Irish Traditional Music Tune Index
Tune ID#2099 (Shoe the Donkey)
about these two barsThese two bars were transcribed by me from how this tune was played – the first time through – on the recording HG (details in the Discography below).
| Rhythm ? | Bars | 8-bar phrase structure | Mode ? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mazurka | 32 | AABB | G Major |
Shoe the Donkey / Shoo the Donkey / Warsoviana /The Varsouviana / The Varsovienne / Varsovienne / Versevanna / The Versevianna / The Versavienna / Father Halpin's Top Coat / Fr. Halpin's Top Coat / [misspelled as:] Fr.Halpin's TopCoat / Gan Ainm (compare Shoe the Donkey #5557)
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). |
|---|---|---|
| 1939 | 12#1 | [HG] Hugh Gillespie. Classic Recordings of Irish Traditional Fiddle Music. Hugh Gillespie (fiddle). |
| ~1953 | 11#1 | [JDJO] Joe Derrane and Jerry O'Brien. Irish Accordion Masters. Joe Derrane (accordion), Jerry O'Brien (accordion). For this tune: O'Brien, Derrane. |
| 1968 | 1.4#1 | [MGm] Michael Gorman. The Sligo Champion. The Fiddle Music of County Sligo. Michael Gorman (fiddle, vocals). |
| 1969 | 26#1 | [RtHaMtD] Round the House and Mind the Dresser. Michael Gorman (fiddle). |
| ~2000 | 12#2 | [DH 3] Dan Herlihy and John Drew. The Ballydesmond Polka. Traditional Irish Music from Sliabh Luachra Played By Dan Herlihy and John Drew. Dan Herlihy (accordion), John Drew (mandocello). |
| ~2004 | 2#1 | [JK 4] James Kelly. Melodic Journeys. James Kelly (fiddle). |
| 2005 | 10#2 | [BLch 2] Brendan P. Lynch. Irish Traditional Fiddle Music from the Heart of Fingal. Brendan P. Lynch (fiddle). |
| ~2007 | 22#1 | [GCB 2] The Glenside. Take the Floor with The Glenside. Tom Flood (accordion), Johnny Duffy (banjo), Moyra Fraser (keyboard, vocals), Aidan Flood (drums). |
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.
| As tune #342 in volume 2 of [R] Francis Roche. The Roche Collection of Traditional Irish Music. 3 vols. |
| As tune #150 in volume 3 of [R] Francis Roche. The Roche Collection of Traditional Irish Music. 3 vols. |
| On page 24 of [T] Fintan Vallely. Timber. The Flute Tutor. 2nd Edition. |
| As tune #95 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): 1927