Annotation:If There Weren't Any Women in the World
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IF THERE WEREN'T ANY WOMEN (IN THE WORLD). AKA - "If We Hadn't Any Women in the World," "Where Would the World Be without Women." Irish, Barndance (4/4 time). Ireland, County Donegal. G Major (Mulvihill): A Major (Reavy): D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AB. Frequently recorded in the 1920's and 1930's and still a popular barndance in County Donegal. James Morrison and Paddy Killoran both recorded it (Morrison record paired it with another barn dance he titled "Berrefoy (The)." Both strains of the tune, however, are straight out of popular British music, and is a variant of the schottische "Dusky Minstrel" by Scottish composer Felix Burns [1] (1864-1920) (who also composed "Woodland Flowers").
Source for notated version:
Printed sources: Mulvihill (1st Collection), 1986; No. 50, p. 129. Reavy (Music of Corktown).
Recorded sources: Columbia 33267-F (78 RPM), James Morrison (1928). Decca 12158 (78 RPM), Paddy Killoran (1938).
See also listing at:
Alan Ng's Irishtune.info [2]
Jane Keefer's Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources [3]
Hear Paddy Killoran's 1938 recording at the Internet Archive [4]
Hear James Morrison's 1928 recording at the Internet Archive [5]