Irish Traditional Music Tune Index
Tune ID#342 (I Will If I Can)
| Rhythm ? | Bars | 8-bar phrase structure | Mode ? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Double jig | 32 | AABB | 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 MOB (details in the Discography below).
Titles given to this tune in the sources listed below (plus notes of mine about this tune):
I Will If I Can / The Boys from the West / Land of the West / Up and Away / Up and Awa / Judes Farewell / Clogher Cross / Port Jack Durcan (4th in set The Kilfenora Set on JCt 5; 2nd in set Crags of the Burren on TCB 4) (compare When the Cock Crows It Is Day #882)
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). |
|---|---|---|
| ~1958 | 8#2 | [KCB 1] The Kilfenora Ceili Band. The Fabulous Kilfenora Ceili Band. P.J. Lynch (fiddle), Gus Tierney (fiddle), Jim McCormack (flute), Gerry Lynch (accordion), P. Mullins, T. Eustace, P. Madigan, Kitty Linnane (piano), G. O'Loughlin (drums). |
| ~1996 | 1#2 | [MOB] Mick O' Brien. May Morning Dew. Mick O' Brien (pipes, whistle). |
| ~1999 | 2#2 | [Trc] Gearóid Ó hAllmhuráin and Patrick Ourceau. Tracin'. Gearóid Ó hAllmhuráin (concertina), Patrick Ourceau (fiddle). |
| ~2005 | 2#4 | [JCt 5] John Carty. I Will If I Can. John Carty (banjo, guitar, fiddle). |
| 2006 | 14#2 | [TCB 4] The Tulla Céilí Band. 60th Anniversary Celebration. Mark Donnellan (fiddle), Martin Hayes (fiddle), Jim Corry (piano), Sean Donnelly (accordion), Michael McKee (accordion), J.J. Conway (flute), Jennifer Lenihan (flute), Martin Glynn (flute), Mick Flanagan (drums). |
| ~2006 | 5#1 | [JOSe] Jimmí Ó Sé. Malairt Poirt ó Fionntrá. Jimmí Ó Sé (accordion, 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 #992 in [1850] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. |
| As tune #207 in [1001] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. The Dance Music of Ireland. 1001 Gems. |
| As tune #114 in volume 1 of [R] Francis Roche. The Roche Collection of Traditional Irish Music. 3 vols. |
| On page 50 of [Krsn] Miles Krassen. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. New and Revised. |
| As jig #195 in [HN] Henrik Norbeck. Henrik Norbeck's Abc Tunes. |
| As jig #56 in [Cobb] Dan Cobb. Cobb's Music of Ireland. |
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
