Annotation:TSeanbhean bhocht (1) (An)
X:1 T:An tSeanbhean Bhocht [1] R:reel S:John Doherty D:The Star of Donegal (Folktracks 075) Z:Close but not fastidiously exact transcription; Doherty plays the tune Z:through twice. Transcribed by Larry Sanger. M:4/4 L:1/8 R:Reel K:G c2|:BG G/G/G AEGE|DEGA BAAc|BG G/G/G AEGE|DEGA BGGA:| Bddg edgd|Bdgd eAAc|Bddg edgd|B/c/B Ac BGGc| Bddg edgd|Bdgd eAAc|Bdef g/a/b ge|dBge dADc||
tSEANBHEAN BHOCHT [1], AN (The Poor Old Woman). AKA and see "Old Woman's Hornpipe (The)," " Poor Old Woman (The)," "Poor Woman (The)," “Primrose Lass,” "Sam King's Tune," "Sam Pipe's Funeral March," “Shan Van Vocht (2) (The).” Irish, Reel or Hornpipe. G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). One part: AABBCC (Harker/Rafferty). 'The poor old woman' is an allegorical name for Ireland, used, for example, in the first line of an old song that went:
Oh the French are on the sea, says the Sean Bhean bhocht,
The line refers to the hoped-for intervention of the French in the cause of Irish independence in the 17th and 18th centuries. A reel version of the air “Shan Van Vocht” was incorporated by the English group Steeleye Span for their piece "Four Nights Drunk.” The tune closely shares melodic material with “Bantry Bay Hornpipe” and “Tomeen O'Dea's Reel,” with which it is paired in the Tubridy book. Brendan Breathnach was of the opinion that the original air was related to, and perhaps descended from a Scots air.
