Irish Traditional Music Tune Index
Tune ID#1108 (Laurel Tree)
about these two barsThese two bars are quoted from the transcription in the book P50 (details in the Bibliography below).
| Rhythm ? | Bars | 8-bar phrase structure | Mode ? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reel | 32 | AABB | A Dorian |
Laurel Tree, The / Laurel Tree / The Laurel Bush (mislabeled as Michael Gorman's on some BB 2 reissues) (compare Ceo na gCnoc #4457 and Tullaghan Lassies #5485 and compare 2nd part with 2nd part of Laurel Tree #3672)
Discography
Here are all recordings of this tune considering only the indexed recordings. I have discovered by careful listening that these sources are in fact musically the same tune, regardless of the tune titles they use, key changes, retuning, etc.
Click 
to hear the first 12 seconds.
to hear the first 12 seconds.| Year Recorded |
Track #Tune? |
[Album code] Artist. Title. Performers (instruments). |
|---|---|---|
| ~1971 | 16#1 | [BC 3] Bobby Casey. The Spirit of West Clare. Bobby Casey (fiddle, whistle). For this tune: (whistle). |
| 1976 | 12#3 | [BB 2] The Bothy Band. Old Hag You Have Killed Me. Paddy Keenan (pipes, whistle), Matt Molloy (flute, whistle), Kevin Burke (fiddle), Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill (vocals, clavinet, harmonium), Mícheál Ó Domhnaill (vocals, guitar), Donal Lunny (vocals, bouzouki, guitar, bodhrán). For this tune: 1st 2 times Matt Molloy (flute). |
| 1976 | 6#2 | [BB 6] The Bothy Band. Live in Concert. Kevin Burke (fiddle), Matt Molloy (flute), Paddy Keenan (pipes, whistle), Peter Browne (pipes), Dónal Lunny (bouzouki), Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill (vocals, clavinet), Mícheál Ó Domhnaill (vocals, guitar). |
| ~1986 | 2.3#2 | [RtH] Round the House. Music for the Sets - Vol. 1. Neillidh Mulligan (C# pipes), Paul O'Shaughnessy (fiddle). |
| ~1992 | 15#2 | [PHt] Parson's Hat. The Better Match. Bríd Ní Chatháin (harp, vocals), Fred Johnston (guitar, vocals, mandolin), Janet Sutton (whistle), Paul Wilkins (piano accordion, whistle, keyboards, piano). |
| ~1993 | 15#2 | [MB 2] Mary Bergin. Feadóga Stáin 2. Mary Bergin (whistle). For this tune: with Joe McKenna (pipes). |
| ~1993 | 14#2 | [SSt] The Sound of Stone. Artists for Mullaghmore. Moving Cloud. |
| 1999 | 11#2 | [GCJR] Gerard Commane and Joe Ryan with Eoin O'Neill. Two Gentlemen of Clare Music. Gerard Commane (concertina), Joe Ryan (fiddle). |
| ~1999 | 20#3 | [MtRd] The Mountain Road. A Compilation of Tunes Popular in South Sligo. Michael Hurley (flute), Mairead Hurley (flute), with Jim Corry (piano). |
| ~2005 | 3#2 | [LCJD 1] Liz Carroll and John Doyle. In Play. Liz Carroll (fiddle), John Doyle (guitar, bouzouki). |
| ~2006 | 7#3 | [CrnrHs 2] Corner House. The Friendly Visit. Davey Mathias (guitar), Andi Hearn (fiddle, vocals). For this tune: Andi (fiddle), Jeff Thomas (concertina). |
| 2009 | 13#1 | [Hmmrs] The Hammers. From Distant Shores. Paul Hammer (mandolin, banjo), Susan Hammer (whistle, concertina). For this tune: (whistle). |
| ~2011 | 10#1 | [BODFam] Bríd O'Donohue and Family. Cliabhán an Dúchais. Bríd O'Donohue (flute, whistle), Seán O'Brien (flute), Eibhlís O'Brien (pipes), Deirdre O'Brien (harp), Liam O'Brien (concertina), Sinéad O'Brien (fiddle). For this tune: Bríd O'Donohue (whistle), Deirdre O'Brien (whistle), Sinéad O'Brien (whistle). |
Bibliography
Here are all transcriptions of this tune considering only the indexed books, listed in chronological order. I have discovered by careful comparison that these are very similar to this tune as played on the recordings listed above.
| As tune #35 in [SIMB] Tony Sullivan. Sully's Irish Music Book. |
| As tune #32 in [P50] Brian and Eithne Vallely. Play 50 Reels. |
| As reel #418 in [HN] Henrik Norbeck. Henrik Norbeck's Abc Tunes. |
If you are considering using the above transcriptions to help you learn this tune, I invite you to check these practical Tips for Learning Irish Traditional Music. See also: So why do you bother indexing books and abc?
Year of the oldest source for this tune, considering the recordings and transcriptions listed above (note that I concentrate on sources after 1900): 1971