The Log Cabin reel

Perhaps one of you folk who were collecting for the last 20 years know the discography. I heard it played at a session. It was both familiar and good. I never transcribed it myself so I came here to find it. I managed to find a copy of it on http://www.gre.ac.uk/~c.walshaw/abc/index/wwabc.html
I love that index.

As a fiddler, I typically change those quarter note rolls on open string to triplets.

Enjoy,
Mark

In the mid-80’s Log Cabin was a tune we heard a lot in the Boston Contra Dance scene. I learned it then and continue to play it.

It was recorded by DeDanann about that time and I don’t remember the name of that recording. It appears in the middle one of those big medley’s and they play it about twice through.

The name makes me wonder if it was really Irish in origin but I’ve never heard it in any other form.

Thanks for putting this one up for us.
Will in New Mexico

This isin’t precisely how De Danann played it, instead of lingering on that C in the first part they played a BCD triplet. This is how I learned it, from a student of Joe Cooley’s.

If there are suposed to be all those C-naturals, should we presume that the other ‘C’s’ are supposed to be sharps - which would mean a little change of key. Surely the B section bar-6 should be a C#?

Here’s howI play it.

X: 1
T: Little Thatched Cabin, The
Z: Jack Gilder
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: reel
K: D
A,D~D2 FGAB|=cdDE FGA^c|~d2cd BdAG|FADB, =C2 B,C|!
A,D~D2 FGAB|=cdDE FGA^c|~d2 cd BAGF|1 EDCE D3 B, :|2 EDCE DABc ||!
d2 fd Adfd|g2 fg edBc|d2 fd Adfd|=cAGE =CDEC|!
d2 fd Adfd|B/c/d ef ~g2 ag|faec dBAG|1 FAEA DABc:|2 FGEG D4||!

Isn’t this just the Log Cabin? https://thesession.org/tunes/834

No, that’s a log cabin… they used logs to build those.

::Uncomfortable half smile trying to humour Jack by looking as though I understood what he said::

you are absolutely right- I can only blame the lateness of the hour, the fact that I was transcribing by ear, and Doc the cat was being very insistant that the typing fingers should be scratching his ears, so he kept grapping them…..but in real life I play it it pretty muc has you have written it out- thanks for correcting it! (Doc would thank you too, but he’s busy chasing my other hand…
Trish

What? No log cabins in good ol’ Eire? You’re kiddin…

~ what with all those imported saplings growing up and turning it into a safe acidic haven for spruce and other non-native species? Before you know it they’ll be speaking Inuit and Norwegian… Hell, there’s that kit A-frame at the head of the bay on Inis Bofin, I mean, how Canada can you get?

According to the sleeve notes of Angelina Carberry’s solo recording, this tune derives from the song air called The Little Thatched Cabin.

This tune appears in Bulmer & Sharpley’s "Music from Ireland" (book 4, #22) as The Log Cabin, and then again without the logs here:

https://thesession.org/tunes/4244

Any chance these are the same tune?

https://thesession.org/tunes/2083

Listening to Angelina Carberry’s recording of it I tried to remember where did I hear it for the first time, it was on Mary MacNamara’s "Traditional Music from East Clare" album. there it appears as "Paddy Lynn’s Delight". or maybe I’m wrong.

I lifted this off a live recording. First part, first ending: I might throw off a high D in the quarter rest for laughs. So might Frankie. I’ll follow with Sporting Paddy in Dmix sometimes, just to keep drivin’ along.

DeDanann LP Ballroom I think. Great tune.

De Danann recorded this tune on one of the best trad records ever made Selected jigs reels and hornpipes. I’ m always coming back to this recording! It’ s a pity that it isn’t availible in digital format.
Jörgen

Evidently the studio masters of D Danann’s Selected Jigs, etc. were lost, thus a CD version isn’t available. Someone has kindly digitized an original LP and put the tracks up on Youtube; here’s the track with Log Cabin:

http://youtu.be/Hsc5ACw6Ksg

play video

I’ve extracted the audio from the tracks using Audacity and the quality isn’t bad at all, considering the source.

A great banjo/accordion duet containing "The Log Cabin" can be heard here. I’m really fond of Angelina Carberry’s playing:

http://youtu.be/dJua_szwajs

play video

The tune is great fun to play with others if you can find players who know it!

I’ve been attracted to this tune for many years and recognised it every time it was played because it was so distinctive. I’ve even asked a friend at a session to run through it with me really quickly after finishing the set so I could keep it in my head, but then lost it again through never just sitting down and playing it a lot or listening to recordings of it. Today I clicked on that YouTube of Frankie Gavin and just thought "I have to learn that right now". It’s been running incessantly in my internal jukebox all day and I’ve been lilting it in the car. This might be my new favourite tune. Strange choice perhaps but hey… and tomorrow I’ll have a different favourite!

A nice version in a funny key from An Traidisiun Beo: https://thesession.org/recordings/1873

Winni live
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bf32vQddjPs

play video

Joe Cooley Tapes
https://joecooleytapes.org/joecooleytape_1-4/24%20The%20Thatched%20Cabin.mp3

Setting transcribed from clear recording at local session - B part is significantly different to other settings here, as are the endings of the A part. B part is actually a little similar to what I can hear in the Joe Cooley recording above, although that recording appears to be in Emix.