Annotation:Barren Rocks of Aden (The)

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BARREN ROCKS OF ADEN. AKA and see "Dan O'Leary's (1)," "Sailor's (The)." Scottish; "Pipe Quickstep," March (2/4 time). D Major (most versions): D Mixolydian (Bayard). Standard tuning (fiddle). AB (Bayard): AAB (Hunter, Martin): AABB (Miller & Perron, Sannella, Skinner, Taylor): AABBCCDD (Sweet). Bayard (1981) says the tune is well known among bagpipers and fifers in modern times, but that the piece is not particularly old; he traces it to a possible source from a Highland regiment, which version was published in McDonald's Gesto Collection in 1895. Skinner (1904) and Hunter (1988) attribute the tune to one A. MacKellar of the 78th Seaforth Highlanders Regiment of the British army. David Murray, writing in his excellent volume Music of the Scottish Regiments (Edinburgh, 1994), dates the tune to the mid 19th century when the 78th was stationed in Bombay. A detachment was provided from the regiment to garrison Aden, and it was there that Piper James Mauchline composed the march, which has become one of the most familiar of Scottish martial airs. "The first two measures [Ed.-i.e. first two parts] went well on the flute," writes Murray, "so the march was taken up by many corps of drums, eventually becoming a standby, played frequently by the drums of English regiments which had no idea of its provenance and who would accuse the pipers of stealing their tune. 'The Barren Rocks' has been played and whistled wherever Scots soldiers have been stationed. A former generation used to sing to the air of the first measure [ed.-i.e. first part]:

See the laddie ower there
Si; the tartan kilt and the twa legs bare,
And a' the ladies they declare
'She's a fine braw chiel is her nainsel'

"This is an example of the kind of fun which used to be poked at Gaelic speaking soldiers, always in the minority. The las line mocks the difficulty which native Gaelic speakers had with the English language. 'She's a fine braw chiel' means a handsome sturdy lad; 'her nainsel', her own self, i.e. the speaker" (p. 120).

The Halifax Citadel Regimental Association records that Piper Mauchline's tune was un-named, and that Pipe Major Alexander Mackellar re-arranged it and gave it its' name. Pipers sometimes play the air in four parts, adding an additional two to the sections given by Hunter, Martin, Miller & Perron and others. See also note for "78th's Farewell to Begaum (The)" for another famous march to come out of the 78's station overseas at the time.

Sources for notated versions: fifer Hiram Horner (Western Pa. 1960) [Bayard]; set dance music recorded at Na Píobairí Uilleann, late 1980's [Taylor]; Mattie Toohy's Irish Minstrels [Miller & Perron].

Printed sources: Bayard (Dance to the Fiddle), 1981; No. 374, p. 363. Bulmer & Sharpley (Music from Ireland), vol. 4; 76. Hunter (Fiddle Music of Scotland), 1988; No. 343. Martin (Ceol na Fidhle), vol. 2, 1988; p. 11. Miller & Perron (Irish Traditional Fiddle Music), 1977; vol. 2, No. 64. Miller & Perron (Irish Traditional Fiddle Music), 2nd Edition, 2006; p. 127. Morison (Highland Airs and Quicksteps, vol. 2), c. 1882; No. 37, p. 22. Moylan (Johnny O'Leary), 1994; 44. Sannella, Balance and Swing (CDSS). Skinner (The Scottish Violinist), p. 31. Skinner (Harp and Claymore), 1904; p. 54 (includes variation sets). Sweet (Fifer's Delight), 1964; p. 56. Taylor (Music for the Sets: Blue Book), 1995; p. 21.

Recorded sources: Old Hat Music OH!02, "The Old Hat Dance Band" (1992. Learned from melodeon player Cecil Pearl of Ipswich, Suffolk). Parlophone E3435 (78 RPM), David McCallum.

See also listing at:
Jane Keefer's Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources [1]
Alan Ng's Irishtune.info [2]
Hear David McCallum's 78 RPM recording at the Internet Archive [3] (1st tune in medley, followed by "Marquis of Huntly's Farewell (The)" and "Mrs. MacLeod").

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