Annotation:Staten Island Hornpipe

Back to Staten Island Hornpipe

STATEN ISLAND (HORNPIPE). AKA and see “Arranmore Ferry (The),” "Burns's Hornpipe," "None so Pretty (2)." Scottish, English, Irish, American; Hornpipe. USA; New England, southwestern Pa. Ireland, County Donegal. D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB (most versions): AA’BB’ (Harker/Rafferty). “Staten Island Hornpipe” was first printed in James Aird’s Selection of Scotch, English, Irish, and Foreign Airs vol. II (1785), printed in Glasgow, identical to version played today. I suspect that the title may have associations with the large contingent of British troops that were stationed on Staten Island during the American Revolution, and, since period army references abound in Aird’s period collection, he may have obtained it from British military sources. Others have argued that the title refers to Isla de los Estados, located just east of Tierra del Fuego off the coast of Argentina, a welcome landmark to sailors which marked a successful passage of Cape Horn and the beginning of the last leg of the journey home. The island was first claimed by the Dutch in the 16th century and named after their governing state council, hence Staten Island (the same rationale for New York’s Staten Island). There is even a State Island in the Atlantic Arctic region, mapped in 1695, and it is possible (though much more unlikely) the title derived from it.

“Staten Island Hornpipe” appears in a few musician’s manuscripts from North England in the 19th century, though none predate Aird. A version appears in the 1823-26 music manuscript book of Lincolnshire musician Joshua Gibbons under the title “Scotch Hornpipe.” It was reintroduced in traditional circles during the 1960’s “folk revival” in the United Kingdom (and America, for that matter), largely through the playing of English fiddler Dave Swarbrick. Burchenal (1918) associates the tune with the New England contra dance The Haymakers, or The Merry Haymakers, and indeed, in the intervening years the tune has gained strong associations with American contra dance music, so much so that it is often mistaken for an American tune (with associations to New York's Staten Island). It was imported into American “old-time” repertoire from cross-over contra dance musicians, and has been even called an “Appalachian standard,” which it by no means is. Any associations to the Staten Island ferry (e.g. the ‘c’ natural notes in the ‘B’ part being likened to the 'toots' of a steam whistle) are spurious. Bayard (1981) sees a general resemblance to "Athole Volunteers March (The)" printed in McDonald's Gesto Collection.

In Donegal the tune is known as “Arranmore Ferry (The),” although it has been absorbed into Irish repertoire under its usual title in modern times. Irish versions tend to differ from Scottish and American versions, sometimes centering in the mixolydian rather than major mode (see flute player Mike Rafferty’s version, for example), and sometimes being played as a reel.

Additional notes

Sources for notated versions: - Hiram Horner (fifer from Westmoreland and Fayette Counties, Pa., 1960) and Hoge Ms (a fife MS from Pa., 1944) [Bayard]; Danny Gardella [Phillips]; Stephanie Prausnitz [Silberberg]; the 1823-26 music mss of papermaker and musician Joshua Gibbons (1778-1871, of Tealby, near Market Rasen, Lincolnshire Wolds) [Sumner]; New Jersey flute player Mike Rafferty, born in Ballinakill, Co. Galway, in 1926 [Harker].

Printed sources : - Aird (Selection of Scotch, English, Irish and Foreign Airs, vol. II), 1785; No. 83, p. 30. Bayard (Dance to the Fiddle), 1981; No. 318A-B, p. 274. Brody (Fiddler’s Fakebook), 1983; p. 266. Burchenal, 1918; pp. 4-5 (appears as "Haymakers" [2]). Cole (1000 Fiddle Tunes), 1940; p. 97. Harker (300 Tunes from Mike Rafferty), 2005; No. 255, p. 78. Honeyman (Strathspey, Reel and Hornpipe Tutor), 1898; p. 46. Elias Howe (Second Part of the Musician’s Companion), 1843; p. 44. Hunter (Fiddle Music of Scotland), 1988; No. 314. Jarman (Old Time Fiddlin' Tunes); No. or p. 30. S. Johnson (The Kitchen Musician No. 4: Collection of Fine Tunes), 1983 (revised 1991, 2001); p. 14. Johnson (A Further Collection of Dances, Marches, Minuetts and Duetts of the Latter 18th Century), 1998; p. 2. Kennedy (Fiddlers Tune Book, vol. 1), 1951; No. 5, p. 3. Kerr (Merry Melodies, vol. 1), c. 1880; No. 8, p. 21. Miller & Perron (New England Fiddler's Repertory), 1983; No. 129. Milne (Middleton’s Selection of Strathspeys, Reels &c. for the Violin), 1870; p. 45. Phillips (American Fiddle Tunes, vol. 2), 1995; p. 226. Raven (English Country Dance Tunes), 1984; p. 172. Ryan’s Mammoth Collection, 1883; p. 133. Silberberg (Tunes I Learned at Tractor Tavern), 2002; p. 150. Spadaro (10 Cents a Dance), 1980; p. 3. Sumner (Lincolnshire Collections, vol. 1: The Joshua Gibbons Manuscript), 1997; p. 60 (appears as “Scotch Hornpipe”). Sweet (Fifer’s Delight), 1965/1981; p. 56. Tolman (Nelson Music Collection), 1969; p. 18.

Recorded sources: - F&W Records 1, "F&W String Band." Front Hall 05, Fennigs All Stars - "Saturday Night in the Provinces." June Appal 014, John McCutcheon - "The Wind That Shakes the Barley" (1977. Learned from Richard Blaustein). Kicking Mule 209, Hank Sapoznik - "Melodic Clawhammer Banjo." North Star RS0009, "The Wind in the Rigging: A New England Voyage" (1988). Rounder Select 82161-0476-2, “The Wind That Shakes the Barley: Hammered Dulcimer Music” (reissues, orig. released 1977).

See also listings at:
Jane Keefer’s Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources [1]
Alan Ng’s Irishtune.info [2]