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The Fair Wind reel

Also known as A Fair Wind, An Bóthar Garbh, Bóthar Garbh, Fairwind, Flanagan’s Favourite, Maeve’s Return, Mulhaire’s, Rip The Calico, The Rough Road, Sunday Bells, Tear The Calico, The West Clare.

There are 55 recordings of this tune.
This tune has been recorded together with

The Fair Wind appears in 7 other tune collections.

The Fair Wind has been added to 40 tune sets.

The Fair Wind has been added to 364 tunebooks.

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Nine settings

1
X: 1
T: The Fair Wind
R: reel
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
K: Amaj
|:A3E A3B|cBAB cBBc|A3E A2AB|1 cBAF FEEE:|2 cBAF FEE2||
|:ceec A3B|c2ec dBBd|ceec A2AB|1 cABF FEEd:|2 cBAF FEE2||
|:AFFF d3B|cBAB cBBc|1 AFFF d2dB|cBAF FEE2:|2 ce3 f2ec|BdcA BAFE||
2
X: 2
T: The Fair Wind
R: reel
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
K: Emin
DGGF ~G3A|BAGA BA~A2|DGGF ~G3A|1 BAGE EDDE:|2 BAGE EDDA||
|:BddB ~G3A|BddB cAAc|BddB ~G3A|1 BAGE EDDA:|2 BAGE EDDE||
|:GE~E2 c3A|B2dB AcBA|GE~E2 c3A|1 BAGE EDDE:|2 BAGE EDDE||
3
X: 3
T: The Fair Wind
R: reel
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
K: Gmaj
~G3F ~G3A|BAGA BAAB|~G3E ~G3A|1 BAGE EDDE:|2 BAGE EDDc||
BcdB ~G3A|BcdB cAAc|BcdB ~G3A|1 BAGE EDDc:|2 BAGE EDDE||
GE~E2 ~c3A|BAGA BAAB|GE~E2 ~c3A|1 BAGE EDDA:|2 BAGE EDDE||
4
X: 4
T: The Fair Wind
R: reel
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
K: Gmaj
F|:~G3 F~G2GA|B~A3 BA.AF|~G3 F~G3A|BAGE EDDF:|
|:BddB ~G3 A|Bd.dB cAAG|Bd.dB GGGA|BAGE EDDF:|
G~E3 c2 cA|B2dB BAAF|G~E3 c2 cA|BAGE EDDF:|
5
X: 5
T: The Fair Wind
R: reel
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
K: Gmaj
|:E|G2GG G3A|BAGA BAAB|G2GG G3A|BAGE EDD:|
|:A|BddB G3A|BddB cA~A2|BddB G3A|BAGE EDD:|
|:E|GE~E2 c3A|BddB AcBA|GE~E2 c3A|BAGE EDD:|
6
X: 6
T: The Fair Wind
R: reel
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
K: Dmaj
|:B|d3d/d/ d3e|fede feef|d3d/d/ d3e|fedB BAA:|
|:e|faaf d3e|faaf ge~e2|faaf d3e|fedB BAA:|
|:B|dB~B2 g3e|faaf egfe|dB~B2 g3e|fedB BAA:|
7
X: 7
T: The Fair Wind
R: reel
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
K: Amaj
|:A3E A3B|cBAB cB B2|A3E A3B|cBAF FE E2:|
|:ceec A3B|ceec dBBd|ceec A3B|1 cAAF FEEd:|2 cBAF FE E2||
|:AF F2 d3B|cBAB cB B2|AF F2 d3B|cBAF FE E2:|
8
X: 8
T: The Fair Wind
R: reel
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
K: Gmaj
|:G3D G3A|BAGA BAAB|G3D G3B|1 ABGE EDDE:|2 ABGE EDDA|
|:BddB G3A|BddB cAAc|BddB G3B|1 ABGE EDDA:|2 ABGE EDDE|
|:GE E/E/E c3A|B2GB AcBA|GE E/E/E cBcB|ABGE EDDE:|
9
X: 9
T: The Fair Wind
R: reel
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
K: Amaj
|:EAAE A3B|cBAB cB B2|EAAE A3B|cBAF FE E2:|
|:ceec A3B|ceec d3B|ceec A3B|1 cAAF FEEd:|2 cBAF FE E2||
|:AF F2 d3B|cBAB cB B2|AF F2 d3B|cBAF FE E2:|

Twenty-nine comments

This is Tamalin’s version to Fair Wind; Dervish also play in their “Out on the Road” set- it’s the third tune, after Repeal of the Union. They play it in G major, I think, and slightly different. But I prefer the John McSherry way, so… 🙂 Enjoy!

Fair Wind

Good tune, I learned this in G. A works just as well. A real nice rattler on the Banjo.

A little nice tune. Easy to play yet very “dancant”(?)

DANSANT!

I love this little gem, I play it in D sometimes as well.

Fair Wind

Belfast band “Tamalin” recorded it in A.

T:A Fair Wind
M:4/4
L:1/8
S:Dervish: “Midsunner’s Night”
R:reel
Z:g.m.p
K:G
~G3F ~G3A|BAGA BAAB|~G3E ~G3A|1BAGE EDDE:|2BAGE EDDc||
BcdB ~G3A|BcdB cAAc|BcdB ~G3A|1BAGE EDDc:|2BAGE EDDE||
GE~E2 ~c3A|BAGA BAAB|GE~E2 ~c3A|1BAGE EDDA:|2BAGE EDDE||

sounds a lot like “Rip the Calico”, doesn’t it?

Err…so much so that I think it *is* Tear the Calico…well spotted!

i really like the third part

This does sound like Rip the Calico and yet definately is NOT Rip/Tear the Calico, at least not the Calico version the Bothy Band played.

The C-part of Fair Wind is the same as the B-Part in Rip the Calico, the other parts are different.

Compare: https://thesession.org/tunes/719

(The Fair WInd is also on Danu’s “Danu” album after Joe Bane’s.)

Same as Fair Wind in A major

This tune is in G major and it’s also listed in A major.
I learned it from Jack Gilder’s lovely playing in A.
It does not come up when you input Fairwind--too bad.

A fun tune, It also appears on “Midsummers Night” by dervish

As learned by Tiarnan O Duinnchinn at the workshop of the Uilleann Pipers Club Schaffhausen march 2009

Triplicated…

Wonder when we’ll get our first quadruplication?

Maeve’s Return

We play this tune in G at our sessions in Wellington (NZ) but know it as Maeve’s Return… slight variation but pretty much the same.

BTCpz: If you make allowance for the different tonality (D rather than G) the 3rd part of this reel is virtually the same as the 2d part of Rip The Calico; https://thesession.org/tunes/719 ..you might like that tune too.

I play this one as I learned it from The Tulla Ceili Band’s album “A Celebration of 50 Years” where they play it with a different order of the parts, the order being the parts that here are called C, A and B.

I reworked my version as it was obviousely not correct. It is also in coincidence with the tube above now.

Tannahill Weavers setting and more tune names

I learned this tune from the Tannahill Weavers recording under the name “Mulhaire’s” or “The Rough Road”, and for the longest time I couldn’t find it on the Session.

The Tannies play it in D, to fit the GHB, while the local session I go to sometimes has played it in G. I’ve submitted settings in both keys.

Tear The Calico

"Triplicated…
Wonder when we’ll get our first quadruplication?

# Posted by bogman 5 years ago."

Actually that has already happened, as Willie Clancy’s tune Fowler on the Moor is a single jig or fling version of this: https://thesession.org/tunes/11140

X:3 here from a recording of Paddy O‘Brien the 1st and Jack Coen. I simply modified the setting in O’Neill’s. It’s great fun on the box, those ABc triplets etc. Paddy didn’t play the low E trebles but I was too lazy to remove them and it’s what I’d play anyway. He played rolls there.

There are interesting settings someone could note down on publically available recordings of Clare fiddlers Bobby Casey and Patrick Kelly, too. Interestingly enough on both recordings they played the tune on the whistle first. This tune usually only covers the span of an octave, suggesting a reel that was once played on the big pipes. Some settings thrown in a high E but that’s pretty superfluous to getting the melody’s point across.

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