Hello! Ask me (almost) anything about traditional music.
Annotation:Shannon Breeze (1)
X:1 T:Shannon Breezes [1] M:2/2 L:1/8 R:Reel B:James Morrison - "How to Play the Globe Accordion Irish B:Style" (1931, No. 17, p. 22) Z:AK/Fiddler's Companion K:D A2 AF DFAF|G2 BG dGBG|FAAF DFAF|GBAF EF D2:| ABde fefg|afdf edB|ABde fefg|afdf ef d2| ABde fefg|afdf edB2|A2 de f2 bf|afdf ef d2||
SHANNON BREEZE [1]. AKA and see "Boil the Kettle Early (1)," "Brown Red Girl (The)," "Connachtman's Rambles (1)," "Kilfinane Reel (The)," "Kitty Got a Clinking (1)," "Kitty Got a Clinking Coming from the Races (1)," "Ladies Tight Dress (The)," “Ladies Top Dress,” "Lady on the Railroad," "Listowel Lasses (The)," "Love Among the Roses", "Maureen Playboy," "McCaffrey's Reel," "Old Molly Ahern," "Piper's Lass (The)," "Punch for the Ladies (2)", "Railway Station (The)," "Rathkeale Hunt," "Roll her on the banks," "Rolling on the Ryegrass (1)," “Telegraph (1) (The),” "What the Devil Ails You? (2)" Irish, Reel. D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). ABB’ (Harker/Rafferty): AABB (Mulvihill, Russell). "Shannon Breeze" is but one of a number of names for this Irish reel, which is widespread with several variants. The "Shannon Breeze" title is associated with musicians from the west of Ireland: on c. 1960's recordings by Mrs Crotty (West Clare) and Eddie Moloney (East Galway) "Shannon Breeze" is given as either the primary or alternate title for the tune, and these mark the earliest association between tune and title. West Clare tin whistle player Micho Russell (1915–1994) remarked that there is indeed a big breeze to be experienced on the Shannon, and gives the following words to the tune:
Where the river Shannon flows
Where the three leafed shamrock grows,
My heart is ever going
To my little Irish Rose.
The moment I meet her
With a hug and kiss I great her,
For there is nothing sweeter
Where the river Shannon flows.
New York accordion player Luke O’Malley maintains the piece was written by Peter Flynn, who lived near Belmullet in Mayo. The tune was recorded in 1930 by John McGettigan's Three-Leaf Shamrock Orchestra as the third tune in a set called "Highland Schottische Medley" (the tune titles were not listed on the recording), and printed not long afterwards in James "The Professor" Morrison's tutor How to Play the Globe Accordion (1931)[1].
- ↑ Morrison is renowned for his Sligo style fiddle playing and 78 RPM recordings, but he also made his living as a teacher of music and played several instruments on which he gave lessons. The Globe Accordion was a type of 10 button melodeon.
