Irish Traditional Music Tune Index
Tune ID# 429 (Cuckoo's Nest)

RhythmBars8-bar phrase structureMode
Hornpipe48AABBCCG Major
Transcription of first 2 bars of Cuckoo's Nest
 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 WC 1 (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):
Cuckoo's Nest, The / Cuckoo's Nest / The Cuckoo's Nest 2nd Setting / Cuckoo's Nest No. 1 / Jacky Tar / The Mower / An Spealadóir / The Scythesman / The Man that Cuts the Hay with the Scythe / Come Ashore Jolly Tar and Your Trousers On / The Showman's Fancy / Rogha Fhear an tSéo / City Life - a Clog / Violetta (also with 2nd and 3rd parts reversed) (compare #430, compare the 2-part versions #431 and #1256, and compare as song #428)
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
~19414#2[GP] various. The Gentlemen Pipers. Classic Recordings of Irish Traditional Piping. View album details
~19678#2[WC 1] Willie Clancy. The Minstrel from Clare. Willie Clancy (pipes, whistle, vocals).View album details
~19785#2[SE 5] Seamus Ennis. The Fox Chase. Seamus Ennis (pipes).View album details
~197913#2[FR] Joe Burke, Andy McGann, and Felix Dolan. The Funny Reel. Traditional Music of Ireland. Joe Burke (accordion), Andy McGann (fiddle), Felix Dolan (piano).View album details
199012#1[COG] Conal O Gráda. The Top of Coom. Conal Ó Gráda (flute).View album details
~19962#2[MOB] Mick O' Brien. May Morning Dew. Mick O' Brien (pipes, whistle).View album details
20025#2[EGrs 1] Eliot Grasso. Standing Room Only. Eliot Grasso (pipes).View album details
~20071.10#2[CLnn 2] Charlie Lennon. Turning the Tune. Charlie Lennon (fiddle, viola, piano, harpsichord, bass, keyboards).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 #1734 in [1850] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. [available]
As tune #913 in [1001] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. The Dance Music of Ireland. 1001 Gems. [available]
As tune #170 in volume 3 of [R] Francis Roche. The Roche Collection of Traditional Irish Music. 3 vols. [available]
On page 205 of [Krsn] Miles Krassen. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. New and Revised. [available]
As hp #26 in [MM] Martin Mulvihill. First Collection of Traditional Irish Music.
On page 31 of [SK] Sean Keane. Fifty Fiddle Solos. [available]
As hp #14 in [Cobb] Dan Cobb. Cobb's Music of Ireland. [available]
As tune #261 in [Raff] Lesl Harker. 300 Tunes from Mike Rafferty. [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): 1903
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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