| Rhythm | Bars | 8-bar phrase structure | Mode |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reel | 32 | AABB | D Major |

These two bars are the start of my transcription of how this tune was played – the first time through – on the recording MG (details in the Discography below).
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). |
|---|---|---|
| ~1950 | 5#1 | [MG] various. Milestone at the Garden. Irish Fiddle Masters from the 78 RPM Era. |
| 1977 | 14#3 | [JOL 1] Johnny O'Leary. Music for the Set. Traditional Irish Music from Sliabh Luachra. Johnny O'Leary (accordion). |
| ~1980 | 2#2 | [DD 3] Dé Danann. Mist Covered Mountain. Frankie Gavin (fiddle, viola, whistle), Jackie Daly (accordion), Charlie Piggott (banjo, mandolin, steel guitar), Alec Finn (bouzouki, mandocello, steel guitar), Johnny 'Ringo' McDonagh (bodhrán, bones). |
| ~1986 | 7#1 | [SEgn 1] Seamus Egan. Traditional Music of Ireland. Seamus Egan (flute, banjo, mandolin, whistle, pipes, tres). |
| ~1993 | 8#2 | [JKn 2] James Keane. That's the Spirit. James Keane (accordion). |
| ~1996 | 2#3 | [Sol 1] Solas. Solas. Seamus Egan (flute, whistle, guitar, pipes, bodhrán, vocals), Karan Casey (vocals), John Doyle (guitar, vocals), Winifred Horan (fiddle, vocals), John Williams (accordion, concertina, vocals). |
| ~1997 | 8#1 | [KCB 5] The Kilfenora Céili Band. Set on Stone. Aidan McMahon (fiddle), Anne Marie McCormack (fiddle), Anne Rynne (fiddle), Garry Shannon (flute), Anthony Quigney (flute), Conor McCarthy (accordion), John Lynch (banjo), Tim Collins (concertina), Fintan McMahon (piano), Sean Griffin (drums), Paul O'Driscoll (double bass). |
| ~1999 | 27#2 | [MtRd] various. The Mountain Road. A Compilation of Tunes Popular in South Sligo. |
| ~2007 | 9#1 | [KB ABR] Kevin Burke and Cal Scott. Across the Black River. Kevin Burke (fiddle), Cal Scott (guitar, mandolin, bouzouki, mountain dulcimer). |
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.
| On page 32 of [TP] Tommy Peoples. Fifty Irish Fiddle Tunes. |
| As reel #56 in [MM] Martin Mulvihill. First Collection of Traditional Irish Music. |
| As tune #94 in [JOL] Terry Moylan. Johnny O'Leary of Sliabh Luachra. Dance Music from the Cork-Kerry Border. |
| As tune #28 in [DM 1] Dave Mallinson. 100 Essential Irish Session Tunes. |
| As tune #147 in [FT] Randy Miller. The Fiddler's Throne. |
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?