Farewell To Erin (reel) on The Session

Farewell to Erin

I think this is the tune that is often confused with "Farewell to Ireland" I learned it from listening to an old player a long time ago & my setting may be different than what’s the most common. I think the story is that Coleman recorded "Farewell to Erin/Farewell to Ireland" as a set & just called it "Farewell to Erin" so both tunes ended up with the title. To complicate matters, I learned this tune as "The Maid in the Cherry Tree" which is another title which is the proud owner of at least 3 or so tunes. But I’ve heard more than one person call this one "The Maid in the Cherry Tree".

nice tune,it’s also on the frankie gavin/alec finn album.

Frankie and alec

thats where its billed as austin tierneys

both the 1850 Tunes O’Neils and the Cole publication (Chicago 1940) have noted a very nice four note turn on the low strings at the end of this tune. For me it’s the best part of the tune, and the hook to remembering it.. the descent continues through the last bar gf#ed for the first group of eigth notes, then adds low c#eac# as the second half of the bar instead of the whole note loew d ending.

the o’neils version by mistake only scribes one sharp into the key signature, which would of course suggest the tune was in the key of G, however this tune is clearly, loudly, a tonic D.

London Lasses

Melodically this tune is very close to London Lasses, which is usually played in G. John Carty recorded a great setting in A; it followed Sligo Maid.

Larry

Austin Tierney’s

This is a really common tune at our session. I have a recording of it being played, and it’s a lot different to the posted setting.

X: 1
T: Austin Tierney’s
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: reel
K: Dmaj
D2 (3FED AD (3FED|Addc def2|D2 (3FED ADFA|BdAF EDCE|
D2 (3FED AD (3FED|AddA Bcde|fd (3gfe dBBA|1 BdAF E2FE:|2 BdAF E2FA||
|:d3B AF~F2|DFBF AF~F2|d3B BAFA|BdAF EDCE|
DddA BcdB|BAFB ABde|fd (3gfe dBBA|1 BdAF E2FA:|2 BdAF E2FE||

In a variation which I particularly like, the 1st line can be altered so that you stay up high like this:
D2 (3FED AD (3FED|Addc defe|~d3A BAFA|BdAF EDCE|…

The part endings sometimes come out like this:
…|faec dBAF|1 BFAF EFGA:|2 BFAF EGFE||…

Another name for this is The Flying Column. See a 3rd transcription of it here https://thesession.org/tunes/5462.

… and another one here https://thesession.org/tunes/4855

Farewell to Erin (O’Neill’s Music of Ireland)

X:
T:Farewell to Erin
B:O’Neill’s Music of Ireland, pg. 744, Nº 1472
M:4/4
L:1/8
R:reel
K:Gmaj
D2 ((3FED) ADFD|Addc defd|D2 ((3FED) ADFD|((3Bcd) AE P(FE)EF|
D2 ((3FED) ADFD|Addc defg|((3agf) ((3gfe) fded|((3Bcd) AE (FE)EF||
(3.d.d.d dB AF-~F2|DF-~F ADFA|dcdB ADFA|(3Bcd AF P(FE)Ec|
((3ded) ((3cdc) ((3BcB) ((3ABc)|BA^GA Bcde|((3fga) ec dcBA|GFED CEA,CA|]