Buachaill Dreoite (1) (An)

BUACHAILL DREOITE [1], AN. AKA and see "The Sick Boy." AKA - "An Bouchail Breoighte," "An Buachaill Breóite." Irish; Song Air, Barn Dance, Hornpipe or Fling (4/4 time). G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AAB (Mitchell): AABBCCDDEEFFGGHH (Shields/Goodman). The tune bears melodic similarities with "Sean Reid's Reel" (AKA "The West Wind [1]") and the jig "Bimid ag ol is a' pogadh na mban." The melody appears in the mid-19th century music manuscript collection of Church of Ireland cleric James Goodman (1828-1896). Goodman, who spoke Irish and played the uilleann pipes, collected from tradition in Cork and elsewhere in Munster, and obtained tunes from manuscripts and printed sources as well. P.W. Joyce also printed the air in his Old Irish Folk Music and Songs (1909, No. 8) as "An Bouchail Breoighte," saying "From my own memory-as I learned it in childhood" (in Limerick, 1840's). Goodman and Joyce both give "The sick boy" as an alternate title, a reference to lovesickness. There may be some relation to the "Gold Ring [1]" family of tunes. A 6/8 time setting appears as "Buachaill Dreoite (2) (An)."

Source for notated version: piper Willie Clancy (1918-1973, Miltown Malbay, west Clare) [Mitchell].

Printed sources: Mitchell (Dance Music of Willie Clancy), 1993; No. 135, p. 107. Shields/Goodman (Tunes of the Munster Pipers), 1998; No. 227, pp. 92-93 (appears as "An Buachaill Breóite").

Recorded source: Columbia 35612, "The Chieftains" (1978).

X:2 T:Buachaill Breóite, An M:C L:1/8 R:Air N:First two parts only of long variation sets. S:James Goodman manuscripts (mid-19th century) K:G d|:G/A/B/G/ A>F A>G G>D|G/A/B/G/ A>G d/c/A/G/ F>A| G/A/B/G/ A>G A>G G>A|fa/f/ gf/d/ d/c/A/G/ F>A:| |:BB/G/ c>A d/c/A/G/ GF/D/|BB/G/ c>A d/c/A/G/ F>A| BB/G/ c>A d/c/A/G/ G(c/d/)|fa/f/ gf/d/ d/cA/G/ F>A:||

X:3 T:Sick Boy, The [1] T:An Bouchail Breoighte L:1/8 M:C R:Hornpipe & Air S:Joyce - Old Irish Folk Music and Songs (1909) Z:AK/Fiddler's Companion K:G GABG A2G2|A2G2G2D2|GABG A2G2|cBAG F2A2| GABG A2G2|A2G2G2=f2|e2g2=f2d2|cBAG F2A2:| |:BABG c2A2|dcBA G2A2|BABG DGBG|cBAG F2A2| BABG cBcA|dcBA G2g2|gbag fefd|dcAG F2A2:| |:gbag abag|abag g2d2|gbag abag|abag f2a2| gbag abag|agfa g2de|=fefd defd|cBAG F2A2:||

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X:1
T:An Buachaill Dreoite [1]
T:The Ailing Boy
S:from study tape from Mike Rafferty.
R:barndance
H:Hornpipe or Fling (4/4 time). Similarities with "Sean Reid's Reel" (The West Wind)
H:and the jig "Bimid ag ol is a' pogadh na mban."  
N:dreoite [DROH-tcha] << Irish word:definition... (smell) mouldy; (US) moldy. Bob Pfeffer says
N:he thinks it means the Withered Lad or the Spent Lad. Jerome Colburn says dreoghaim: 
N:"I rot, I wither". The lad's withered away, wasted away (sc. from lovesickness). On the liner  
N:notes for Chulrua's _Down the Back Lane_, "An Buachaill Dreoite" is translated "The Ailing Boy."  
D:Chieftains 7; Declan Masterson (pipes, whistle); Mick O' Brien (pipes, whistle); 
D:Chulrua; Tommy Keane & Jacqueline Mccarthy: The Wind Among The Reeds;
D:Joe Ryan (fiddle); Ronan Browne and Peter O'Loughlin.
M:C|
L:1/8
Z:Lesl
K:G
GF|: DGGB d2cA | DGGF G2GF | DGGB d2cA | dcAG EFFE|
DGGB d2cA | DGGF GABd | g2gf gbag |1 fdcA G2GF:|2 fdcA G2GA||
|:B2BG c2cA | dGGF G2GA | BdBG c3A | dcAG EFGA|
B2BG c2cA | d^cde fgaf | g2gf gbag |1 fdcA G2GA:|2 fdcA G2||

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