Annotation:Pull the Knife and Stick it again

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PULL THE KNIFE AND STICK IT AGAIN (Tarraing agus Sáith Arís). Irish, Jig. E Dorian. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB (Breathnach): AA’BB’ (Harker). Breathnach (1985) suggests the title may be from a County Clare saying, which goes “Pull the knife and stick it again as the Hag of Balla said.” This refers to a black-handled knife which was a charm against fairy-folk. Matt Molloy gives the story that there once was a witch who used to ambush riders by dropping on them from the treetops. The way to break her spell was to stab her and leave the knife in, and as long as one ignored her pleas to ‘pull it out and stick it in again’, one was safe. It was follow to comply with her request, for once the knife was removed the spell resumed. The tune has been characterized as a jig version of “Castle Kelly."

Source for notated version: flute player Matt Molloy (Ireland) [Breathnach]; New Jersey flute player Mike Rafferty, born in Ballinakill, Co. Galway, in 1926 [Harker].

Printed sources: Breathnach (CRÉ III), 1985; No. 12, p. 7. Harker (300 Tunes from Mike Rafferty), 2005; No. 176, p. 55 (appears as “Pull Out the Knife and Stick it in Again”).

Recorded sources: Green Linnet GLCD 3008, “Matt Molloy” (1984). Mulligan Records LUN 004, "Matt Molloy" (1976).

See also listings at:
Jane Keefer’s Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources []
Alan Ng’s Irishtune.info [1]

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