Swansea hornpipe

(Swansea is a city on the coast of South Wales, UK).

The Welsh name for this city is Abertawe.

So Welsh speakers might possibly call this tune: “Pibddawns Abertawe”.

I’m sure I’ve also come across this one in North American, and in early collections, probably under other names. There and in Cymru/Wales, where it is a tune that gets regular play and for dance, it is more often played straight, without swing, as we’ve known it.

Here is a straight transcription that offers a few other ways you’ll find this one. As one example, I’ve given two different ways you can take it down on bar 4 of parts A & B:

~ | ABcA GFED | ~ or ~ | AGFE D2 Bc | ~

X: 2
T: Pibddawns Gwŷr Wrecsam
T: The Men Of Wrexham’s
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: hornpipe
K: Gmaj
|: Bc |\
d2 g2 gdBG | c2 e2 e2 ge | dBdB edcB | ABcA GFED |
d2 g2 gdBd | c2 e2 e2 ge | dBdB ecAF | G2 B2 G2 :|
|: Bc |\
dBGB d2 gd | ecGc e2 ge | dBdB edcB | AGFE D2 Bc |
dBdB d2 g2 | ecec e2 g2 | dBdB ecAF | G2 B2 G2 :|

I also love it with a jaunty lilt, swung… 😉

There is also a simple twmpath dawns (barn dance), a big circle mixer, that has taken the name of this tune…

twmpath - “toom-path” = tump, hilloch
dawns - “down-s” = dance

The dance ~ a simple mixer. I have taken this with some variations, including swung and with hornpipe/fling steps, hop 123s and hop steps…

Formation: a circle of couples

A ~ Circle up, advance and retire twice
AA ~ Circle to the left / CW
B ~ Partners arm right / corners arm left
BB ~ New partners promenade ACW

A version of this and another transcription of this tune can be found in the Eddie Jones book “Dawnsie Twmpath”, Y Lolfa, 1987, dance 5, page18…

another way with it, high and low ~ swung & not…

X: 3
T: Pibddawns Gwŷr Wrecsam
T: The Men Of Wrexham’s
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: hornpipe
K: Gmaj
|: G>B |\
d2 b2 b>gd>B | c2 a2 a2 a>g | f>ga>b c’>af>g | (3aba g>e d>cB>c |
d2 b2 b>gd>B | c2 a2 a2 a>g | f>ga>b c’>af>g | (3aba g>f g2 :|
|: (3ABc |\
d>Bd>B (3ded g>f | e>ce>c (3efe (3gfe | d>Bd>G e>dc>B | A>B (3cBA G>FE>D |
d>Gd>G d2 g>f | e>Ge>G e2 g>e | d2 (3Bcd e>cA>F | G2 d2 G2 :|

X: 4
T: Pibddawns Gwŷr Wrecsam
T: The Men Of Wrexham’s
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: hornpipe
K: Gmaj
|: G2 |\
d2 b2 bgdB | c2 a2 a2 ag | fgab c’afg | abge dcBc |
d2 b2 bgdB | c2 a2 a2 ag | fgab c’afg | abgf g2 :|
|: Bc |\
dBdB d2 gf | ecec efge | dBdG edcB | ABcA GFED |
dGdG d2 gf | eGeG e2 ge | dGBd ecAF | G2 g2 G2 :|

A close relative of this one:
https://thesession.org/tunes/9327

You are correct, ragaman.

And since it was me that posted both tunes, I should have realised this, and posted the second one as a variation.

Except that I didn’t. A genuine mistake, I assure you.

Put it down to old age, in my case. Too many tunes buzzing around in my head - I just can’t keep track!

Key signature: G Major
Submitted on February 3rd 2009 by Mix O’Lydian.
https://thesession.org/tunes/9327

I learnt this from O’Neil’s, where it appears as “The Man from Newry”. Many years later I heard “The Gloucester Hornpipe” and was surprised it was so familiar. Only when I looked at the sheet music did it suddenly dawn on me that this was the same tune being played in a very different way. I see The Fiddler’s Companion says it appears first in written form as “The Swansea Hornpipe” - in a Scottish Manuscript of the late 18th century. This tune travels well!