| Rhythm | Bars | 8-bar phrase structure | Mode |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slide | 32 | AABB | D Major |

These two bars are the start of my transcription of how this tune was played – the first time through – on the recording Ch B (details in the Discography below).
Here is the sole recording of this tune considering only the indexed recordings.
| Year Recorded |
Track #Tune |
[Album code] Artist. Title. Primary musicians (instruments). |
|---|---|---|
| ~1979 | 10#5 | [Ch B] The Chieftains. 9. Boil the Breakfast Early. Paddy Moloney (pipes, whistle), Seán Keane (fiddle), Martin Fay (fiddle, bones), Derek Bell (harp, tiompán), Kevin Conneff (bodhrán, vocals), Matt Molloy (flute, whistle). |
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 recording listed above.
| As tune #246 in volume 2 of [R] Francis Roche. The Roche Collection of Traditional Irish Music. 3 vols. |
| As tune #247 in volume 2 of [R] Francis Roche. The Roche Collection of Traditional Irish Music. 3 vols. |
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?