Irish Traditional Music Tune Index
Tune ID# 1920 (Tom Billy's)

RhythmBars8-bar phrase structureMode
Double jig32AABBA Dorian
Transcription of first 2 bars of Tom Billy's
 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 SatG (details in the Discography below).

Where do you get the tune titles?
Titles given to this tune in the sources listed below (plus notes of mine about this tune):
Tom Billy's / Tom Billy's Jig / [misspelled as:] Tom Billys / Tom Billys 2 / Tom Billy's #2 / Tom Billy Murphy's / Port Tom Billy Murphy / The Flowers of Spring / Bláthanna an Earraigh (2nd in set Tom Billy's on SatG)
What do the "track#tune" codes mean?

cd 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). Album details
and contents
~19695#2[SatG] Denis Murphy and Julia Clifford. The Star above the Garter. Fiddle music from Kerry, played by Denis Murphy and Julia Clifford. Denis Murphy (fiddle), Julia Clifford (fiddle).View album details
19772#2[MBP] Matt Molloy, Paul Brady, Tommy Peoples. Matt Molloy. Paul Brady. Tommy Peoples. Matt Molloy (flute), Paul Brady (guitar, vocals), Tommy Peoples (fiddle).View album details
19789#2[NHTL] Noel Hill and Tony Linnane. Noel Hill and Tony Linnane. Noel Hill (concertina), Tony Linnane (fiddle).View album details
~199611#2[LN 1] Laurence Nugent. Traditional Irish Music on Flute and Tin-Whistle. Laurence Nugent (flute, whistle).View album details
~1996A.3#3[MISD 6] Donncha Lynch Trio. The Magic of Irish Set Dancing. Vol. 6. Donncha Lynch (accordion), Aogán Lynch (concertina), Donncha Lynch Jr. (guitar).View album details
~19985#2[Cltri 3] Ceoltori. Women of Ireland. Karen Ashbrook (hammered dulcimer, flute, whistle), Connie McKenna (vocals, guitar), Sue Richards (harp).View album details
~20035#1[KitRec] Seán O'Driscoll and Larry Egan. The Kitchen Recordings. Seán O'Driscoll (banjo, bouzouki), Larry Egan (accordion).View album details

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 #31 in [CRE 2] Breandán Breathnach. Ceol Rince na hÉireann 2.
As tune #67 in volume 3 of [B&S] D[avid] Bulmer and N[eil] Sharpley. Music from Ireland. 4 vols.
As tune #6 in volume 3 of [AW] Eithne Vallely. Learn to Play the Tin Whistle.
As tune #242 in [JOL] Terry Moylan. Johnny O'Leary of Sliabh Luachra. Dance Music from the Cork-Kerry Border. [available]
On page 113 of [M] Phil Rubenzer. Midwestern Irish Session Tunes. 3rd Edition.
On page 190 of [M2] Phil Rubenzer. Midwestern Irish Session Tunes. Millennium Edition.
As jig #131 in [Cobb] Dan Cobb. Cobb's Music of Ireland. [available]
As tune #44 in [FT] Randy Miller. The Fiddler's Throne. [available]

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): 1967
Please cite your source when you use information from this document.
© 2000–2008 Alan Ng, agng@facstaff.wisc.edu. Questions? Comments? Please use the easy Feedback Form. Thank you!
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