Dunford’s Fancy jig

Composed by Steve Wickham

I was very surprised this wasnt already here!
this is an old favourite, its one of the first i learnt on my first gdae instument.

as its a while since i learnt it, this version might be a bit different to the original.

this is on Steves Solo CD Geronimo,
but the more well known version is from his time with the Waterboys; its on their album Fishermans Blues.

John Dunford was a Sound man/producer during the fishermans blues period - this tune was named after his brother Stephen

first attempt at ABC.so forgive me if its a bit off.

The version that appears above seems to be a tidied up version of what i actually submitted. no complaints with that (i’m no ABCer), but some of minor variations are lost.

below is the abc i submitted - which may be awful as an ABC but it converts to midi/dots ok.

X:1
T:Dunford’s Fancy
L:1/8
M:6/8
K:D
^F3 FED | ^FAA AFA | B3 BA^F | A^FE EDE | ^F3 FED | ^FAA AFA | BAB d^cd | ^fe^c d2A | \
^F3 FED | ^FAA AFA | B3 BA^F | A^FE EDE | ^F3 FED | ^FAA AFA | BAB d^cd | ^fe^c d2e | \
^f3 fed | ^faf fed | a3 ^fed | e2e ede | ^f3 fbf | ede ^fed | g^fe dag | ^fe^c d2e | \
^f3 fed | ^faf fed | a3 ^fed | e2e ede | g3 ^f3 | ede ^fed | g^fe d^cB | Ad^c dcB | \
z6 | \

The above version seems pretty much exactly right, for some reason though that high b seems a little off, listening to the recording it seems that there is a b in there the odd time but theres some sort of ornamentation disguising it.

then again i could be completely wrong

thanks for your input dlunney.
i just checked the recordings, that high B is definately in there on both versions.
🙂

Hello there!!

I learnt this tune by ear ages ago, and i’ve been meaning to record it for a while. However, I cannot figure out the chords on the guitar. The first is D, i know that, but I’m not sure what the others are. If someone could please tell me what the chords are, I would be eternally grateful to you!

Just write like D, A, F, E etc etc, I’d be able to figure out their place and timing no problem.

Thanks again!

Jack

The chords and dots are available at the Waterboys’ website
http://www.mikescottwaterboys.com/mikescottwaterboys/Images/fishermans/score_dunford-fancy.gif

Here’s an abc of the version there:

T:Dunford’s Fancy
M:6/8
L:1/8
R:jig
C:Steve Wickham
K:Dmaj
F2F FED | FAA AFA | B2B BAF | AFE EDE |
F2F FED | FAA AFA | BAB dBd |1 fec d2A :|2 fec d2e ||
f2f fed | faf fed | a3 fed | eee ede |
|1 faf fbf | ede fed | gfe dag | fec d2e :|
|2 g3 f3 | ede fed | gfe dcB | Adc d3 ||

Ah, the above website address appears to have been automatically bowdlerised. The two instances of Mike Scott Waterboys (without the spaces) have been turned into Mike Scott Witerboys. Change some ‘i’s to ‘a’s.

I guess rather than "official" version I should have said Fisherman’s Blues version.

I’m ecstatic, serenely ecstatic, when I hear this tune.

I can’t tell exactly why it should be so.
A mixture of personal history (my mind set the first times I heard it), of musical context (I’ll forever hear it as played on the Fisherman’s blues album, at that nice pace, with this precise fiddle timbre and phrasing) and of course of its own merit as a tune (like so many other jigs, yet that subtly different)
Perhaps serenely ecstatic is not quite the phrase, ecstaticly calmly serene might be closer to that feeling. Like the scented qualified freedom the warm June sunlight gives when both your final exams and a short but drenching shower are over and a new friendship is budding -(s)he plays you this Waterboys tape while you put on some dry clothes, a lend and a new you!
This is not quite biographical, as it is here, but listening to this self-confident, genuine, flowing tune will have you swimming in pictures and feelings! Sin é!

a yearning in tune with the world…

"dcB F" -like runs send both major 7th’s and 3rd’s overtones rippling through air and core…