Annotation:Salmon Tails up the Water (1)
X:1 T:Salmon Tails,aka. RHu.005 B:R.Hughes MS,1823,Whitchurch,Shrops. A:Whitchurch, Shropshire Z:Neil Brookes 2006 M:4/4 L:1/8 Q:1/2=70 R:Country Dance F:http://www.cpartington.plus.com/Links/ShropshireMss/HughesR(12-4-16).ABC K:C G|G>AG>E G>c c2|e>fe>d c>A A2|G>AG>F G>cc2|e>fd>e c2c2:| eg g2faa2|gfed cAA2|e>gg2 faa2|c'bag a3g| egg2faa2|g>ed>c cAA2|G>AG>E Gcc2|e>fd>e c2c2|]
SALMON TAILS UP THE WATER. AKA and see “Andy Irvine's,” “Trip to Aberdeen (1).” Scottish, English; Country Dance, March, Rant or Polka (4/4, cut or 2/4 time). England, Northumberland. C Major (Hughes, Winder): G Major (most modern versions). Standard tuning (fiddle). AAB (Raven): AABB. A popular march or polka in Scotland and the north of England (where it is considered a Rant), the melody is sometimes attributed to renowned but unfortunate Northumbrian piper biography:Jamie Allen. "Salmon Tails up the Water" is used to accompany either a polka or a single step dance in the North-West (England) morris dance tradition. The title “Salmon Tails Ges up the Water” was given as an alternate title for the strathspey “Yeil Yeil” in Dunkeld, Perthshire, fiddler-composer Niel Gow’s first collection (c. 1786), but the strathspey seems to be a different tune than the "Salmon Tails" in this entry.
In Ireland the melody is most often found in polka settings where various versions go by the names “Andy Irvine's," "Ceanngulla Polka (The)," "Croppies' March," "Croppy's Retreat (The)," "Freedom for Ireland," "Lark's Nest," "Siege of Ennis (The)," and "Trip to Aberdeen (1)." See note for “annotation:Banks of Inverness" for more.
