Irish Traditional Music Tune Index
Tune ID#4581 (Polly Put the Kettle On)
| Rhythm ? | Bars | 8-bar phrase structure | Mode ? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reel | 32 | AABB | A 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 JMcE (details in the Discography below).
Titles given to this tune in the sources listed below (plus notes of mine about this tune):
Polly Put the Kettle On / Molly Put the Kettle On / The Watchmaker
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). |
|---|---|---|
| ~1998 | 7#2 | [JMcE] John McEvoy. Returning. John McEvoy (fiddle). |
| ~2003 | 1.19#3 | [WFO 2] various. Wooden Flute Obsession 2. |
| ~2007 | 8#1 | [CMcN] Christy McNamara. The House I Was Reared In. Christy McNamara (accordion, concertina, 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 #1363 in [1850] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. |
| As tune #616 in [1001] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. The Dance Music of Ireland. 1001 Gems. |
| As tune #196 in volume 1 of [R] Francis Roche. The Roche Collection of Traditional Irish Music. 3 vols. |
| On page 126 of [Krsn] Miles Krassen. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. New and Revised. |
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