Annotation:Dusty Windowsill
X:1 T:Dusty Windowsill C:Johnny Harling M:6/8 L:1/8 K:Ador E|A2B cBA|edB cBA|~G3 EGG|DGG B,GG| A2B cBA|e2d efg|age dBG|1 ABG A2E:|2 ABG A2e|| |:~a3 age|dBd ~g3|~g3 gfe|dBA ~G3| EGG DGG|EGG ABc|Bed BAG|1 ABG A2e:|2 ABG A2E|| |:AA/B/A gAf|AA/B/A ged|~G3 eBd|~G3 edB| AA/B/A gAf|AA/B/A efg|age dBG|ABG A2E:||
DUSTY WINDOWSILL. AKA - "Dust on the Windows." AKA and see "Austin Barret's," "Blasket Sound Jig (The)," "Chicago Jig (The)," "Harding's Jig," "Harland's," "Johnny Harling's," "Howling Jig (The)," "Tim Harding's," "Trip to the Highlands (2)." Irish, Jig (6/8 time). A Dorian. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABBCC (Black): AA'BB'CC (Alewine). A very popular session tune composed by Chicago whistle player Johnny Harling, apparently entitled "Dusty Window Sills" at first. Harling was at a friend's apartment (or on a date) when the tune came to him, and, not finding any writing instrument or paper to hand, he improvised by scratching it into the dust on a nearby windowsill. Later he returned with paper, but the title was evident. Chicago fiddler Liz Carroll said Harling was supposed to have given the tune to Austin Barrett who used it in a competition in Ireland, under the modified title "Dusty Windowsill." Alternatively, it was said by Irish flute maker Eugene Lamb that it was introduced at the Willie Clancy Summer School for Irish traditional music by an American (Harling?), and spread quickly from there. The tune has been overplayed in some session circles, and its luster diminished.
There is a rumor, totally unfounded, that the title was inspired by the rock group Kansas and their hit "Dust in the Wind." "The Chicago (Jig)" title is from Pete Cooper's Irish fiddle tutorial.
