The Sally Gardens reel

No relation to the William Butler Yeats poem and song "Down by the Sally Gardens", this is a lively reel just made for playing at sessions.

The second part has a great "ascending" feel to it which can be emphasised with the right accompaniment. A chord sequence rising in whole tones works well: G Am Bm finishing with a C, a D and back to G.

Here is a slightly different setting I learned in a workshop in Sligo last summer and have been playing since:

BA|G2DG BAGB|dBeB dBAB|d2Bd efge|dBAB GEDE|
G2DG BAGB|dBeB dBAB|d2Bd efge|1 dBAB G2:|2 dBAB G4||
dggf g2dg|gabg agfg|eaag a2ea|agbg ageg|
dggf g2dg|gabg ageg|d2Bd efge|1 dBAB G4:|2 dBAB G2||

I’ve made an arrangement where I shifted the downbeat and played around a little with the melody until it fitted. Any comments are welcome!

http://malcolm.schonfield.free.fr/zik.php?lang=en&tune=shifted_sally_gardens

My dad likes this tune.

Is it just me, or is the end of the third bar in the B part dying to be made into a triplet?

No, it’s definitely gagging to be a triplet. I’ve just played the last two notes in the 1st, 3rd and 5th bars as triplets and it makes them into a cute fluid "chirrup" that playing the notes cleanly just doesn’t.

Can someone post EVERY bit of ornamentation that comes to their head with this tune. When ever I play it at sessions, the way I play it never sounds right. It varies from county to county I think!!!

Thanks

Variation I mean!!!#

I play it like this

DE|G2DG BAGB|dBeB dBAB|d2Bd efge|dBAB ABAG|
EDG2 DGBA……

This was probably one of the first Irish tunes I learned.
I learned it on tinwhistle and play it a similar way on the mandolin.
I don’t know, but this tune and the poem "It was down by the Sally Gardens where my love and I did meet—-" are linked in my mind, both because how I played the tune slowly and how sad it sounds. When I speed it up, it turns a sad tune into a somewhat lively and happy one, almost seeming to say: "Hey, bad days happen, but there’s another side to every story."
I love this tune, both because it’s opened up a couple doors for me and I’ve learned alot trying to play it.

Whenever I hear it, the first part starts:

G2DG BdGB | dBeB dBAB

Brother Ryan Duns take on it ~ 😉 ~ and does quite a nice job on it too. Now if only he’d work on understanding and managing hornpipes a bit better. 😀

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1rUGU6m_M8

play video

The whistle version on the video is excellent.

It’s identical to the first version I heard played by an English folk musician on a Shand Morino accordion in London in the 1960’s, so it has a certain vintage.

I’m now playing it again on the piano-accordein myself, which is more legato than staccato but the sound of the whistle is much better, it’s "sharper" and immediate - rather like a button-key box, which is more staccato than legato

James D

So who changed the title of this to "Cronin’s", and why ?

Many song/tune titles can be quite mysterious - even impenetrable sometimes - but a sally garden is a willow plantation (genus Salix). Bit of educated slang.

Love this playing :
https://youtu.be/4k4nkXir4PU

play video

A truly lovely tune - and song with words by W B Yeats (maybe adapted from trad?

It’s a totally different tune from the Sally Gardens Reel, Susan, though I agree the tune for the song is beautiful. Here’s a nice version from Transatlantic Sessions:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=027ZJX5XVjs

play video

See this thread for more info re the origins of the tune for the song: https://thesession.org/tunes/1314

Hello! Im wokring on a big project with recording all tunes I know in slow tempo togehter with som tools and flute exercises for anyone to use and learn and practice along with. Hope you find it to good use!

TUNE:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MGH5fr_v4M

play video

BODHRÁN METRONOME PLAYLIST:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLeBSuVJgG93QKA8HBk0mJVjAmi50G52T7

DRONES PLAYLIST:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLeBSuVJgG93QgET4g19H-QkC49uOA77wv

Irish Flute Course | 10 Essential Exercises:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOyp6L0urhw

play video

Website:
https://jonantonsson.wixsite.com/tunes

Does anyone want another verse to Sally Gardens?

Down by the Sally Gardens many years ago it seems
We met in the Sally Gardens as we do meet in dreams
She bid me take my life and loves with all the joy that I could glean
For the grass in the Sally Gardens is always evergreen

NB the phrase ‘with all the’ requires a triplet of eighths.

Brian (from South Africa)