Annotation:Greenland Man's Tune (Da)

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GREENLAND MAN'S TUNE, DA. Shetland, "Listening Tune", Shetland Reel or Hornpipe (4/4 time). E Mixolydian. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. A tune from the days when Shetland islanders would go whaling off the coast of Greenland. Robin Morton (1976) notes a Scandinavian influence in the tune, while Anderson & Georgeson (1970) state that this "best known of all the Sheltland Reels" bears a strong resemblance to a country dance tune from Jutland, Denmark. There are many variants of the melody. Tom Anderson (1979) remarks:

Dis is anidder een brought back fae da Greenland whaling days. Jamsie Laurenson o' Fetlar tocht he wis a listening tün, and might o' hed Yakki works.

Source for notated version: Willie Hunter (Shetland) [Anderson & Georgeson].

Printed sources: Anderson & Georgeson (Da Mirrie Dancers), 1970; p. 16. Anderson & Swing (Haand Me Doon da Fiddle), 1979; No. 27. Boys of the Lough, 1977; p. 20.

Recorded sources: Philo 1042, Boys of the Lough - "The Piper's Broken Finger" (1976). Transatlantic TRA 311, Boys of the Lough - "The Piper's Broken Finger."

See also listing at:
Jane Keefer's Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources [1]

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