Annotation:Larry O'Gaff (1)

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LARRY O'GAFF [1] (Lamrais Ua Gabaig). AKA - "Larry O'Gaff is the boy." AKA and see "Bundle and Go (2)," "Daniel O'Connell," "Duke's Delight (The)," "Gigue à Rosario (La)," "Gigue de la Débauche," "Here's to the Creature," "Hob or Nob," "Making Babies by Steam," "O'Gaff's Jig." Irish, English, American, Canadian; Double Jig (6/8 time). USA; New England, Maine, New York, Pa. Canada, Prince Edward Island. A Major (Bronner): D Major (Bayard, Flaherty, Levey, O'Flannagan, Silberberg, Stanford/Petrie): G Major (Allan, Bayard, Brody, Cole, Harding, Kennedy, Kerr, Perlman, Phillips, Sweet, Tolman): F Major (Harding/All-Round). Standard tuning (fiddle). AB (Bayard, Bronner, Silberberg, Stanford/Petrie): AAB (Kerr): AABB (most versions): AABB' (Flaherty, O'Neill). The "Larry O'Gaff" title for the tune comes from a nonsensical stage-Irish song whose words are only rarely reported (they can be found in a folk version in Creighton's Songs and Ballads from Nova Scotia), and it appears the melody normally was used as an instrumental piece. The tune/song is firmly ensconced in the late minstrel/early vaudeville stage. It is usually associated with Northeastern players in the United States. The older title was probably "Hob or Nob" posits Bayard (1981), which was the title of an old British dance. However, as far back as 1840 it was entered into the music manuscript book of Cumbrian musician John Rook as "Larry O'Gaff is the boy" a title that seems associated with Samuel Lover's (1797–1868) comic piece called "Larry O'Gaff", which begins:

Larry O'Gaff was a brave boy for marching,
His instep was larege--but his income was small;
So he set up, one day, as a soldier of fortune--
The meaning of which is--no fortune at all.
In battles, bombardments and sieges he grew up,
Till he didn't much care if towns flourish'd or blew up,
And his maxims in life--for he pick'd one or two up--
Were short, sweet and simple for Larry O'Gaff.

Bronner (1987) suggests a connection with "Campbells are Coming (1) (The)" and "Miss McLeod's Reel (1)," which his source (central N.Y. fiddler Les Weir) also called "Hob or Knob". He thinks that the popularity of "Larry O'Gaff" may come from its ability to replace the aforementioned tunes at country dances. In fact, by 1858 it was reported not as a jig but as a country dance in Howe's Ball-Room Hand Book. David Taylor (1992) remarks at the similarity of the piece with the Irish jig "Daniel O'Connell" and says that the two tunes, though commonly played in different keys, are often confused. He further notes "Bundle and Go (2)," which is listed as an alternate title for "Larry O'Gaff" by Roche, is an alternate title (though an unusual one) for his "Daniel O'Connell."

"O'Gaff" was cited as having commonly been played for country dances in Orange County, New York, in the 1930's (Lettie Osborn, New York Folklore Quarterly). Boston publisher Elias Howe printed contra dance instructions with the tune in his Musician's Omnibus, No. 1 (1862). The title appears in the repertoire list of Maine native Mellie Dunham, an elderly fiddler who was Henry Ford's champion dance musician in the mid-1920's. Words to the 'A' part of the tune begin:

It was early on Monday, I mean late on a Sunday,
We went to the wedding of Darvey McGraw.

See also Joseph Allard's "Gigue de la Débauche," for a French-Canadian version, and the P.E.I. "Island Boy" is a related tune. The tune is also the vehicle for the songs "Humors of Whiskey" and "Making Babies by Steam."

Additional notes

Printed sources : - Adam (Old Time Fiddlers' Favorite Barn Dance Tunes), St. Louis, 1928; No. 55, p. 21. American Veteran Fifer, 1927; No. 7. Bayard (Dance to the Fiddle), 1981; No. 558A-D, pp. 497-498 and Appendix No. 34. A.S. Bowman (J.W. Pepper Collection of Five Hundred Reels, Jigs, etc.), Phila., 1908, No. 34, p. 9. Brody (Fiddler's Fakebook), 1983; p. 164. Bronner (Old Time Music Makers of New York State), 1987; No. 35, p. 132. Cazden (Dances from Woodland), 1945; p. 22. Cazden (Folk Songs of the Catskills), 1955; p. 30. Cole (1000 Fiddle Tunes), 1940; p. 59. DeVille & Gold (Universal Album), 1912; No. 51. Flaherty (Trip to Sligo), 1990; p. 98. Greenleaf & Mansfield (Ballads and Sea Songs of Newfoundland), 1933; No. 186, p. 376 (1st part of a quadrille). Frank Harding (Harding’s Original Collection), 1897; No. 137, p. 43. Hardings All-Round Collection, 1905; No. 105, p. 33. Haverty (One Hundred Irish Airs, vol. 3), 1859; No. 298, p. 148. Howe (Musician's Omnibus, No. 1), 1862; p. 44. Jarman (Old Time Fiddlin' Tunes), 1951; No. or p. 17. Kennedy (Jigs & Quicksteps, Trips & Humours), 1997; No. 101, p. 25. Kerr (Merry Melodies, vol. 1), c. 1880's; No. 10, p. 36. Levey (Dance Music of Ireland, 2nd Collection), 1873; No. 5, p. 2. McDermott (Allan's Irish Fiddler), c. 1920's; No. 26, p. 7. Miller & Perron (New England Fiddlers Repertoire), 1983; No. 32. O'Flannagan (The Hibernia Collection), Boston, 1860; p. 10. O'Neill (Music of Ireland: 1850 Melodies), 1903; No. 869, p. 161. O'Neill (Dance Music of Ireland: 1001 Gems), 1907; No. 128, p. 36. Perlman (The Fiddle Music of Prince Edward Island), 1996; p. 127. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes, vol. 2), 1995; pg. 370. Ryan's Mammoth Collection, 1883; p. 89. Silberberg (Fiddle Tunes I Learned at the Tractor Tavern), 2002; p. 88. Stanford/Petrie (Complete Collection), 1905; No. 373, p. 94. Sweet (Fifer's Delight), 1965/1981; p. 32. Taylor (Music for the Sets: Yellow Book), 1995; p. 4. Tolman (Nelson Music Collection), 1969; p. 4. White's Excelsior Collection, 1907; p. 74.

Recorded sources : - Audat 477-9048, Graham Townsend – "Down Home Fiddlin.'" Century 36464, Albert Cyr – "Old Time Fiddling," 1969. Edison 50653 (78 RPM), John H. Kimmel (accordionist from N.Y.C.), 1920 (appears as third tune of "Haste to the Wedding Jigs"). F&W Records 4, "The Canterbury Country Orchestra Meets the F&W String Band." Folk Legacy FSA-27, Sandy Paton (1965). Folkways FA 2381, "The Hammered Dulcimer as played by Chet Parker" (1966). Fretless 122, Roma McMillan – "Old Time Fiddling 1976." Gael-Linn CEF 161, "Michael Coleman 1891-1945" (1992). Gennett 6101 (78 RPM), Uncle Steve Hubbard and His Boys, c. 1928. Green Linnet GLCD 1165, Joe Burke & Charlie Lennon – "The Bucks of Oranmore" (1996). John Edwards Memorial Foundation JEMF-105, Camile Dubois – "New England Traditional Fiddling" (1978). Smithsonian Folkways SFW CD 40126, Two Fiddles – "Choose Your Partners!: Contra Dance & Square Dance Music of New Hampshire" (1999).

See also listing at :
Alan Ng's Irishtune.info [1]
Hear John J. Kimmel's 1920 Edison recording at the Comhaltas Archive [2], or at the Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project (USC) [3] (2nd tune in medley with "Haste to the Wedding (1)" and "Corlaierne")

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