I heard this tune in a pub in Donegal this summer and got the name from the fiddler afterward. Unfortunately I didn’t have my minidisc recorder with me - serves me right.
Anyway - I’m looking for a tune called Postman’s Knock. I tried JC’s Tunefinder but it only had jigs. This tune was definitely not a jig.
The tune had four parts, and according to my notes was either a polka or a hornpipe. In the A part the fiddler did a cool ‘finger-plucking’ type thing for two notes, this is what caught my attention and it really did sound like someone knocking.
When dealing with a fiddle tune especially, check out the Fiddler’s Companion: http://www.ceolas.org/tunes/fc/ . Sorry, no ABCs, but there is a reference to published versions.
MESSE, LE. Scottish, Violin Solo or Polka (2/4 time). A Major (‘A’, ‘B’ & ‘C’ parts) & D Major (‘Trio’). Standard. AABCCDD (the ‘D’ part is a trio). Composed
by Scottish fiddler J. Scott Skinner and published in 1904 in his Harp and Claymore collection, dedicated “To A.W.” The tune features pizzicato runs. Caoimhin
Mac Aodh reports the tune was in the repertoire of Donegal fiddler John Doherty as “The Postman’s Knock.” Hardie (Caledonian Companion), 1992; pgs.
132-133. Skinner (The Scottish Violinist, with variations), pg. 47.