Annotation:Homeward Bound (1)
X:1 T:Homeward Bound [1] M:C L:1/8 R:Reel C:Rory MacDonald B:MacQuarrie - Cape Breton Collection (1940, p. 15) K:D D|A,>D D/D/D (FE).D.F|A2 AF ABdA|BdAF dBAF|E/E/E EF EDB,D| A,>D D/D/D (FE).D.F|A2 AF ABde|fdec dBFD|EA,CE D/D/D:| |:g|fdfg afdf|gfed efge|fdfg afde|faec d/d/d dg| fdfg afdf|gfed efge|dcBA Bd FD|EA,CE D/D/D D||
HOMEWARD BOUND [1]. Canadian, Reel. Canada; Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick. D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AA'BB'. A popular and frequently recorded reel among Cape Breton and PEI fiddlers. Ken Perlman, who researched fiddling styles on Prince Edward Island, notes that this reel is frequently heard played in the eastern half of the Island (where it was known as one of the 'good old tunes'), but believes that it was originally from the Canadian Maritime Provinces, although it bears a strong resemblance to the tune "Gem of Ireland" in Ryan's Mammoth/Cole's 1000. On PEI it is often heard in a medley with "Jerome's Farewell to Gibralter." Paul Cranford (1994) believes that "Homeward Bound" is derivative of the "Gem" tune which he identifies as a 19th-century Irish reel. Francis O'Neill printed it as "Clarkson's Reel" in his Music of Ireland (1903). It has been recorded by Cape Breton fiddler Dan R. MacDonald (78 RPM) and more recently by Cape Breton harmonica player Tommy Basker. However, tune is attributed not to Dan R. MacDonald, but to "Little" Rory MacDonald of Cape Breton and Boston in Gordon MacQuarrie's collection (1940).
