Annotation:Cossey's Jig

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COSSEY'S JIG. AKA - "Cassey's Jig," "The Cosey Jigg," "Casey's Jig," "Copey's Jig, "Cossy Jigg (The)." AKA and see "Bain's Favorite," "Blain's Jig," "Captain Rock," "Charming Molly Brannigan," "Dwyer's Frolic," "Humors of Newtown (1)," "Jackson's Lodge (1)," "Jimmy O'Brien's Jig," "Maid in the Meadow (1)," "Molly Brallaghan." Irish, Jig. G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABBCC. Breathnach (1996) believes the name Cossey comes from the Irish Cáthasaigh, in English perhaps 'Casey'. The tune is from Samuel Lee's Jackson's Celebrated Irish Tunes (Dublin, 1774, republished in 1790), attributed to the 18th century gentleman composer Walker 'Piper' Jackson, of the townland of Lisduan, parish of Ballingarry, Aughrim, County Limerick. "Greenfields of America (1)" is a related tune in reel time, as are parts of "Charming Molly Brannigan", "Dwyer's Frolic", "Humors of Newtown (1)", "Jackson's Lodge", "Maid in the Meadow (1)", "Molly Brallaghan (1) (1st part)" and "Stone in the Field (The)". See note for "Annotation:Molly Brallaghan (1)" for more on the family. Breathnach (1996) also identifies the alternate titles "Maid in the Meadow (1)/Mist in the Meadow (The)," from County Clare; "Jackson's Wife on the Road," from Galway and Westmeath; "Jolly Weaver (The)," from Cork and Tipperary. Clare fiddler Junior Crehan had a set dance version he called "Drunken Gauger (The)." "Jimmy O'Brien's Jig" is O'Neill's name for it. Scots fiddle-composer Niel Gow (1727-1807) printed a three-part "Cossy Jigg" in his Second Collection (1788), and acknowledged it was "Irish". It has some currency among Cape Breton fiddlers, where it also goes by the titles "Bain's Favorite" and "Blaine's Jig."

Source for notated version:

Printed sources: Gow (Second Collection of Niel Gow's Reels), 1788; p. 23 (3rd ed.). O'Farrell (Pocket Companion, vol. II), c. 1806; p. 112.

Recorded sources: Rounder 82161-7032-2, Bill Lamey - "From Cape Breton to Boston and Back: Classic House Sessions of Traditional Cape Breton Music 1956-1977" (2000. Gow's "Cossy Jigg").




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