Annotation:Dever the Dancer
X:1 T:Dever the Dancer S:78 RPM recording by flute player John McKenna Z:Transcribed by Frank Claudy M:9/8 L:1/8 K:D BEE BEF G2 A|BGE BAG FED|BEE BEF G2 A|1 dcB ABG FED:|2 dcB ABG FGA||:ded cAF ~G3|Adc def gfe| fed cAF G2 A|1 Bdc ABG FGA:|2 Bdc ABG FED||
DEVER THE DANCER ("Cnuic Tiobraid-Arainn" or "Ua Duibir, an Rinnceoir"). AKA and see "Humors of Whiskey (2) (The)," "Peeler's Return (The)/Policeman's Return (The)," "Deel of the Dance," "Bridge of Athlone (1) (The)," "Dillon's Fancy (2)," "Crossroads Frolic (The)," "Barranna mora Chlann Donncha," "Humors of Derry," "Joe Kilmarray's," "Paschal's," "Plearaca an Fuisce." Irish, Slip Jig (9/8 time). E Dorian ('A' part) & D Major ('B' part). Standard tuning (fiddle). AAB (O'Neill/Krassen & 1001): AABB (O'Neill/1850, Tubridy). Flute player John McKenna (1880-1947) and banjo player Michael Gaffney (d. 1972), both originally from County Leitrim, made a famous recording of the tune for Decca in 1934, in which they paired the slip jig (released as "Denver the Dancer") with the double jig "Connie the Soldier." McKenna and Gaffney were fast friends, remembers McKenna's daughter Catherine, who told Harry Bradshaw and Jackie Small that she could not remember a week that Gaffney was not in her father's house playing his banjo or rehearsing new numbers with the flutist for recordings, dances, weddings and other events they had booked.
The tune was recorded under the title "Paschal's" by the group Na Fili in 1971, transcribed by Robin Williamson in his English, Welsh, Scottish and Irish Fiddle Tunes (1976). Donegal fiddler Vincent Campbell recorded a variant of the slip jig as "Mickey Doherty's" on his "The Purple Heather" album.
