Annotation:Lament for Oliver Goldsmith

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LAMENT FOR OLIVER GOLDSMITH. Irish, Slow Air. Composed by Séamus Shannon, a well-known entertainer in Ireland who plays button and piano accordions as well as the trombone (!). It was composed as an air without words. Paul Kinder writes: "The great fingerstyle guitarist Duck Baker was at the Augusta Irish Week in 1994 and played this tune wonderfully at a slow airs concert. He also told the following story":

There was an accordion player in London named Raymond Roland who used to play at the White Hart in Fulham, among other places, who played this tune. But I understand it was actually composed by another accordion player named Seamus Shannon. In fact, the story is told that Shannon was playing the tune in a pub one night and the publican told him that he was really making a hash of it. Shannon said "What do you mean? I wrote the tune! " Replied the publican, "You may have written it but you need to get over to the White Hart and hear Raymond Roland play it!

Source for notated version:

Printed sources:

Recorded sources: Séamus Creagh - "Its No Secret" (learned from Raymond Roland). Martin Connolly - "The Fort of Kincora."

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