Annotation:Highlander's Farewell (4)
Tune properties and standard notation
HIGHLANDER'S FAREWELL [4]. Old-Time, Breakdown. A Dorian. Standard tuning (fiddle). AA'BB. Traditional. The tune, which is a variant of the Scottish "Highlander's Farewell to Ireland," was in the repertoire of Grayson County, southwestern Va., fiddler Emmett Lundy and recorded by him by Alan Lomax for the Library of Congress (AFS 04939 B03). On the recording Lundy explains: "This piece was composed in the old country, where they had war in Scotland. And when the Highlanders took their departure from the Lowlands. A Highlander had a sweetheart in the Lowlands, and they just give him so long for to bid her farewell; and the low part of this represents the man and the high part, the lady." There is some similarity between this tune and the contra-dance staple "Growling Old Man and Grumbling Old Woman" and the old-time piece "Elzik's Farewell."
Source for notated version: Ruthie Dornfeld (Seattle) [Phillips].
Printed sources: Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), vol. 1, 1994; p. 112.
Recorded sources: Carryon Records 007, The Renegades - "I Need to Find." Flying Fish FF266, Malcolm Dalglish & Grey Larsen - "Thunderhead" (1982). Marimac 9009, Andy Cahan - "Old Time Friends" (1987). Ruthie Dornfeld - "The American Cafe Orchestra" (1987). Sara Hieber - "Moving Cloud Orchestra" (1993).
See also listing at:
Jane Keefer's Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources [1]