Irish Traditional Music Tune Index
Tune ID#1445 (Off to California)
| Rhythm ? | Bars | 8-bar phrase structure | Mode ? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hornpipe | 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 GD (details in the Discography below).
Titles given to this tune in the sources listed below (plus notes of mine about this tune):
Off to California / The Humours of California / Sweet Flowers of Milltown / The Sweet Flowers of Miltown / Bláthanna Cumhra Bhaile an Mhuilinn / Whiskey Hornpipe / The Whiskey Hornpipe / Fireman's Reel (3rd in set Up the Hill of Down on FBros) (also in A or D, also as schottische) (compare 1st part with 1st part of hornpipe Whiskey You're the Devil! #3691 and 1st part of reel Tom Morrison's #1924)
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). |
|---|---|---|
| 1927 | 3#1 | [IDM 1] various. Irish Dance Music. |
| 1929 | 8#3 | [FBros] The Flanagan Brothers. The Tunes We Like to Play on Paddy's Day. Joe Flanagan (accordion), Louis Flanagan (guitar, banjo), Mike Flanagan (banjo, vocals, mandolin). |
| 1931 | 8#1 | [IDM 1] various. Irish Dance Music. |
| 1937 | 18#1 | [GD] various. From Galway to Dublin. Early Recordings of Traditional Irish Music. |
| 1974 | 17#1 | [RF] Miko, Pakie and Gussie Russell. The Russell Family of Doolin, County Clare. Miko Russell (whistle, flute, vocals), Gussie Russell (whistle), Pakie Russell (concertina). |
| ~1976 | 6#2 | [AMPR] Andy McGann and Paddy Reynolds. Andy McGann and Paddy Reynolds. Andy McGann (fiddle), Paddy Reynolds (fiddle). |
| 1978 | 18#1 | [KKgn] Kevin Keegan. The Music of Kevin Keegan. Kevin Keegan (accordion). |
| ~1980 | B.3#3 | [Boys 8] Boys of the Lough. Regrouped. Aly Bain (fiddle), Cathal McConnell (flute), Dave Richardson (), Tich Richardson (guitar). |
| 1990 | 10#1 | [COG] Conal O Gráda. The Top of Coom. Conal Ó Gráda (flute). |
| 1992 | 2.7#1 | [SDI 2] various. Set Dances of Ireland. Volume II. Denis McMahon (fiddle), Paudy Scully (flute), Timmy O'Connor (melodeon), Michael Tubridy (flute), Tommy McCarthy (concertina), Eamon McGivney (fiddle). |
| ~1994 | 6#2 | [SRn 2] Seán Ryan. Minstrel's Fancy. Cliaraí Ceoil. Seán Ryan (whistle). |
| 2001 | 2#2 | [JBC] Johnny B. Connolly. Bridgetown. Johnny B. Connolly (accordion). |
| ~2007 | 3#1 | [GCB 2] The Glenside. Take the Floor with The Glenside. Tom Flood (accordion), Johnny Duffy (banjo), Moyra Fraser (keyboard, vocals), Aidan Flood (drums). |
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 #1628 in [1850] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. |
| As tune #1629 in [1850] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. |
| As tune #859 in [1001] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. The Dance Music of Ireland. 1001 Gems. |
| As tune #100 in [A] Hugh McDermott. Allan's "Irish Fiddler." |
| On page 180 of [Krsn] Miles Krassen. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. New and Revised. |
| On page 19 of [Ba] Betty M. Barlow. Fiddle Tunes for the Violinist. |
| On page 205 of [FF] David Brody. The Fiddler's Fakebook. |
| In [FMH] Tom Hastings. The Feis Musicians Handbook [sic]. |
| On page 209 of [M2] Phil Rubenzer. Midwestern Irish Session Tunes. Millennium Edition. |
| As hp #41 in [Cobb] Dan Cobb. Cobb's Music of Ireland. |
| As tune #54 in [DM 4] Dave Mallinson. 100 Vital Irish Session Tunes. |
| As other #16 in [Ng] Alan Ng. Alan Ng's Transcriptions. |
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