Irish Traditional Music Tune Index
Tune ID#1147 (London Lasses)
| Rhythm ? | Bars | 8-bar phrase structure | Mode ? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reel | 32 | AABB | G Major |
about these two bars
These two bars are the start of my transcription of how this tune was played – the first time through – on the recording WW 1 (details in the Discography below).
Titles given to this tune in the sources listed below (plus notes of mine about this tune):
London Lasses, The / London Lasses / The London Lassies / Girseacha Londan / The Turnpike Gate / The Maid in the Rushes / An Gearrchaile sa Luachair / The Bird in the Cage / Streams in the Valley / John McKenna's (for dance The Walls of Limerick in book R) (also in D or E, also in A Mixolydian) (compare Farewell to Ireland #606)
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. They are listed in order of when they were recorded.
| Year Recorded |
Track #Tune? |
[Album code] Artist. Title. Primary musicians (instruments). |
|---|---|---|
| 1928 | 14#2 | [WW 1] various. The Wheels of the World. Early Irish-American Music. Classic Recordings from the 1920s and 1930s. Vol. 1. |
| 1937 | 23#3 | [IDM 2] various. Past Masters of Irish Dance Music. |
| ~1979 | 1#2 | [Ev] Kevin Burke and Jackie Daly. Eavesdropper. Kevin Burke (fiddle), Jackie Daly (accordion, concertina). |
| ~1985 | 7#1 | [CW] Matt Molloy and Sean Keane. Contentment Is Wealth. Matt Molloy (flute), Sean Keane (fiddle). |
| ~1989 | 1#1 | [SRn 1] Seán Ryan. Siúil Uait / Take the Air. Seán Ryan (whistle). |
| 1990 | 16#3 | [COG] Conal O Gráda. The Top of Coom. Conal Ó Gráda (flute). |
| 1992 | 20#2 | [DOEI] various. Dear Old Erin's Isle. Irish Traditional Music from America. |
| ~1997 | 27#2 | [Shskn 10] Shaskeen. Music for Set Dancing and Listening. Tom Cussen (banjo, mandolin), Benny O'Connor (drums, bodhrán, bongos), Seán Conway (flute, whistle, guitar), Eamonn Cotter (flute), Mike Fahy (guitar), Charlie Harris (accordion), Geraldine Cotter (piano), Carl Hession (piano). |
| 1999 | 15#2 | [GCJR] Gerard Commane and Joe Ryan with Eoin O'Neill. Two Gentlemen of Clare Music. Gerard Commane (concertina), Joe Ryan (fiddle). |
| ~2000 | 15#4 | [LLPQ 1] The London Lasses and Pete Quinn. The London Lasses and Pete Quinn. Bernie Conneely (banjo), Elaine Conwell (fiddle), Karen Ryan (fiddle, whistle), Sharon Whelton (flute, whistle). |
| ~2001 | 12#2 | [JCt 3] John Carty. Yeh, That's All It Is. John Carty (fiddle, guitar). |
| ~2002 | 10#2 | [LitN] Christy Barry, Conor McCarthy, Cyril O'Donoghue. Late . . . in the Night. Christy Barry (flute, whistle, spoons), Conor McCarthy (accordion), Cyril O'Donoghue (bouzouki, guitar). |
| ~2005 | 2.16#3 | [WFO 3] various. Wooden Flute Obsession 3. |
| ~2007 | 16#3 | [PHGH 2] Peter Horan and Gerry Harrington. The Merry Love to Play. Peter Horan (flute), Gerry Harrington (fiddle). |
Bibliography
Here are all transcriptions of this tune under any title whatsoever – 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 #1278 in [1850] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. |
| As tune #546 in [1001] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. The Dance Music of Ireland. 1001 Gems. |
| As tune #195 in volume 1 of [R] Francis Roche. The Roche Collection of Traditional Irish Music. 3 vols. |
| As tune #137#1 in volume 3 of [R] Francis Roche. The Roche Collection of Traditional Irish Music. 3 vols. |
| As tune #170 in [CRE 2] Breandán Breathnach. Ceol Rince na hÉireann 2. |
| On page 110 of [Krsn] Miles Krassen. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. New and Revised. |
| As tune #243 in [JOL] Terry Moylan. Johnny O'Leary of Sliabh Luachra. Dance Music from the Cork-Kerry Border. |
| In [M] Phil Rubenzer. Midwestern Irish Session Tunes. 3rd Edition. |
| On page 60 of [M2] Phil Rubenzer. Midwestern Irish Session Tunes. Millennium Edition. |
| As reel #181 in [Cobb] Dan Cobb. Cobb's Music of Ireland. |
| As tune #29 in [Raff] Lesl Harker. 300 Tunes from Mike Rafferty. |
| On page 82 of [RM] Randy Miller and Jack Perron. Irish Traditional Fiddle Music. |
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): 1903