Annotation:Highlander's Farewell (4)
Back to Highlander's Farewell (4)
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 (1) (The)," was in the repertoire of Grayson County, southwestern Va., fiddler Emmett Lundy [1] (1864-1953) 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 (The)" and the old-time piece "Elzic's Farewell (1)."
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 [2]