Annotation:Farewell to Erin (1)
X:1 T:Farewell to Erin [1] M:C| L:1/8 R:Reel S:O'Neill - Dance Music of Ireland: 1001 Gems (1907), No. 701 Z:AK/Fiddler's Companion K:D D2 (3FED ADFD|Addc defd|D2 (3FED ADFD|(3Bcd AF FEEF| D2 (3FED ADFD|Addc defg|(3agf (3gfe fded|(3Bcd AF FEEc|| (3ddd dB A~F3|D~F3 ADFA|dcdB ADFA|(3Bcd AF FEEc| (3ded (3cdc (3BcB (3ABc|BAGA Bcde|(3fga ec dcBA|GFED CEA,C||
FAREWELL TO ERIN [1] (Slán le hÉireann). AKA and see "Austin Tierney's," "Cherry Tree (1) (The)," "Down with the Tea Tacklings," "Farewell to Ireland (2)," "Flying Column (2) (The)," "Maid in the Cherry Tree (2) (The)." Irish, Reel. D Major or Mixolydian. Standard tuning (fiddle). AB. In O'Neill's Music of Ireland (1850) the tune is printed with one sharp (although this may be a misprint) indicating the mixolydian mode. O'Neill's Dance Music of Ireland (1001 Gems), a later edition, has the melody in two sharps. O'Neill did not credit a source in the 1903 book, which often indicated that he has lifted it from an earlier source, most likely Ryan's Mammoth Collection," which has an identical setting, with two sharps. A close variant of the reel was entered into Book 2 (No. 148, p. 32) of the large c. 1883 music manuscript collection of County Leitrim piper and fiddler biography:Stephen Grier (c. 1824-1894).
As Paul de Grae, notes, the tune appears in James Kerr's collections as "Miss MacLeod of Rosses" (same setting as in Ryan's Mammoth Collection) and as "Rakes of Stragne (The)." O'Neill's "London Lasses (1)" is the same tune in the flute-friendly key of G.[1].
Some would see "Farewell to Erin (2) as a more modern development of the tune. However, it may just be confusion of names because Sligo fiddler Michael Coleman recorded both reels on one 78 rpm side with the single title "Farewell to Ireland."
- ↑ Paul de Grae, "Notes to Sources of Tunes in the O'Neill Collections," 2017.