Hello,
I’m an independent filmmaker who is finishing a short documentary about wheelchair user activists. It’s a decent enough film (I hope!) but a labour of love as there was no budget. Anyway we’re looking for a version of The Parting Glass that we can use. I was wondering has anyone any suggestions as to where we could get one, preferably copyright free. It will of course be acknowledged.
Apologies that my first post is a request 
Thanks - Fran
Hi Fran, welcome!
I’m going to cross-post your request in our Irish Traditional Music forum as well, so more people might see it. Look for responses there as well.
Also, try asking at http://www.thesession.org if you haven’t already done.
Good luck!
Thank you MTGuru 
You might want to clarify whether you are looking for just an instrumental version (tune), or the whole song including the lyrics. Further detail on production quality might be helpful also. I’m sure many of the members of the board could knock off a quick version of this tune on a whistle or flute if that is all you are looking for, but the field will grow a lot more limited if you are looking for multitrack recording of a larger instrumental group with a backup singer.
Good luck with your documentary.
Thanks Latticino.
To be honest I won’t know fully till I see what fits.. but a good solo instrumental version might well do the trick. I play the whistle moderately well myself, but not this tune unfortunately (and I haven’t time to learn it). If I can get a recording by a band with lyrics all the better (possibly sometimes a lone whistle could be more effective) - I love the version by the Wailing Jennies for example.
Re production quality though I’d like to try for the best possible ie a wav/aiff file of 16 bit 48 khz.
There’s great rendition of this song by a group of singers called the Voice Squad.It’s on the Hummingbird Records CD/television series “Bringing it all back Home” …I think you’d REALLY like this one..
Maybe you could get in touch with Hummingbird and ask them …
There’s a nice version in the Bill Ochs tin whistle tutor’; it was one of the first whistle tunes I learned to play.
Thanks for the replies S1m0n and weedie.
I’d like to learn it so I might check the book out.
I may have something sorted (thanks to this board ) so I’ll suspend my request for now.. but I’ll look out for the Hummingbird version. You can never hear too many good tunes!
Hi weedie
You are a man of taste, listening to the Voice Squad sing the Parting Glass live was an experience to savour.
Wailin’ Jennys - Parting Glass
If you fancy the Scottish alternative - Here’s to You (the Parting Glass) written by Alan J Bell.
Cathy Ryan - Here’s to You my favorite of the CTL singers.
David
I like that the Voice Squad includes the beautiful second stanza, oft omitted.
Apropos of nothing, really … I just stumbled upon the fact that the melody of “The Parting Glass” is closely related to, and perhaps derived from, the English march “The Peacock”. I was searching for an entirely different Peacock, and there it was. I’m surprised the closeness is not mentioned in the notes. The melody dates at least as far back as Aird’s collection in 1786.
Oh, and just to mention, there’s precedent for The Parting Glass as film music. It was used as the ending music of “Waking Ned Devine”, sung by Liam Ó Maonlaí and The Voice Squad.
The Voice Squad singing the Parting Glass live !!! ..You’re a fortunate fellow Davy,I’m powerfully envious ..
Aside from asking here, which will probably be
productive, you might also benefit from emailing
Marc Gunn. He runs several podcasts that deal
in independent Celtic and RenFaire music, so he’s
probably got dozens of versions of Parting Glass
that are “podsafe” (free of copyright entanglements).
He can probably point you to one by an artist who
would jump at the chance to be included in a film
just as a promotional vehicle.
His email is slainte_@marcgunn._com
Thanks fearfaoin, that sounds like a brilliant contact. However thanks to this site an excellent band have agreed to record a version for us - I won’t name them as it’s up to them obviously if they want to do that, but I’m delighted and very grateful to them.
Hooray for Chiff and Fipple 
Cool! I love the Internets.