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X:1
T:Reel of Rio [1], The
M:C|
L:1/8
R:Reel
S:O’Malley Collection
K:G
DEGA BABd | eg~g2 agea | gedg edBd | c2 Bc AGEG |
DEGA BABd | efge agea | gd~d2 edBG | AcBA G2 Bc ||
dg~g2 ag~g2 | bg~g2 edBe | dB~B2 GA (3Bcd | gedB AGEG |
DEGA BA (3Bcd | efgb ae~e2 | gedg edBG | AcBA G2 z2 ||
REEL OF RIO, THE. AKA and see “McCollam's Fancy,” “Rocky Road (3) (The),” “Road to Rio (The).” Irish, Reel. G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AB (O’Malley): AABB (Mallinson, Miller & Perron): AABB' (Flaherty): AA’BB’ (Harker/Rafferty). Composed by County Tipperary fiddler Seán Ryan (d. 1985). According to Seán’s son Brian the tune suggested a Latin beat, hence the title’s reference to the Brazilian city, although the title is also a pun on the name of the grain (rye). Seán Ryan’s nickname was ‘Rio’ (pronounced ‘rye-o’), and thus another layer of word-play in the title.
Additional notes
Sources for notated versions: - flutist Seamus Tansey (Miller & Perron); flute player James Murray (b. 1947, Ougham, outside Tubbercurry, County Sligo) [Flaherty]; a recording by George Wilson [O’Malley]; New Jersey flute player Mike Rafferty, born in Ballinakill, Co. Galway, in 1926 [Harker].
Printed sources : - Bulmer & Sharpley (Music from Ireland, vol. 1), 1974, No. 42 (appears as “Road to Rio”). Flaherty (Trip to Sligo), 1990; p. 169. Harker (300 Tunes from Mike Rafferty), 2005; No. 57, p. 18. Mallinson (100 Enduring), 1996; No. 17, p. 7. Miller & Perron (Irish Traditional Fiddle Music vol. 1), 1977; No. 38. Miller & Perron (Irish Traditional Fiddle Music), 2nd Edition, 2006; p. 100. O’Malley (Luke O’Malley’s Collection of Irish Music, vol. 1), 1976; No. 21, p. 11. Ryan (The Hidden Ireland), 25.
Recorded sources: - Shanachie 29006, John Vesey.
See also listings at:
Alan Snyder’s Cape Breton Fiddle Recording Index [1]
Jane Keefer’s Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources [2]
Alan Ng’s Irishtune.info [3]
