Irish Traditional Music Tune Index
Tune ID#2457 (If I Had a Wife)
| Rhythm ? | Bars | 8-bar phrase structure | Mode ? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slide | 48 | AABBCC | G 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 JOL 1 (details in the Discography below).
Titles given to this tune in the sources listed below (plus notes of mine about this tune):
If I Had a Wife / The Next Wan / Mick Mahony's / Mick Mahoney's / Johnny Leary's Slide / Johnny O Leary's (2nd in set Three Slides on PS 7; 1st in set Lios Uí Bhigín on NNC) (also in A, also without 3rd part) (compare 1st part with 1st part of Barrel Organ #3105)
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). |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | 13#1 | [JOL 1] Johnny O'Leary. Music for the Set. Traditional Irish Music from Sliabh Luachra. Johnny O'Leary (accordion). |
| ~1979 | 3#1 | [Ev] Kevin Burke and Jackie Daly. Eavesdropper. Kevin Burke (fiddle), Jackie Daly (accordion, concertina). |
| ~1989 | 8#1 | [JOL 2] Johnny O'Leary. An Calmfhear. The Trooper. Johnny O'Leary (accordion). |
| 1995 | 18#1 | [JOL 3] Johnny O'Leary. Johnny O'Leary of Sliabh Luachra. Dance Music from the Cork-Kerry Border. Johnny O'Leary (accordion). |
| 1998 | 7#2 | [PS 7] Patrick Street. Live from Patrick Street. Kevin Burke (fiddle), Jackie Daly (accordion), Andy Irvine (vocals, bouzouki, mandolin, hurdy-gurdy, harmonica), Ged Foley (guitar, fiddle). |
| ~2000 | 9#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). |
| ~2007 | 13#1 | [NNC] Niamh Ní Charra. Ón Dá Thaobh. From Both Sides. Niamh Ní Charra (fiddle, concertina). |
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 #90 in [JOL] Terry Moylan. Johnny O'Leary of Sliabh Luachra. Dance Music from the Cork-Kerry Border. |
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): 1977