Langstrom’s Pony jig

This tune isn’t as complicated as it might first appear. The last phrase of every part is pretty much the same each time.

Watch out for that C natural in the last part. I love the way it adds a slightly sinister tone to the tune.

Try playing this tune before “Banish misfortune” for an interesting change.

I think that this tune is actually in the key of A Mixolydian. I’m almost positive of this. Playing this tune with an accompanying D chord sequence sounds totally off. Does anybody agree with me on this?

Yes, this is definitely an A mixolydian tune switching to G and then back during each part. For fun, play the lowest E an octave higher.

DOes anybody know if this is of Scottish or Irish provenance? It’s commonly played on GHB; not that that means anything.

one might easily turn this tune into a slipjig (in fact it has a ‘long’ stride, a bit lik a a galloping horse: I hear a kind of 12/8 here)
playing: fed cAA eAA / fed cAA bgb / fed cAA eAA, etc a shorter stride that leads you sooner to the finish line! (for those early departing session musicians with a ‘last train’ to catch!)

definitely Amix - with the Gs played as naturals almost everywhere (Comhaltas have it transcribed in A with the G naturals marked as accidentals, but Amix seems a better solution).

There are variations, and Willie Clancy (e.g. on Minstrel from Clare) plays only the first two parts.

I’ve mostly heard minor differences from the transcription here. e.g. in the first part, EAA CBA in bars 2 and 6; holding the G (or breathing) in bar 7 (faf g2e). In the second part, I’m not sure about the G and E in bar 3. Wouldn’t that be d,f or a (for the chord)? You can sneak a G# into the first bar of the the third part for effect. A couple of other minor varations which fit a bit more naturally to my ear. For what its worth, I’m playing it roughly like this…

X: 1
T: Langstrom’s Pony
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
R: jig
K: Amix
|:fed cAA|EAA cBA|fed cAA|BGB dcB|
fed cAA|EAA cBA|faf g2e|dBG Bcd:|
|:cee dff|cee ecA|cee dff|dBG Bcd|
cee dff|cee efg|faf g2e|dBG Bcd:|
|:Ace a^ga|ecA ecA|GBd gfg|dBG Bcd|
faf g2e|fed ecA|a2f g2e|dBG Bcd:|
|:AEA A2e|cAc ecB|AEA AB=c|BGB dcB|
AEA A2e|cAc efg|faf g2e|dBG Bcd:|

This tune is labeled as Treasure Cave on The Chieftans’ Film Cuts CD. The track is from a 1990 TV movie production of Treasure Island starring Charleton Heston, Julian Glover, Oliver Reed, Christopher Lee, and Christian Bale.

Check it out, the arrangement is excellent.

It’s in the Gunn Book (Fermanagh 1865) as Lanxtrum’s Pony - a three part jig

Yes John Doherty plays this as a slip jig - Northern Fiddler p.61

Thanks for that bit of info The Flute!
Could you submit the ABC ? Or does the book mention it only in passing?

X: 1
T: Langstrom’s (sad) Pony
R: jig
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
K: Am
|:fed cAA|EAA cAA|fed cAA|BGB dcB|
fed cAA|EAA cAA|faf gfe|dBG Bcd:|
|:cee dff|cee ecA|cee g2e|dBG Bcd|
cee dff|cee efg|faf gfe|dBG Bcd:|
|:Ace a2f|ecA ecA|GBd g2e|dBG Bcd|
eaf g2e|fed ecA|a2f gfe|dBG Bcd:|
|:AEA A2d|cAc ecA|AEA AB=c|BGB dcB|
AEA A2d|cAc efg|faf gfe|dBG Bcd:|

(At least, on a set on the Pipedance album “The Pleasures Of Hope”, where it follows “The Black Rogue” and “Lark In The Morning”)

According to Andrew Kuntz (tunearch.org & The Fiddler´s Companion) the origin of this tune is uncertain, appearing with multiple different names in old Scottish collections (e.g. James Oswald´s Caledonian Pocket Companion, 1760) as well as in earlier Irish publications (e.g. A Choice Collection of Country Dances with their Proper Tunes, 1726):

http://tunearch.org/wiki/Annotation:Langstrom%27s_Pony
http://www.ibiblio.org/fiddlers/LAN_LAP.htm

Here is the version – just slightly different – that appears in O’Neill’s Dance Music of Ireland - 1001 Gems (1907), p. 20, no. 18, as Saddle the Pony, Cuir Diallaid Air An Clibin.

Taken from ‘A Fine Selection of Over 200 Irish Traditional Tunes for Sessions’, compiled by David Speers with a Forward by Matt Cranitch. A two parter, like X:4 but different in the B part. I always think this is very like the Mooncoin jig in the way the tonality moves from A to G. Nice!

my transcription of De Danann’s version

From “Moving Hearts” album the storm

A bit of a variation on the fourth part suitable for Scottish smallpipes and the likes in A mix, just to loose that C nat. This tune is easily adaptable in its entirety without anything being lost or getting unrecogniseable. A personal favourite.

I just played this through for the first time, and I have to say -- it’s in exactly the same “genre” as “Mooncoin Jig”, and I like the latter better. Maybe this one will grow on me, I dunno.

(Edited to add🙂 Somebody already noticed the similarity to Mooncoin; see an early comment there.