Annotation:My Own House

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X:1 T:My Home M:3/4 L:1/4 K:A e/2d/2|"A"c3/2B/2A|"A"Ace|"D/f+"a"e"g"d"f|"A/c+"e2"b"e/2d/2|"A"c3/2B/2"g#"c|\ "F#m"AB"e"c|"Bm/d"d3/2c/2d| "E7"B"f#"e"g#"d|"A"c3/2B/2A|"A"Ace|"D/f+"a"e"g"d"f|"A/c+"e2"b"d|"A"c3/2A/2c|\ "G"B3/2=G/2B|"A"A3/2B/2A|"A"A2"E7"E| "A"A3/2B/2c|"A"cBc|"A"e3/2d/2c|"F#m"c2e|"Bm"d3/2c/2d|"E7"Bcd|"A"e3/2c/2A|\ "A7"Ac/2e/2c/2e/2| "D"f3/2d/2f|"D/f+"a"e"g"d"f|"A/c+"e3/2d/2c|"A"a2"E7"d|"A"c3/2A/2c|"G"B3/2=G/2B\ |"A"A3/2B/2A|"A"A2||



MY OWN HOUSE WALTZ. AKA - "My Ain Hoose," "My Home" (Mo dhachaidh), "My Home Waltz," "Old Living Room Waltz." Scottish; Slow Air or Waltz (3/4 or 6/8 time). A Major [most versions]: A Major ('A' part) & D Major ('B' part) [Phillips]. Standard tuning (fiddle). One part (Laufman): AB (Kennedy, Laufman, Phillips, Raven): AABB (Brody): AA'BB' (Kaufman). The tune is an adaptation of a jig titled "John Bain's Sister's Wedding[1]" which can be found in Donald MacDonald's Collection of Quicksteps, Strathspeys, Reels, & Jigs (1828). The Gaelic song called "Mo dhachaidh" written by Malcolm MacFarlane of Paisley (1853-1931) used a slower tempo version of tune. The sentimental words tell of the composer’s love for hearth and home. Scottish versions after the turn of the 20th century are generally titled "My Home" (Mo dhachaidh) or "My ain hoose", and, in addition to the tempo change, have a slightly different second strain and feature a double tonic at the cadences. Phillips' version, in two keys, is simply a restatement of the same melodic material in the subdominent key.

See also the jig/march setting in O'Neill as "Long John's Wedding."

The waltz was popular among "revival" fiddlers of the 1970's, but does not seem to have been in tradition in America prior to then. Instead, it was probably learned from tune books, first by contra-dance musicians, then by American 'Old-Time' players.


Additional notes
Source for notated version : - Highwoods String Band (Ithica, N.Y.) [Brody]; Ned Phoenix [Phillips].

Printed sources : - Brody (Fiddler's Fakebook), 1983; p. 201. Kaufman (Beginning Old Time Fiddle), 1977; p. 64. Kennedy (Fiddler's Tune-Book, vol. 2), 1954; p. 28 (appears as "My Home Waltz"). Laufman (Okay, Let's Try a Contra), 1973; p. 15 (appears as "My Home"). Martin (Ceol na Fidhle, vol. 2), 1988; p. 13. Matthiesen (The Waltz Book), 1992; p. 37. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes, vol. 2), 1995; p. 285. Raven (English Country Dance Tunes), 1984; p. 133.

Recorded sources : - Avocet Records, Glasnotes – "Live from Contrafornia." Columbia, Dave Bromberg – "My Own House." F&W Records, "F&W String Band 2." Kicking Mule 216, Strathspey – "New England Contra Dance Music" (1977. Appears as "My Home Waltz"). Marimac 9064D, Lauchlin Stamper & A.C. Overton – "Sally with the Run Down Shoes" (1996. Appears as "Home Waltz;" learned by Stamper from younger fiddlers.). Rounder 0023, Highwoods String Band – "Fire On the Mountain."

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



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  1. See note for "annotation:John Bain's Sister's Wedding", tracing the development of the original tune.