Annotation:All the Way to Galway (1)
X:1 T:All the ways to Galway [1] M:C L:1/8 R:Reel Q:"Allegro" B:P.M. Haverty – One Hundred Irish Airs vol. 3 (1859, No. 287, p. 143) Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion K:D defd cAAc|BGGB cAAc|defd cAAc| BGAG FD D2:| ABAG AB =c2|GAGF EF G2|ABAG AB =c2|BGAG FD D2:|]
ALL THE WAY TO GALWAY [1]. Irish, Reel (4/4 time) or Polka (2/4 time). D Mixolydian (most versions): D Major (Deloughery, Grier). Standard tuning (fiddle). AB, AABB. The air was set to a Jacobite era (early 18th century) song and was the precursor to "Yankee Doodle," which it resembles, particularly in the second strain. Breathnach (1976) finds the first printing of the tune in Glasgow publisher James Aird's Selection of Scotch, English, Irish and Foreign Airs (1780-1803) under the title "Galway Girls (The)." He quotes Crofton Crocker's The Popular Songs of Ireland (1839) which states "'All the way from Gallaway, early in the morning' is the burden of a popular song descriptive of the march of the Galway militia." The tune appears (in 2/4 time) in vol. 2 (p. 166) of the large mid-19th century music manuscript collection of County Cork cleric and uilleann piper biography:James Goodman, and it was also entered into Book 2 of the large c. 1883 music manuscript collection of County Leitrim piper and fiddler biography:Stephen Grier (c. 1824-1894). See also the Scots relatives "Ciorsdan Mhór", "Big Kirsty", "Miss Stewart Bunrannoch" and the strathspey "A'(ll) the Way to Galloway". "Road to Lisdoonvarna (2) (The)" is a variant.
