The Granny In The Wood polka

Source: Slán Le Lough Eirne by Seamus Quinn And Gary Hastings
Transcription: gian marco pietrasanta

This tune goes way back to at least the 1920’s or 30’s when flute player Tom Morrison recorded it with Maggie in the Woods. Morrison played it more like a Connaught polka as opposed to a barndance and in a slightly different version, though definitely the same tune. I must have picked up the file on the internet, there doesn’t seem to be a name on the tune in my iTunes library. I wonder do Quinn and Hastings cite Morrison as their source. Any sleeve note information from album gian, that you can supply?

sorry, I have no infos about that tune.

Harry Bradley recorded this barndance on his first solo album. It’s named after the source, Seamus Quinn.

So he did! I didn’t notice that. It’s a lovely tune actually, thanks for posting Gian.

I’m still trying to find that CD…ever since dear slainte educated my ears with a listen…lovely stuff… 🙁

Aye, Harry is great!

X: 2
S: Harry Bradley, flute ~ “County Fermanagh fiddler and pianist Seamus Quinn was the source of the first one,”

X: 3
S: Gary Hastings. flute (w/Seamus Quinn, fiddle) ~ “The Granny in the Woods is a great tune for the flute. I heard it on a 78 recording of Tom Morrison.”

Tracing it back to its roots ~ Tom Morrison!

I came up with the title Tom Morrison’s Maggie: https://thesession.org/tunes/13134 Didn’t know anyone else had recorded this little gem.

Alex Sutherland (1874-1969) of Toome, Drumreilly, Co Leitrim transcribed this tune for his fiddle student Joseph McCabe around 1920. It is entitled “A Gallop” in the manuscript which may signal this was originally a light classical galop before it was assimilated into the Irish music tradition.

Nice driving polka! X:4 is upside down compared to the others. Is there an established order for the A & B parts, or is it one of those tunes that can go either way (as I’ve heard with Miss McLeod’s and St Anne’s Reel)?

And possible typo in bars 1 & 5 of the B part . . . presumably two G crotchets should be quavers.