Annotation:Honeymoon Reel (2) (The)
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HONEYMOON (REEL) [2], THE (Cor Mi na bPog). AKA and see "Girl From the Country," "Half-Penny (The)," "Ha'Penny Reel," "Lady O'Brien's Reel (2)," "Lumberjack's Reel (The)," "Maid Who Left the County (1) (The)," "Neil Rooney's Reel," "Pure Drop (1) (The)," "Rooney's Reel," "Windy Gap (The)." Irish (originally), Canadian; Reel. Canada, Prince Edward Island. G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AB (Flaherty, O'Neill): AABB (Perlman). A large tune family that appears to be derived from Irish sources. See "Honeymoon Reel (1)" for another version of the melody. One of the earliest appearances of the tune in print is in Church of Ireland cleric James Goodman's mid-19th century music manuscripts under the title "Lady O'Brien's Reel.". Goodman (1828-1896) was an uilleann piper, and an Irish speaker who collected locally in County Cork and elsewhere in Munster. He also obtained tunes from manuscripts and printed collections.
The first sound recording of the "Honeymoon Reel" was also by an uilleann piper, famed Irish American musician Patsy Touhey of vaudeville fame, who recorded it in 1919. The reel was recorded in the 78 RPM era as "Honeymoon Reel", by the Flanagan Brothers (1926) and by piper Jack Dempsey in 1937. Ken Perlman (1996) notes that this tune was widely played on Prince Edward Island, Canada, from around 1920 to 1950. An alternate PEI title, from south Kings County, is "Lumberjack's Reel (The)." American old-time musicians know it as "Crockett's Honeymoon," "George Ainley's Tune" and "Maid Who Left the Mountains." The first strain is shared with "Old Crow (The)."
Source for notated version: flute player James Murray (b. 1947, Ougham, outside Tubbercurry, Co. Sligo) [Flaherty]; Archie Stewart (b. 1917, Milltown Cross, south Kings County, Prince Edward Island) [Perlman].
Printed sources: Flaherty (Trip to Sligo), 1990; p. 170. O'Neill (Music of Ireland: 1001 Gems), 1907; No. 791, p. 137. Perlman (The Fiddle Music of Prince Edward Island), 1996; p. 67.
Recorded sources: Globestyle Irish CDORBD 085, Billy Clifford - "The Rushy Mountain" (1994. A reissue CD of Topic recordings from Sliabh Luachra musicians). Na Píobairí Uilleann NPU CD 001, "The Piping of Patsy Touhey" (2005).
See also listing at:
Alan Ng's Irishtune.info [1]
Jane Keefer's Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources [2]