Irish Traditional Music Tune Index
Tune ID#207 (Boys of Bluehill)
| Rhythm ? | Bars | 8-bar phrase structure | Mode ? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hornpipe | 32 | AABB | D 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 IDM 1 (track 15) (details in the Discography below).
Titles given to this tune in the sources listed below (plus notes of mine about this tune):
Boys of Bluehill, The / Boys of Bluehill / Boys of Blue Hill / Buachaillí an Chnoic Ghoirm / Beaux of Oak Hill / Beaux of Oakhill / Lads of North Tyne (compare Jimmy Keane composition Bluehill on Boh 4, included here; compare old-time tune Keep the Ark A' Movin included here)
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.
| Year Recorded |
Track #Tune? |
[Album code] Artist. Title. Primary musicians (instruments). |
|---|---|---|
| 1934 | 15#1 | [IDM 1] various. Irish Dance Music. |
| 1937 | 5#2 | [IDM 2] various. Past Masters of Irish Dance Music. |
| 1961 | 1.8#2 | [MGm] Michael Gorman. The Sligo Champion. The Fiddle Music of County Sligo. Michael Gorman (fiddle, vocals). |
| ~1974 | 2#1 | [SE 3] Séamus Ennis. The Wandering Minstrel. Seamus Ennis (pipes). |
| ~1974 | 11#1 | [GP] various. The Gentlemen Pipers. Classic Recordings of Irish Traditional Piping. |
| ~1989 | 13#2 | [JOL 2] Johnny O'Leary. An Calmfhear. The Trooper. Johnny O'Leary (accordion). |
| ~1990 | 4#2 | [VK 1] Vinnie Kilduff. The Boys from the Blue Hill. Vinnie Kilduff (whistle, mandolin, guitar, keyboards, bass, bodhrán). |
| 1992 | 2.7#2 | [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). |
| 1993 | 16#1 | [MR 5] Micho Russell. Ireland's Whistling Ambassador. Micho Russell (whistle, vocals). |
| ~1993 | 22#2 | [JCnly] Johnny Connolly. An tOileán Aerach. Johnny Connolly (accordion). |
| ~1995 | 12#1 | [Arc 2] Arcady. Many Happy Returns. Johnny McDonagh (bones, bodhrán, triangle), Nicholas Quemener (guitar, flute, whistle, vocals), Patsy Broderick (piano, keyboards), Conor Keane (accordion), Brendan Larrissey (fiddle), Niamh Parsons (vocals). |
| ~1996 | 8#2 | [JCt 2] John Carty. Last Night's Fun. John Carty (fiddle, banjo, flute). |
| ~1996 | 6#1 | [GOh] Gearóid Ó hAllmhuráin. Traditional Music from Clare and Beyond. Gearóid Ó hAllmhuráin (concertina, whistle). |
| ~1996 | 6#3 | [GOh] Gearóid Ó hAllmhuráin. Traditional Music from Clare and Beyond. Gearóid Ó hAllmhuráin (concertina, whistle). |
| ~1999 | 15#1 | [OMT] Billy McComiskey, Brendan Mulvihill, and Zan McLeod. One More Time. Billy McComiskey (accordion), Brendan Mulvihill (fiddle), and Zan McLeod (guitar, mandolin, bouzouki, bass). |
| ~2004 | 7#1 | [Boh 4] Bohola. 4. Jimmy Keane (piano accordion, vocals, foot), Sean Cleland (fiddle), Pat Broaders (dordan, vocals), Kat Eggleston (vocals). |
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 #1700 in [1850] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. |
| As tune #898 in [1001] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. The Dance Music of Ireland. 1001 Gems. |
| As tune #183 in volume 3 of [R] Francis Roche. The Roche Collection of Traditional Irish Music. 3 vols. |
| As tune #74 in [A] Hugh McDermott. Allan's "Irish Fiddler." |
| On page 197 of [Krsn] Miles Krassen. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. New and Revised. |
| As tune #120 in [JOL] Terry Moylan. Johnny O'Leary of Sliabh Luachra. Dance Music from the Cork-Kerry Border. |
| On page 155 of [FF] David Brody. The Fiddler's Fakebook. |
| On page 54 of [FF] David Brody. The Fiddler's Fakebook. |
| On page 73 of [Cr] Matt Cranitch. The Irish Fiddle Book. |
| On page 75 of [Cr] Matt Cranitch. The Irish Fiddle Book. |
| As other #7 in [Ng] Alan Ng. Alan Ng's Transcriptions. |
| In [FMH] Tom Hastings. The Feis Musicians Handbook [sic]. |
| On page 199 of [M2] Phil Rubenzer. Midwestern Irish Session Tunes. Millennium Edition. |
| As hp #7 in [Cobb] Dan Cobb. Cobb's Music of Ireland. |
| As tune #51 in [DM 4] Dave Mallinson. 100 Vital Irish Session Tunes. |
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