The Grinders slip jig

A slip jig culled from Raven’s “English Country Dance Tunes” by the Durham-based band Horseplay and featured on their album “Roughshod” (I’ve entered that in the “Recordings” section).
It’s a sturdy English jig - in other words, liable to dispense with quavers where a dotted crotchet will do - but I think a good tune all told.

|: d |
g2 g edB d2 B | gfg edc A2 d | g2 g edB d2 B | A>BA AB/c/d e2 :|
|: g |
A2 A ABA G2 E | A>BA AB/c/d edB | A2 A ABA G2 B | A>BA AB/c/d e2 :|
|: d |
gag e2 B d2 B | ~g3 edc ~A3 | g2 g edB edB | ABA A2 d e2 :|
|: g |
~A3 Ac/B/A G2 e | A2 A ABd e2 g | ABA ABE G2 B | A2 A ABd e2 :|

The final crotchet in the sheet music should have been a high D, not a low one.
It’s one of those tunes that can be played in the single major octave early Northumbrian smallpipers had to make do with.

Setting #3 is transcribed from Irish Flute Tunes:
http://irishflute.podbean.com/2012/01/08/terry-hi-ho-the-grinder-slip-jig/
(great site BTW, in case there’s a flute learner out there who really doesn’t know it)

The order of the (two) parts is just the other way round. As it is in O’Neill’s, too.
I like this setting especially because of the occasional drop to the low D. Boom.

A great slip jig from the “O’neill’s music of Ireland”

https://thesession.org/tunes/6360
… in other variations.

~ /tunes/12524
# Added by Martial - 22/02/2013
https://thesession.org/members/69931

A great slip jig from the “O’neill’s music of Ireland”

# Posted by Martial - 22/02/2013

S: “O’Neill’s Music of Ireland: 1850 Melodies”, 1903, page 215, 1st setting tune #1139 (1 of 2)
S: O’Neill’s “The Dance Music of Ireland: 1001 Gems”, 1907, page 84, tune #427

Here’s a tune with the very similar first part: https://thesession.org/tunes/5818

Interesting history behind this tune.
There is an English group called the Mellstock Band which calls it “Grenadier’s March” (sounds similar at a stretch)
But I also have some Nothumbrian song collections (no dances) and there is go called “Tally I O the Grinder” which has a great beat but has nothing to do with this tune:
https://youtu.be/qjeem8IRd3M

play video

Apologies for the error on my above post (my Braille display can be a bit pesky). That should have said that one of the collections I have has a song called “Tally I O the Grinder” that appears unrelated, despite this tune also being called that. Video link in above post.

Come to think of it, it also sounds a little bit like the Newcastle tune “The Hexashire Lass.”

Called Tobias the Grinder in the Winder manuscripts
(www,andyhornby.net/Winders.html)
There is a great song to it.

Perhaps grinding is a reference to millers adulterating their flour?

The Grinders or More Grist to the Mill.

Search all the world high and low, many a freak you’ll be finding,
What do you think’s all the go? by the Hokey it’s nothing but grinding.

Terry, Io, io, Scandal the devil can’t bind her,
the world is all “How came you so?”and every profession turned Grinder.

The law’s a state mill and those elves, the lawyers, like terrible giants
Grind all the grist for themselves, and leave all the chaff for their clients.

Doctors grind you for fees so pell mell, they kill you for mere preservation,
for they know if they let you grow well, you’ll die soon enough of starvation.

Also from the Winders of Wyresdale

(andyhornby.net/Winders.html)

This version from Jackson’s book is called “The New Grinder”