I realized this weekend during one of our many gigs throughout this St. Patrick’s “Month” that I have yet to hear anyone play “The Irish Washerwoman.” Is there a reason for this? Is is just "cuz it’s so familiar? The last time I heard it played was two years ago at the Tunbridge (VT) World’s Fair.
Just curious.
I’m pretty sure it’s because it’s just one of those tunes that is over-played. I know that after being asked 20 million times to play Danny boy, I get a little tired of it, and don’t want to play it anymore, except on rare occasions.
Believe it or not, it was the first tune I learned on recorder! But that was eons ago, and I only knew the first part…
The tune appears in the 110 Session Tunes compilation, but I’ve yet to come across it anywhere else, whether printed or recorded. If it’s overplayed, then it’s been in “exile” for a long time. Not that I’m advocating it be added to every session’s repertoire. I thought it odd that such a common tune did not appear to be “welcomed” anymore.
BTW: Dany Boy, played pensively on a low D whistle is beautiful (so I’ve been told); but ear-piercing on a high D.
Tom Gallagher
aka fiddling_tenor
fiddlingtenor@usa.com
“This is petrified truth.” (Mark Twain)
[ This Message was edited by: fiddling_tenor on 2002-03-19 09:37 ]
Evil, evil tune… almost as bad as “My Heart Will Go On”.
On that note, last night I went to hear the choir I was in during college sing near Boston. As usual it was a beautiful performance, except for the end, which featured their version of Danny Boy. Everyone in that choir, including the director, knows I love Irish music, but I visibly cringed when they began to sing it. Afterwards some of them came up to me and asked what I thought about Danny Boy. I had to tell the truth! It drives me crazy.
Chris
I always thought it sounded suspiciously like the Monaghan jig.
Um… no.
Chris
On 2002-03-19 09:39, ChrisLaughlin wrote:
Evil, evil tune… almost as bad as “My Heart Will Go On”.
Chris
No it isn’t, it’s a great tune you do have to try and forget all the associations it has and how often it has been mistreated.
Feck, why can’t you delete double posts (cat jumped onto the keyboard)
[ This Message was edited by: Peter Laban on 2002-03-19 10:07 ]
Fair enough 
I stand corrected :roll:
Chris
The more you give the more there is.
[ This Message was edited by: ChrisLaughlin on 2002-03-19 10:19 ]
County Cavan born Fiddler and Composer Ed Reavy “fixed” the tune. He viewed it as the “worst bloody tune in the tradition” and vowed to “fix it up, one day.” The result is in two books that his son and nephew compliled. Joe Reavy (nephew and fiddler) plays it on the 3 cassette set that accompanies the “Complete Compositions” book (128 tunes, mostly original, but some “fixed” tunes are in the collection).
I like it, but have not heard Reavy’s setting of the tune at sessions, even in Philadelphia sessions (where Ed worked and lived).
Is anyone else familiar with this setting? Could you comment, please?
Tom, eons ago I learned the “IWW” on the harmonica (late 40’s). Pop played the bones, Mom did some chords on the accordian, and she and my sisters sang. (our version had words—about a sod shanty on the prairy).
But really you should hear the version Shannon of Siucra plays.
Chris, maybe you can talk her into doing it for Clips and Snips.
It is a good tune, no matter what is said about it.
Mack
There is a 'simple’man who comes to many Sunday sessions, and he adores IWW and Turkey in the straw. We always play them for him, and he gets up and dances, then announces to the world, “Lets hear it for Eddie and the gang! All the way from Galway Ireland!”
This quintessential jig is TOUGH to play for me on H.Dulcimer and whistle. I look at it as one of those exercise pieces that once mastered will give me skills to carry to other tunes.
LOL
Mack, I certainly will ask Shannon about it! Perhaps I should have suggested they put it on their new album 
Chris
I also like this tune and find it quite tricky to play on the whistle and the fiddle and wonder if this has anything to do with its supposed unpopularity.This is lively jig that,s always good to hear in a session by players able to do it justice. Mike
Paddy Fahey partly re-worked the tune too, that version is published in Ceol Rinnce na hEireann vol 2.
Piper Tommy Reck played a lovely set of variations to the tune, a transcription was published in An Piobaire, the journal of Na Piobairi Uilleann. Patsy Touhey recorded two versions of it, they are in the Touhey book.
And of all the above, Ed Reavey’s is by far the least interesting.
and I add to that [you always think of these things after posting] that I have a reel version of the tune which I learned from Tommy Reck. It’s a lovely tune and clearly shows how the tune went on to become the Mason’s Apron.
[ This Message was edited by: Peter Laban on 2002-03-19 11:33 ]
I agree with the difficulty rating theory. I hadn’t played it for a while and a couple weeks ago started playing it again from memory. I started on the 2nd octave A by accident (so I was playing in D). Now I can’t bring myself to play it in the right key. I know why people don’t play it there (it goes pretty high, then) but it sure is a lot easier to play that way.
Erik
Sorry Guys, can’t see completely what the problem is, it’s pretty straight forward jig in G as far as I am concerned.
About 10 years ago Altan featured the tune in their concert repertoire, paired with another old chestnut, Father O’Flynn. I think this was an attempt at rehabilitating our venerable Hibernian laundress.
It can certainly be a great tune, especially if you free it from the bondage of excessive speed and play with a nice jaunty lilt. As for tunes it resembles, the first couple of bars of a 3-part jig called The Queen of the Fair have always put me in mind of IWW. Her handsome daughter, perhaps.
Edited PS: Almost any hackneyed tune can be rehabilitated in the hands of a sufficiently imaginative and skilled performer. Ever since I heard first Séamus Ennis’ Boys of Bluehill (nearly two decades ago), I’ve loved playing the tune (on my own anyway!) and inspired by his take on it, finding all the dozens of little inversions and rephrasings and octave jumps that give it new life. Likewise with Paddy Killoran’s Harvest Home and Blackthorn Stick.
[ This Message was edited by: StevieJ on 2002-03-19 11:44 ]
The first version of “Irish Washer Woman” I heard was a solo for 3 trombones with brass-band accompaniment. So now it doesn’t sound very irish to me.
There are a lot of tunes I really dislike not because of the tune itself, but due to things outside of the tune, its context. Having reading this post, I just played The Irish Washerwoman, and it’s a nice enough tune. Not one of those amazing tunes, where you say to yourself “I NEED to learn that!” but there was nothing wrong with it.
For me, though, it belongs aside Kesh Jig, Haste to the Wedding, The Butterfly, Harvest Home, and The Boys of Blue Hill. I’ve played them soooo many times, that there’s absolutely no excitement left. One can only think up so many variations. In a new context, with new players who bring something different to the music, they can still be great, but just playing the Kesh at another session can be very dull. Fortunately, I didn’t hear any of those during my recent trip to Ireland. 