Irish Traditional Music Tune Index
Tune ID#436 (Cup of Tea)
| Rhythm ? | Bars | 8-bar phrase structure | Mode ? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reel | 48 | AABBCC | E Dorian |
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 CmA 1 (track 1) (details in the Discography below).
Titles given to this tune in the sources listed below (plus notes of mine about this tune):
Cup of Tea, The / An Cupán Tae / The Unfortunate Cup of Tea / The Green Cup of Tea / Mayobridge (2nd in The Cup of Tea Set on Boys 8; 1st in set Clumsy Love on McP BHB) (also singled, also without 3rd part) (compare 3rd part with 1st part of Maid that Dare Not Tell #4511)
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). |
|---|---|---|
| ~1977 | 2#1 | [FG 1] Frankie Gavin and Alec Finn. Frankie Gavin and Alec Finn. Frankie Gavin (fiddle, whistle), Alec Finn (bouzouki). |
| ~1978 | 1#2 | [CmA 1] various. The Coleman Archive Vol. 1: The Living Tradition. |
| ~1980 | B.6#2 | [Boys 8] Boys of the Lough. Regrouped. Aly Bain (fiddle), Cathal McConnell (flute), Dave Richardson (), Tich Richardson (guitar). |
| 1991 | 2.2#1 | [McP BHB] The McPeake Family and Paul Burns. Back Home in Belfast. |
| ~1992 | 9#2 | [CmA 1] various. The Coleman Archive Vol. 1: The Living Tradition. |
| 1996 | 9#2 | [TCB 3] The Tulla Ceili Band. A Celebration of 50 Years. P. J. Hayes (fiddle), Martin Hayes (fiddle), Francis Donnellan (fiddle), Mark Donnellan (fiddle), J. J. Conway (flute), Jennifer Lenihan (flute), Sean Donnelly (accordion), Michael McKee (accordion), Jim Corry (piano), Michael Flanigan (drums). |
| ~1998 | 11#1 | [KH] Kieran Hanrahan. Kieran Hanrahan Plays the Irish Tenor Banjo. Kieran Hanrahan (banjo). |
| ~1998 | 7#1 | [TP 7] Tommy Peoples. The Quiet Glen / An Gleann Ciúin. Tommy Peoples (fiddle). |
| 1999 | 10#2 | [CrssCl] Seamus Glackin, Brendan Begley, Michael O'Brien, Mary Corcoran, Mick Gaynor. Crossroads Céilí. Seamus Glackin (fiddle), Brendan Begley (accordion), Michael O'Brien (flute), Mary Corcoran (piano), Mick Gaynor (drums). |
| ~2000 | 1#3 | [LC 3] Liz Carroll. Lost in the Loop. Liz Carroll (fiddle). |
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 #792 in [1001] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. The Dance Music of Ireland. 1001 Gems. |
| On page 135 of [IMM] Francis O'Neill. Irish Minstrels and Musicians. |
| On page 135 of [IMM] Francis O'Neill. Irish Minstrels and Musicians. |
| As tune #107 in [WC] Pat Mitchell. The Dance Music of Willie Clancy. |
| On page 60 of [RM] Randy Miller and Jack Perron. Irish Traditional Fiddle Music. |
| As tune #278 in [CRE 2] Breandán Breathnach. Ceol Rince na hÉireann 2. |
| On page 38 of [LPUP] Eithne and Brian Vallely. Learn to Play the Uilleann Pipes. |
| As tune #68 in [JOL] Terry Moylan. Johnny O'Leary of Sliabh Luachra. Dance Music from the Cork-Kerry Border. |
| As tune #73 in [DM 1] Dave Mallinson. 100 Essential Irish Session Tunes. |
| On page 13 of [M] Phil Rubenzer. Midwestern Irish Session Tunes. 3rd Edition. |
| On page 19 of [M2] Phil Rubenzer. Midwestern Irish Session Tunes. Millennium Edition. |
| As reel #54 in [Cobb] Dan Cobb. Cobb's Music of Ireland. |
| As tune #137 in [Raff] Lesl Harker. 300 Tunes from Mike Rafferty. |
| In [LM] L[arry]. E. McCullough. ? |
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): 1907