| Rhythm | Bars | 8-bar phrase structure | Mode |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reel | 32 | AABB | E Minor |

These two bars are the start of my transcription of how this tune was played – the first time through – on the recording Lu 2 (details in the Discography below).
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). |
|---|---|---|
| 1987 | 6#1 | [BBow 2] Buttons and Bows. The First Month of Summer. Séamus McGuire (fiddle, viola), Manus McGuire (fiddle), Jackie Daly (accordion, concertina, whistle). |
| ~1987 | 5#2 | [DD 7] De Dannan. Ballroom. Dolores Keane (vocals), Frankie Gavin (fiddle, viola, flute, whistle, piano), Martin O'Connor (accordion), Johnny (Ringo) McDonagh (bodhrán, bones, triangles), Caroline Lavelle (cello, vocals), Alec Finn (guitar, bouzouki). |
| ~1988 | 17#1 | [PO] Paddy O'Brien with Daíthi Sproule. Stranger at the Gate. Paddy O'Brien (accordion). |
| ~1999 | 5#1 | [Lu 2] Lúnasa. Otherworld. Kevin Crawford (flute, whistle, bodhrán), Seán Smyth (fiddle, whistle, viola), Trevor Hutchinson (double bass, cello), Donogh Hennessy (guitar). |
| ~1999 | 3#1 | [Lu 7] Lúnasa. The Story So Far …. Kevin Crawford (flute, whistle, bodhran), Sean Smyth (fiddle, whistle), Cillian Vallely (pipes, whistle), Mike McGoldrick (flute, pipes), John McSherry (pipes), Donogh Hennessy (guitar), Trevor Hutchinson (double bass, cello), Paul Meehan (guitar). |
| ~2005 | 12#2 | [JCt 5] John Carty. I Will If I Can. John Carty (banjo, guitar, fiddle). |
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 reel #95 in [JKg 3] Josephine Keegan. A Drop in the Ocean. Traditional Irish Tunes Collected by Josephine Keegan. |
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?