Irish Traditional Music Tune Index
Tune ID#156 (Bird in the Bush)
about these two barsThese two bars were transcribed by me from how this tune was played – the first time through – on the recording MC (details in the Discography below).
| Rhythm ? | Bars | 8-bar phrase structure | Mode ? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reel | 32 | AABB | G Major |
Bird in the Bush, The / Bird in the Bush / The Bird on the Bush / The Bird in the Tree / Bird in the Tree / The Bird on the Tree / An tÉan ar an gCraobh / An tÉan ar an gCrann / An tÉan sa Sceach / Birds in the Tree / The Two Birds in the Tree (3rd in set Highland Fling on WmSullvn) (also as highland, or in A as hornpipe)
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). |
|---|---|---|
| 1923 | 11#2 | [JKm] John J. Kimmel. John J. Kimmel. Early Recordings of Irish Traditional Dance Music. John J. Kimmel (accordion). |
| 1927 | 1.18#2 | [MC] Michael Coleman. Michael Coleman 1891-1945. Michael Coleman (fiddle). |
| ~1956 | 6#2 | [Rnys] The Raineys. The Raineys. Paddy Rainey (fiddle), Stephen Rainey (fiddle), Bridie 'Biddy' Rainey (vocals). For this tune: Stephen Rainey (fiddle). |
| 1960 | 12#1 | [ECr] Elizabeth Crotty. Concertina Music from West Clare. Elizabeth Crotty (concertina). For this tune: with Denis Murphy (fiddle). |
| 1960 | 25#1 | [ECr] Elizabeth Crotty. Concertina Music from West Clare. Elizabeth Crotty (concertina). For this tune: with Aggie White (fiddle). |
| ~1962 | 13#1 | [BG 1] Bobby Gardiner. Memories of Clare. Bobby Gardiner (accordion). |
| ~1967 | 23#1 | [PKlly] Patrick Kelly. Patrick Kelly From Cree. Fiddle Music. Patrick Kelly (fiddle). |
| ~1977 | 4#1 | [JDSC] Jackie Daly, Séamus Creagh. Jackie Daly. Séamus Creagh. Jackie Daly (accordion), Séamus Creagh (fiddle). For this tune: Jackie Daly (accordion). |
| ~1979 | 7#2 | [KB Pr] Kevin Burke, Mícheál Ó Domhnaill. Promenade. Kevin Burke (fiddle), Mícheál Ó Domhnaill (vocals, guitar, piano). |
| 1987 | 34#3 | [WmSullvn] William Sullivan. Traditional Irish Music. William Sullivan (accordion). |
| 1993 | 12#2 | [MoD] Tony Mac Mahon, Noel Hill, Iarla Ó Lionáird. Music of Dreams. Tony Mac Mahon (accordion), Noel Hill (concertina), Iarla Ó Lionáird (vocals). |
| 1995 | 7#2 | [FSOD] Hervé Cantal, Denis Kersual, Vincent Blin, John Maguire, Gérard Tauzin, J.-Ch. Lequerre. For the Sake of Old Decency. Musique de tradition irlandaise en France. Music of Irish tradition in France. Hervé Cantal (flute, whistle), Denis Kersual (pipes), Vincent Blin (melodeon), John Maguire (vocals), Gérard Tauzin (guitar), J.-Ch. Lequerre (piano). For this tune: Hervé Cantal (whistle). |
| ~1997 | 1#2 | [SHernon] Seán Hernon. An Nóra Bheag. Seán Hernon (Eb whistle, banjo). |
| 1998 | 1#3 | [JWh 6] John Whelan. Come to Dance. John Whelan (accordion). For this tune: with Jim Eagan (fiddle). |
| ~1998 | 11#2 | [TP 7] Tommy Peoples. The Quiet Glen / An Gleann Ciúin. Tommy Peoples (fiddle). |
| 1999 | 13#1 | [MCnnly] Mick Conneely. Selkie. Mick Conneely (fiddle, bouzouki). |
| 2000 | 2.15#2 | [LaL] Lámh ar Lámh. Many Hands. various. |
| ~2006 | 7#2 | [CrnrHs 2] Corner House. The Friendly Visit. Davey Mathias (guitar), Andi Hearn (fiddle, vocals). For this tune: Andi (fiddle), Jeff Thomas (concertina). |
| ~2007 | 7#2 | [Hmdgr] Paul Brock and Enda Scahill. Humdinger. Paul Brock (accordion), Enda Scahill (banjo, mandolin). |
| 2009 | 3#3 | [Hmmrs] The Hammers. From Distant Shores. Paul Hammer (mandolin, banjo), Susan Hammer (whistle, concertina). For this tune: (mandolin), (banjo). |
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.
| On page 49 of [RM] Randy Miller and Jack Perron. Irish Traditional Fiddle Music. |
| As tune #87 in [CRE 1] Breandán Breathnach. Ceol Rince na hÉireann 1. |
| On page 44 of [FF] David Brody. The Fiddler's Fakebook. |
| As tune #151 in [JOL] Terry Moylan. Johnny O'Leary of Sliabh Luachra. Dance Music from the Cork-Kerry Border. |
| As reel #198 in [MM] Martin Mulvihill. First Collection of Traditional Irish Music. |
| As tune #74 in [DM 1] Dave Mallinson. 100 Essential Irish Session Tunes. |
| On page 4 of [M2] Phil Rubenzer. Midwestern Irish Session Tunes. Millennium Edition. |
| As reel #13 in [Cobb] Dan Cobb. Cobb's Music of Ireland. |
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): 1923