The Maid At The Well jig

This I think this is a nice jig for a learner, I like it played at a steady easy tempo. The second line does not have to be played at the end put it gives a nice finish to the tune. Thanks Jeremy for correcting the key!!!!!!.

On Music at Matt Molloy’s, it’s played in A (I cant remember by whom) - the middle tune in a set with the Kilmovee and The Geese in the Bog (C/Am version).

I’ve just tried to post this and had it blocked because I hadn’t realised it was already there. Anyway I might as well cut and paste the settings I was going to post anyway since they’re slightly different from the above:

GED ~D3|GEG c2e|dBG GAB|AGE {G}EDE|GED ~D3|GEG c2e|dBG GAB|1 AGF G2D:|2 AGF G2d||
gdB GBd|gdB c2e|dBG GAB|AGE ~E3|gdB GBd|gdB c2e|dBG GAB|AGF G2d|
gdB GBd|gdB c2e|dBG GAB|AGE {G}EDE|GED ~D3|GEG c2e|dBG GAB|AGF G2D||

%2nd Setting
GED {E}DB,D|GAB c2e|dBG {B}AGA|BAG EDE|GED {E}DB,D|GAB c2e|dBG {B}AGA|1 BGF G2D:|2 BGF GBd||
gdd edd|gdB c2e|dBG {B}AGA|BAG ~E3|gdd edd|gdB c2e|dBG {B}AGA|BGF GBd|gdd edd|gdB c2e|dBG {B}AGA|BAG EDE|
GED DB,D|GAB c2e|dBG {B}AGA|BGF G2D||

Good stuff Dow, particularly showing the cut notes and contrasting the two settings. Thanks!

This tune shows up as #13 in Breandan Breathnach’s “Ceol Rince na hEireann” (vol. 1, ‘63), and it’s basically the same as Dow’s 1st setting, with the exception of the 9th and 10th bars of the B part, which read thus:

…gdd gdd|gdB cde|dBG GAB etc…

otherwise, good job, Dow! Breathnach lists alternate names for the tune as “The Milkmaid”, “The Black Stripper” (don’t ask), “The Kilkenny Jig”, “The Maids of Glenroe”, “Arthur McBride”, and “The Castle Street Jig”. (whew!) That is, I think he does: it’s all in Gaelic!

Pipers call this the Blackthorn stick, it comes from John Potts, grandfather of Chieftain Sean Potts.

T:Maids of Glenroe
M:6/8
L:1/8
S:Jimmy Noonan - Maple Leaf_irish traditional music from boston
R:jig
Z:gm
K:G
| GDD EDD | GAB c2d | edc BcA | BGE EDF |
GDD EDD | GAB c2d | edc BcA |1AGF G2F :|2AGF GBd|
| gdd edd | gdB c2d | edc BcA | BGE EDf |
gdd edd | gdB c2d | edc BcA | AGF GBd |
| gdd edd | gdB c2d | edc BcA | BGE EDF|
GDD EDD | GAB c2d | edc BcA |AGF G3|

A-version from the playing of thomas togher, boxplayer:

T: Maid At The Well, The
S: Tom Togher
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
R: jig
K:Amaj
|:AFE EFE|ABc d2f|ecA ABc|BAF FEF|
| AFE EFE|ABc d2f|ecA ABc||1 BAA A2F:|2 BAA A2a||
|: aee ece|aec d2f|ecA ABc|BAF FEF|
|1 aee ece|aec d2f|ecA ABc|BAA A2a:|
|2 AFE EFE|ABc d2f|ecA ABc|BAA A2F||

Submitted on June 13th 2004 by errik.
K: G Major
|: G2 D EGD | GAB c3 | ded ABG | AGE EDE |
G2 D EDE | GAB c3 | ded ABG |1 AGF GFG :|2 AGF GBd ||
gdd edd | gdB ~c3 | ded ABG | AGE E2 f |
gdd edd | gdB ~c3 | ded ABG | AGF GBd |
gdd edd | gdB ~c3 | ded ABG | AGE EDE |
G2 D EGD|GAB c3 | ded ABG | AGF G3 ||

= “The Maid at the Well”
K: G Major
|: G2 D EDE | GAB c2 d | edc B2 A | BGE EDE |
G2 D EDE | GAB c2 d | edc B2 A | BGF G3 :|
|: g2 d ede | gdB c2 d | edc B2 A | BGE EDE |
[1 g2 d ede | gdB c2 d | edc B2 A | BGF G3 :|
[2 G2 D EDE | GAB c2 d | edc B2 A | BGF G3 ||

Tunes like this, especially after all the twisted and disagreeable compositions that keep plopping out, are a joy. A ‘respected’ friend recently wrote, today, regarding ‘new’ composition ~

“Often they’re quite badly written and totally lack any sort of theme, “hook” or balance of any sort.” (Dow/Mark)

Yes, I know, I’ve been playing through a load of such codswallop lately, as if ‘twist’ and ‘disagreement’ were ‘cute’. You can only take so much of such cuteness or show, “See what I can do!” Alright, experiment, go all over hell, but don’t necessarily expect the resultant mess to sit around forever. Too often the ‘creations’ we are party to show no real understanding of the tradition we’d like to append them to, so why bother. In the end, realizing the democracy of it, folks will give it a try if they chose and make their choices.

This lovely simple tune has just two parts and they only differ in the first two bars, the second part being a reflection up an octave of the first. These tunes aren’t uncommon, but the joy in something like this is in teaching them, giving them interest and life, and gaining an understanding of structure too many new composers, at least in their output, seem to have very little understanding of, or maybe it is a case of ‘appreciation’. This tune is one of my wife’s favourites, and it is a favourite of dancers, because it speaks to them, because the phrasing and rhythm helps them, because it is something you can leave the dance floor and the hall singing. It is as comfortable as an old shoe.

K: A Major
|: G |
A2 E FEF | ABc d2 e | fed c2 B | cAF FEF |
A2 E FEF | ABc d2 e | fec d2 B | cAA A2 :|
|: e |
a2 e fef | aec d2 e | fed c2 B | cAF FEF |
[1 a2 e fef | aec d2 e | fec d2 B | cAA A2 :|
[2 A2 E FEF | ABc d2 e | fec d2 B | cAA A2 ||

Harry Bradley recorded a different version of this as McKenna’s on the marching band flute, naming it after the Leitrim flute legend.

T:Blackthorn Stick, The
S: ‘sláinte’
R:jig
M:6/8
L:1/8
K:Gmaj
|:GED DDD | GFG c2e | dBG GAB | AGE ~E3 |
| GED ~D3 | GFG c2e | dBG GAB | AGF G3 :|
|:gdB GBd | gdB c2e | dBG GAB | AGE ~E3 |
| gdB GBd | gdB c2e | dBG GAB | AGF G2D|
| gdd gdd | gdB cde | dBG GAB | AGE ~E3 |
| GED ~D3 | GFG c2e | dBG GAB | AGF G3 |

Here’s another take from the lads on The Maple Leaf cd, out of Boston.

X: 1
T: Maids of Glenrose, The
D: Maple Leaf, The; Chris McGrath, Jimmy Noonan
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
K: G
GDD EDD|GAB c2 d|edc BcA|BGE EDE|
GDD EDD|GAB c2 d|edc BcA|1 AGF ~G3:|2 AGF GB/c/d||
gdd edd|gdB c2 d|edc BcA|BGE Eef|
gdd edd|gdB c2 d|edc BcA|AGF GB/c/d|
gdd edd|gdB c2 d|edc BcA|BGE EDE|
GDD EDD|GAB c2 d|edc BcA|AGF ~G3||

If anybody’s interested, this is a mining implement.

Discussion: On the hunt for tune name…
# Posted on February 17th 2008 by bledsoeo
~ /discussions/16765

X: 11
T: The Maid at the Well
S: N.Y. session, 2007
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
R: jig
K: G Major
|: GFG E2 D | GAB c2 e | dee dBG | AGE EDE |
GFG E2 D | GAB c2 e | dee dBG | AGF G3 :|
|: gdd edd | gdB c2e | dee dBG | AGE EDE |
gdd edd | gdB c2e | dee dBG | AGF G3 :|
|: GFG E2 D | GAB c2 e | dee dBG | AGE EDE |
GFG E2 D | GAB c2 e | dee dBG | AGF G3 :|
|: gdd edd | gdB c2 e | ded gdB | ABc def |
gdd edd | gdB c2 e | ded B3 | AGF G3 :|

# Posted on February 17th 2008 by bledsoeo

X: 12
T: Bill Collin’s
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
R: Double Jig
K: D Major
|: A |\
d2 A BAB | def a3 | aba f2 e | dBB gfe |
d2 A BAB | def a3 | aba f2 e | fdc d2 :|
|: e |\
faa fab | afe fef | aba f2 e | dBB gfe |
d2 A BAB | def a3 | aba f2 e | fdc d2 :|

# Posted on February 18th 2008 by FIDDLE4

At the 2008 Irish Arts Fest in Durham, NY, John McElvoy taught the version offered by Gian Marco (Jimmy Noonan), He called it “Silver Tip”. A great class and a fun tune!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7xmz39zhSk

play video

Not This maid at the well:
http://archive.org/stream/bioblanaomhthaan00bede#page/938/mode/2up/search/Eoin+4
Or this other auld one
http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=9182#2531648

A version I play of this tune.

Wonderful tune, especially in A! We play it after Kilmovee as on Music at Matt Molloy’s.

There is a two part setting of this jig in Dan Herlihy’s 2003 collection of Padraig O’Keeffe manuscripts (page 32 tune 1), with the above name.