s, Lindsay Munnell’s Tune, Love Somebody, Love Somebody, Yes I Do!, Midnight Serenade, Miss Fargiharson’s Reel, Miss Farquharson’s, Miss Farquharson’s Reel, My Love Is But A Lassie, My Love Is But A Lassie Yet, My Love Is But A Lassie-O, My Love She’s But A Lassie, My Love She’s But A Lassie Yet, My Lover’s But A Lady Yet, My Lover’s Butt A Lady Yett, Old Lady Tucker, Richmond Blues, Soapsuds Over The Fence, Sweet Sixteen, Ten Nights In A Bar Room, Too Young To Marry, Twin Sisters.

There are 58 recordings of this tune.

This tune has been recorded together with

Tripping On The Mountain appears in 2 other tune collections.

Tripping On The Mountain has been added to 8 tune sets.

Tripping On The Mountain has been added to 118 tunebooks.

Download ABC

Seven settings

1
X: 1
T: Tripping On The Mountain
R: polka
M: 2/4
L: 1/8
K: Dmaj
|:dA FA|dc d/e/f/e/|dA FA|Be ef/e/|
dA FA|dg fe|d/B/A/F/ A/B/d/e/|1 fd df/e/:|2 fd df/g/||
|:af ge|fd df/g/|af g/f/g/a/|be ef/g/|
af ge|fd fe|d/B/A/F/ A/B/d/e/|1 fd df/g/:|2 fd d||
2
X: 2
T: Tripping On The Mountain
R: polka
M: 2/4
L: 1/8
K: Dmaj
|:(3A/B/c/|dD FD|dD DB/c/|dD FD|BE EB/c/|
dD FD|dg fe|d/c/B A/B/c|dD D:|
|:f/g/|af ge|fd df/g/|af ge|eE Ef/g/|
af ge|fd ec|d/c/B/A/ Bc|dD D:|
3
X: 3
T: Tripping On The Mountain
R: polka
M: 2/4
L: 1/8
K: Dmaj
|:B/c/|dD FD|d(D D)B/c/|dD FD|B(E E)B/c/|
dD FD|dg fe|(d/c/B/A/) Bc|dD D:|
|:f/g/|af ge|f(d d)f/g/|af gf|e(E E)f/g/|
af ge|fd ec|(d/c/B/A/) Bc|dD ~D:|
4
X: 4
T: Tripping On The Mountain
R: polka
M: 2/4
L: 1/8
K: Dmaj
|:f/g/|af ge|fd df/g/|af g>a|be ef/g/|
af ge|fd f>e|dB A/B/d/e/|fd d:|
|:f/e/|dA FA|d>c d/e/f/e/|dA FA|BE Ef/e/|
dA FA|dg f>e|dB A/B/d/e/|fd d:|
5
X: 5
T: Tripping On The Mountain
R: polka
M: 2/4
L: 1/8
K: Dmaj
|:d/c/|"D"dD FA|dD Dd/c/|dD FA|"A"eE Ed/c/|
"D"dD FA|"Bm"Bg fe|"Bm"d/c/B/A/ B/c/d/e/|"D"fd d:|
f/g/|"D"a>f g>e|fd df/g/|af g/f/g/a/|"Em"be ef/g/|
"D"af ge|fd ec|"Bm"d/c/B/A/ B/c/d/e/|"D"fd d:|
6
X: 6
T: Tripping On The Mountain
R: polka
M: 2/4
L: 1/8
K: Dmaj
|:d/c/|dD FA|dD Dd/c/|dD FA|eE Ed/c/|
dD FA|Bg fe|d/c/B/A/ Bc|dD D:|
|:f/g/|a>f g>e|fd df/g/|af g/f/g/a/|be ef/g/|
af ge|fd fe|d/c/B/A/ B/c/d/e/|fd d:|
7
X: 7
T: Tripping On The Mountain
R: polka
M: 2/4
L: 1/8
K: Dmaj
|:fg|"D" a2 f2 gfeg|f2 d2 d2 fg|a2 f2 gfeg|"A" b e3 e2 fg|
"D" a2 f2 gfeg|f2 d2 "A" e2 A2|"D" d2 d2 AABc|d d3 d2:|
|:BA|d2 AA F2 ED|dBFE D2 FD|d2 AA F2 ED|"A" EDEF E2 FA|
"D" d2 AA F2 ED|"G" GABc d2 dd|"A" ABcd egfe|"D" d2 dd d2:|

Twenty-three comments

“My Lover’s Butt a Lady Yett” ~ 1770 ~ the history bit

X: 2
T: My Lover’s Butt a Lady Yett
S: William Vickers’ music manuscript, 1770, page 22
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: Reel
K: Dmaj
|: (3A/B/c/ |\
dDFD dDD B/c/ | dDFD BEE B/c/ |
dDFD dgfe | d/c/B A/B/c dDD :|
|: f/g/ |\
afge fdd f/g/ | afge eEE f/g/ |
afge fdec | d/c/B/A/ Bc dDD :|

“My Love is But a Lassie Yet”

X: 3
T: My Love is But a Lassie Yet
T: Tripping On The Mountain
M: 2/4
L: 1/8
R: polka
K: Dmaj
|: d/c/ |\
dD FA | dD Dd/c/ | dD FA | eE Ed/c/ |
dD FA | Bg fe | d/c/B/A/ B/c/d/e/ | fd d :|
|: f/g/ |\
af ge | fd df/g/ | af g/f/g/a/ | be ef/g/ |
a>f ge | f>d ec | d/c/B/A/ B/c/d/e/ | fd d :|

In Scotland and the north of England this is played as a 2/4 march rather than a polka, with the emphasis very much on the downbeat, and not too fast. I learnt this one when I was at school.

Harry Bradley recorded this on his album “The Night Rambler’s Companion” associating it with John McKenna.

Source: Music Of Sligo by Peter Horan And Fred Finn
Transciption: gian marco pietrasanta

The Ballymote (polka)

It’s a boiled-down version of the Scottish reel My Love Is But A Lassie Yet, and comes across to me as a less satisfactory tune.

(No reflection on you, gian marco!…)

As kids we used to play (and dance to) this as a simple reel. This starts with the second part and what “should be” the first changes a bit after the second high d - we went down an octave to two low D’s(crotchetts) and then shot back up to the high f’-e-d-a-F-a b -E_E
It’s a great tune for near beginers and can be played at all but very fast to give a nice break from all reels at a session. Try going into a single jig after it (con vivace) - Off she Goes (Humpty Dumpty) then The Broken Windows perhaps.
Fun for all.

eehh sorry - 4got-
After the Broken Windows go into The Bunch of Roses. - that way you’re going “up a notch” each tune and it makes it interesting and anyone disruptive enough to speed up comes a cropper on the last - in F BTW.
All 3 are found on the same page in O’Neills. - 6th page of S. Jigs if my memory serves me yet.
Peter

My Lassie is But a Love Yet?

Agreed, slainte

“My Love is but a Lassie” with some alteration of the melody and the “A” and “B” parts interchanged.

Sorry gian marco, but a feel that this one (like Lassie) is “a bit of a dog” … 😉

Notwithstanding

Had I not already known “My Love is But a Lassie”, I probably would have said “Great tune” 🙂

Ceolachan’s version is the one I know

It’s an absolute standard tune for ceilidh bands / Scottish country dancing, usually played as a brisk march. The main version on this site is almost divergent enough from it to be a different tune.

Rescued Version

X:1
T:My love she’s but a lassie yet
M:2/4
L:1/8
K:D
|:d/c/|“D”dD FA |dD Dd/c/|dD FA |“A”eE Ed/c/|
“D”dD FA |“Bm”Bg fe|“Bm”d/c/B/A/ B/c/d/e/ |“D”fd d:|
f/g/|“D”a>f g>e |fd df/g/|af g/f/g/a/ |“Em”be ef/g/|
“D”af ge |fd ec|“Bm”d/c/B/A/ B/c/d/e/ |“D”fd d:|

I prefer the title with the “butt” in it.

Frank Quinn: Recorded January 1929

Frank Quinn (1893-1964) of Greagh, Drumlish, Co. Longford recorded this tune as the second polka in a set entitled “The Water Street Polka” on the fiddle in January 1929 only a few months after McKenna and Morrison recorded it in September 1928. In a comparison of versions, Quinn’s setting is very like McKenna’s/Morrison’s one. It probably was a popular tune among Irish musicians at that time in America. Quinn’s paired this polka with a tune commonly known as “Leather the Wattle O” aka “Grand Old Dame Britannia” whereas McKenna and Morrison played “Thady Regan” as their other polka.

Re: My Love She’s But A Lassie Yet

18th cent, Rob’t Burns wrote the words. I don’t know if he wrote the tune or just ‘borrowed’ it.
Sylvia Miskoe, Concord NH USA

Re: My Love She’s But A Lassie Yet

It is (almost) universally accepted that Burns did not write any music [1]. This tune can be found published in Bremner’s 1757 collection under the title “Miss Farquharson’s Reel” before the bard was born.

[1] Having said that, I have a book in which an air - “The Bonnie Banks of Ayr” - is stated to have been composed by Burns “…after dining with a few friends the day before his intended voyage to the West Indies. His heart having been always in the Highlands, I have much pleasure in placing this to his memory…”

Re: Tripping On The Mountain

Where do all of these “titles” originate from ?

Posted by .

Re: Tripping On The Mountain

I love this tune. It’s so nice and catchy.

Tripping On The Mountain, X:7

Known as My Love is But A Lassie-O. The B-section is unlike any of the other settings I’ve looked at.
EDIT: I know this as a reel so I accidentally wrote it as if it were 4/4. I will fix this shortly.