Annotation:All Covered with Moss

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ALL COVERED WITH MOSS. AKA and see "Roger the Weaver." Irish, Jig (6/8 time). G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AAB. The tonal center of the tune changes from 'C' to 'G' in the second strain, albeit not a strict key change (as in a North American quadrille. Rather, the first strain falls into the modal category, while the second is more solidly in 'G' major. The tune was played by fiddler Edward Cronin, born in County Tipperary in the 1830's, although he had no name for it, nor could anyone recall it. A member of Francis O'Neill's traditional Irish music circle in Chicago, Sergeant Early (an uilleann piper and member of the Chicago police force), upon hearing Cronin play, remarked "with evident appreciation, 'Ah, that's well covered with moss'--alluding to its ancient strains" O'Neill seized upon the remark as a convenient title. [O'Neill's Irish Folk Music: A Fascinating Hobby (1910, chapt. 5). Collector P.W. Joyce published the melody in his Old Irish Folk Music and Songs (1909) as "Roger the Weaver."

Printed sources: O'Neill (Music of Ireland: 1850 Melodies), 1903; No. 782, p. 146. O'Neill (Dance Music of Ireland: 1001 Gems), 1907; No. 58, p. 26. O'Neill (Krassen), 1976; p. 23.

Recorded sources: Alison Perkins and Nicolas Brown - "All Covered With Moss" (2016) [1]

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