| Rhythm | Bars | 8-bar phrase structure | Mode |
|---|---|---|---|
| Double jig | 32 | AABB | D Mixolydian |

These two bars are the start of my transcription of how this tune was played – the first time through – on the recording WC 3 (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). |
|---|---|---|
| 1973 | 7#1 | [WC 3] Willie Clancy. The Pipering of Willie Clancy. Volume 2. Willie Clancy (pipes, whistle). |
| ~1975 | 14#1 | [PCt] Paddy Carty. Traditional Irish Music. Paddy Carty (flute). |
| 1976 | 8#1 | [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). |
| ~1976 | 4#3 | [Ch 6] The Chieftains. 6. Bonaparte's Retreat. Paddy Moloney [misspelled as:] Maloney (pipes, whistle, bodhrán), Seán Potts (whistle, bodhrán), Martin Fay (fiddle), Michael Tubridy (flute, concertina, whistle), Derek Bell (harp, oboe, tiompán), Seán Keane (fiddle). |
| ~1998 | 1.12#1 | [WFO 1] various. Wooden Flute Obsession. |
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 #831 in [1850] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. |
| As tune #344 in [1001] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. The Dance Music of Ireland. 1001 Gems. |
| As tune #95 in [1001] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. The Dance Music of Ireland. 1001 Gems. |
| As tune #41 in [CRE 2] Breandán Breathnach. Ceol Rince na hÉireann 2. |
| As tune #49 in [WC] Pat Mitchell. The Dance Music of Willie Clancy. |
| As tune #8 in volume 3 of [AW] Eithne Vallely. Learn to Play the Tin Whistle. |
| As tune #76 in [DM 3] Dave Mallinson. 100 Evergreen Irish Session Tunes. |
| As jig #86 in [Cobb] Dan Cobb. Cobb's Music of Ireland. |
| As jig #20 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?