Crossing To Ireland waltz

I heard this at a session and liked it - found it at the Folk Tune Finder <http://www.folktunefinder.com/> and now it’s here.

The Fiddler’s companion <http://www.ibiblio.org/fiddlers/CROO_CRY.htm> gives the tune’s pedigree - I won’t copy it all out here. Notated there in F min - all them flats!

Cheers!

… is what you need for this transcription to come out properly.

I always thought this was derived from "The Irish Washerwoman."

This is from the fiddling of Winston Fitzgerald. You can hear a snippet of his playing of it, plus see Paul Cranford’s transcription (in E minor, not F as Ceolas says - F Dorian was the original printed key), at: http://www.cranfordpub.com/recordings/Fitzgerald_ClassicCuts.htm

The WF Tunebook is my favorite tome of Scottish music. Your url for Ceolas is no good, forgot an underscore: http://www.ibiblio.org/fiddlers/CROO_CRY.htm

arranged and edited by Paul Stewart Cranford
Cranford Publications, 1997
ISBN: 0-9691181-7-1
http://www.cranfordpub.com/
http://www.cranfordpub.com/reviews/Winston.htm

Page 90: "Crossing to Ireland" ~ E Dorian

I second Kevin’s recommendation, a brilliant fiddler and a lovely collection, thanks to Paul Cranford for putting in the time to bring such treasures to us all, in recordings and transcriptions…

Right you are, but the abc editor won’t let me edit the headers, will it? Them as downloads it can make the necessary adjustment…

The title of this tune evokes for me an image of returning. Since it is so sad sounding, It occurred to me that many first-generation immigrants who found success in their new lands had there remains returned to be interred in the the Old Sod. Images of dockside farewells to coffins being loaded on came to my mind, and the song certainly would make a fine sendoff tune in any circumstances.

Adding a version with L:1/4 is not easy since a header I’d presupplied with L:1/8 as explained above. But here is the ABC reformatted for L:1/4 and extra bar lines added. It is much clearer to read:

X: 2
T: Crossing To Ireland
Z: kichu49, eonasick reformatted
S: https://thesession.org/tunes/9537#setting9537
R: waltz
M: 3/4
L: 1/4
K: Edor
E/F/|:"Em"GE E/D/ |B, E>F|G E/F/ G |B>B A/G/|"D"FD D|A, DD|FDD |"Bm"A>A G/F/|
"Em"GE E/D/ |B, E>F|G E/F/ G |B2 A|"G"G>A B/c/ |"D"dcB|1"B7"AGF |"Em" E2 E/F/:|2"B7"AGF |"Em" E>e e/f/||
"Em"ge e|B e>B|GE E |E>b a/g/|"D"fd d|A d>A|FD D|D>a g/f/|
"Em"ge e|B e>B|GE g |"Bm"f2 e|"G"G>A B/c/ |"D"dcB|"B7"AGF |"Em"E2 e/f/|
"Em"ge e|B ee|EGB |e/f/ g/b/ a/g/|"D"fdd |A d>A|DFA |"Bm"d/e/ f/g/ a/f/|
"Em"g>f e |"B7"f>e ^d|"Em"e>d B |"D"A>G F|"G"G>A B/c/ |"D"d cB|"B7"AGF |"Em"E2||

This tune appears im Captain Fraser’s collection, and that was probably where it was first published. It’s written out in 12/8 and is to be played slow. Also, in that collection it is in F minor, with all the Ds played as naturals. Of course the Es are often naturalized as well, to make it in F melodic minor as was the custom in books at that time- it’s probably meant to be dorian.
In F the lower Ab and G are used frequently in the A part, which adds a neat feel to it. It seems like it is usually transposed down to E minor as it’s written here.