COUNTESS, THE. American, Jig (6/8 time). C Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. The tune is characterized as an "Irish Jig" (i.e. 6/8 time) in the J.W. Pepper collection, but this is only to differentiate the genre from the "straight jig", a duple time, reel-like piece popular in the late 19th century. There is nothing of Irishness in the character of the melody, nor is the tune meant to be masquerading as a jig from Ireland; the term "Irish Jig" only serves to clarify the meter.
Additional notes
Printed sources : - A.S. Bowman (J.W. Pepper Collection of Five Hundred Reels, Jigs, etc.), Phila., 1908; No. 71, p. 17.
