Annotation:Pat the Budgie

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PAT THE BUDGIE. AKA - "Pat the Budgie Breakdown." Canadian, Reel. C Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABBCC (Phillips): AA’BB’CC’ (Songer). Composed by the Ontario fiddler Graham Townsend (), written in 1961. It was named for a real budgie (bird) who used to perch on his fiddle bow. The reel is occasionally mistakenly attributed to Canadian fiddler Don Messer.

Source for notated version: Becky Tracy [Phillips].

Printed sources: Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes, vol. 1), 1994; p. 181. Songer (Portland Collection), 1997; p. 157.

Recorded sources: Green Linnett 3085, Four Men and a Dog - “Barking Mad” (1991). RC2000, George Wilson – “Royal Circus” (2000).