Key signature: Gmajor
Submitted on January 13th 2002 by Will Harmon.
This tune has been added to 64 tunebooks.
Also known as The Banks Of The Liffey, Colleen Ban, Colleen Bawn, Liffey Banks.
Recordings of a tune by this name:
X: 1
T: Liffey Banks, The
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: reel
K: Gmaj
|:G2 GF GBdB|~c3e g2 dc|(3BdB GB AEGE|DEGB A~E3|
|GEDE GBdB|~c3e g2 dc|(3BdB GB AEGE|1 DEGB A2 GF:|2 DEGB A2 G2||
|~g3e (3ded Bd|gabg aged|~g3e (3ded Bd|gabg a2 gf|
|~g3e (3ded Bd|gabg agef|gabg efge|dedc BcdB|
The Liffey Banks
This is the second of two tunes in the set by Mike and Mary Rafferty from The Road From Ballinakill, as described in my comments under The Fox on the Prowl.
The Liffey Banks has never stunned me with its melody line, but the Raffertys' version is more playable than most. On flute, Mike rolls the opening G of the first measure ( |~G3F GBdB| ) every time he comes back to it, though it's played as written the very first time. They also play the B Part only once each time through, despite playing the A Part twice. So they do it: AABAAB To my tastes, this makes the tune a little easier on the ears since that B part is so repititve to begin with.
Mary's accordion covers what Mike is doing on flute for that long c in the 2nd and 6th measures of the A part. C natural is not an easy note to roll on flute (though some players manage it), so he may be simply holding it for the dotted quarter not count, or "tapping" it. The roll works find on fiddle, or you could play |cBce g2 dc| for that measure.
I heard Mike and Mary in person some years ago at a music festival, and again at an after-hours session of a half dozen flutes and Brendan Begley (of Beginish fame) on button box. All of the flute players deferred to Mr. Rafferty as he swung through tune after tune in his lively but always sweet and understated East Galway style. They HAD to defer on some tunes because he and Mary were the only ones that knew them--a repertoire passed down from his father, Tom Rafferty of Ballinakill.
# Posted on January 13th 2002 by Will Harmon
I prefer the B-part played twice in this one, ending |dedc Bdef| the 1st time. It doesn't have to sound repetitive if you play enough variations.
# Posted on October 4th 2010 by Dr. Dow
The Liffey Banks
From 1967, Julia Clifford, Denis Murphy, Paddy Moloney and Des Mulkere.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbfGQ4glQ1s
# Posted on November 14th 2010 by bogman
2 excellent banjo versions
One can be heard on Brian McGrath's "Pure Banjo" album and an even better version can be heard here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YbF_eA6k64
The video is what I'd call "subpar" but the audio is spot on. The Liffey Banks starts about 30 seconds in. The last tune in the set is McFadden's Handsome Daughter. Not sure what the 1st and 3rd ones are tho.
# Posted on February 21st 2011 by octogreg