Annotation:Death and the Sinner (1)

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 DEATH AND THE SINNER [1] (An Peacac Agus an Bas). AKA and see "The Night of My Wake", "Cold in My Coffin." Irish, Air (3/4 time). F Major/G Dorian. Standard tuning (fiddle). AAB. O'Neill says he often heard his father sing this song which is a dialogue between "Death and the Sinner," of which he remembered the following quatrain (from the Sinner): The night of my wake there will be pipes and tobacco, With snuff on a plate on a table for fashion's sake; Mold candles in rows like torches watching me, And I cold in my coffin by the dawn of day. (quoted in Irish Folk Music, A Fascinating Hobby, pp. 78-79). Compare this air with that used by Cecil Sharpe for the song "The Death of Napoleon."  Source for notated version: "Cronin" [O'Neill]. Edward Cronin was elderly Chicago fiddler, "a Tipperary man from Limerick Junction", born in the 1840's. O'Neill thought highly of his playing and his traditional skills, and noted a large number of tunes from his playing.  Printed sources: O'Neill (Music of Ireland: 1850 Melodies), 1903; No. 469, p. 82.  Recorded sources:

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