Whistle Ower The Lave O't

strathspey

Key signature: Amajor

Submitted on August 29th 2003 by dafydd.

This tune has been added to 17 tunebooks.

Also known as Auld Breeks, The Auld Breeks, March Of The Irish Volunteers, The Royal Highland Fusiliers March, Sean Trews, Sean Triubhas, Seann Triubhas, Seann Truibhas, Seán Triubhas, Shaun Truish, Shean Trews, Sheann Trubhais, Shoddy Breeks, The Shoddy Breeks, Whistle O'er The Lave O'it, Whistle O'er The Lave O't, Whistle O'er The Leave O't, Whistle Oure The Leave O't, Whistle Over The Lave O't, Whistle Owre The Lave O't.

Recordings of a tune by this name:

Folktrax-075: Johnny Doherty, The Star Of Donegal by John Doherty
Irish Traditional Music (on Uilleann Pipes, Hammered Dulcimer, Fiddle, Flute And Whistle) by Various Artists
The Strathspey King by James Scott Skinner
Traditional Fiddle Music Of Cape Breton Volume 4 Mackinnon's Brook by Various Artists
Traditional Music On The Hammer Dulcimer by John Rea

Details ABC Sheetmusic Comments

Details ABC Sheetmusic Comments

Details ABC Sheetmusic Comments

Seann Truibhas

Tune most commonly used in Highland dance for the slow steps of the Seann Truibhas...

Thanks for submitting it!

# Posted on October 21st 2003 by Oranaiche

"Whistle Ower The Lave O't" ~ all in the family, and then some ~

First, whistling it through it's paces and a few transformations, keeping to the notes as given here, except in one odd accidental way, =G my arse, anyway, that slightly sour note aside, here goes, first things first, the notes given here:

~ & then the alterations:

Family members next ~

# Posted on October 22nd 2006 by ceolachan

"The Whole Chicken in the Soup" / "Maggie Pickins"

Key signature: A Major
Submitted on August 29th 2003 by dafydd.
http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display.php/3007

# Posted on October 22nd 2006 by ceolachan

"Maggie Pickens" / "The Whole Chicken in the Soup"

Key signature: G Major
Submitted on May 20th 2004 by hetty.
http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/3041

# Posted on October 22nd 2006 by ceolachan

Strathspey ~ Rant ~ Song Air ~ March ~ & Waltz

As well as being marched to, and the air that carries several songs, bawdy and otherwise, this tune was also played as a waltz by Jimmy Shand:

"Jimmy Shand's Memories of Scotland" ~ Parlophone GEP8866

Side One: Rabbie Burns Waltz Medley =
Whistle O'er the Lave O't /
My Love Is Like a red Red Rose /
A man's a Man for A' That /
Ye Banks and Braes

# Posted on October 22nd 2006 by ceolachan

"Whistle owre the lave o't" ~ Robbert Burns

"Bob Hay and the Jolly Beggars: Tam Lin and more songs by Robert Burns"

http://jollybeggars.netnik.com/index.html
http://jollybeggars.netnik.com/liner.html

From the liner notes:

track 4 ~ "Whistle o'er the lave o't"

"Whistle o'er the lave o't" appears to have been an all-purpose chorus to any number of bawdy verses which Burns used for his musings on the progress of marriage."

“Robert Burns: Selected Poems” (& Songs)
http://www.elibrarie.ro/carti/1073.pdf

pages 13 & 14

Tune- "Whistle owre the lave o't."

Let me ryke up to dight that tear,
An' go wi' me an' be my dear;
An' then your every care an' fear
May whistle owre the lave o't.

CHORUS:
I am a fiddler to my trade,
An' a' the tunes that e'er I played,
The sweetest still to wife or maid,
Was whistle owre the lave o't.

At kirns an' weddins we'se be there,
An' O sae nicely's we will fare!
We'll bowse about till Daddie Care
Sing whistle owre the lave o't.

~ CHORUS ~

Sae merrily's the banes we'll pyke,
An' sun oursel's about the dyke;
An' at our leisure, when ye like,
We'll whistle owre the lave o't.

~ CHORUS ~

But bless me wi' your heav'n o' charms,
An' while I kittle hair on thairms,
Hunger, cauld, an' a' sic harms,
May whistle owre the lave o't.

~ CHORUS ~

Recitativo

Her charms had struck a sturdy caird,
As weel as poor gut-scraper;
He taks the fiddler by the beard,
An' draws a roosty rapier-
He swoor, by a' was swearing worth,
To speet him like a pliver,
Unless he would from that time forth
Relinquish her for ever.

Wi' ghastly e'e poor tweedle-dee
Upon his hunkers bended,
An' pray'd for grace wi' ruefu' face,
An' so the quarrel ended.
But tho' his little heart did grieve
When round the tinkler prest her,
He feign'd to snirtle in his sleeve,
When thus the caird address'd her…

# Posted on October 22nd 2006 by ceolachan

“Whistle O’er the Lave O’t” ~ a bit more 'poesy'?!

http://sniff.numachi.com/pages/tiWHSTLAVE;ttWHSTLAVE.html
http://www.robertburns.org/works/273.shtml

“Whistle O'er The Lave O't” ~ 1789

First when Maggie was my care,
Heav'n, I thought, was in her air,
Now we're married-speir nae mair,
But whistle o'er the lave o't!

Meg was meek, and Meg was mild,
Sweet and harmless as a child-
Wiser men than me's beguil'd;
Whistle o'er the lave o't!

How we live, my Meg and me,
How we love, and how we gree,
I care na by how few may see-
Whistle o'er the lave o't!

Wha I wish were maggot's meat,
Dish'd up in her winding-sheet,
I could write-but Meg maun see't-
Whistle o'er the lave o't!

# Posted on October 22nd 2006 by ceolachan

"Whistle Ower The Lave O't" ~ and digging back further, meths please!

"Ancient and Modern Scottish Songs, Heroic Ballads ~ "
Collected by David Herd, 1769 & 1776
2 vols. Edinburgh, 1769. 2d ed. 1776
"Ancient and Modern Scottish Songs" by David Herd, 1732–1810

“Whistle Ower the Lave O’t”

MY mither sent me to the well,
She haed better gane hersel,
I got the thing I daurna tell,
Whistle ower the lave o't.

My mither sent me to the sea,
For to gaither mussels three;
A sailor lad fell in wi me,
Whistle ower the lave o't.

# Posted on October 22nd 2006 by ceolachan

"Whistle Ower The Lave O't" ~ Eb, F, G, A

K: F Major
|: F>CD<F A>^G A2 | c>dA>f G>F D2 | F>CD<F A>^GA<f | F<FA>F (3GFG F2 :|
|: (3cde f>c d>c A2 | c>dA>f G>F D2 | c<df>c d<c A2 | F<FA>F G2 F2 :|
2 f>ad>f c>d A2 | F<FA>F G2 F2 ||

K: G Major
|: G>DE>G B>A B2 | de/f/ g>B A<G E2 | G>DE>G B>AB>g | (3GGG B>G A2 G2 :|
|: d<eg<d e<d B2 |
1 d>eB>g A>G E2 | de/f/ g>d e>dB<g | G2 (3BAG A2 G2 :|
2 c>aB>g A<G E2 | g<be<g d>gB>g | (3GGG B>G A2 G2 ||

K: A Major
|: A>EF<A c>B c2 | e>fc<a B>A F2 | A>EF>A c>B ca | B>Ac<A B2 A2 :|
|: ef/g/ a>g f>e c2 |
1 e>fc<a B<A F2 | ef/g/ a>g f<ec<a | B>Ac<A B2 A2 :|
2 ef/g/ a>c' b<af>g | a>c'f>a e>fc<a | (3AAA cB/A/ B2 A2 ||

Each of the versions given above offer several basic variations in the transcripts that could be used in any of the keys and versions given... Examples would be the use or not of a snap '<', or triplets, either as, for example, cd/e/ or (3cde...

# Posted on October 24th 2006 by ceolachan

"Whistle O'r/O'er/Ower/Oure/Over ~ a history in 4 parts

1757 - 61 ~ "Bremner's Collections of Scots Reels, or Country Dances"

1785 ~ "The Caledonian Muse", published by the Thompson family, London
K: G Major ~ this is exactly as the version given above, right down to the placements of the > and <, except minus those low dip variations in the C-part (3rd part) and a few other minor differences:

1790 ~ "Third Collection of Strathspey Reels and Country Dances", Robert Petrie, Perthshire
1884 ~ "The Athole Collection", James Stewart Robertson

These two transcriptions for the tune, a century apart, are identical. This is much more to my liking, those classic second endings for the B & D parts of the tune:

K: G Major
|: G>EE<G B>A B2 | d<eB>g A>G E2 | G>DE<G G>AB>g | G<GB>G A2 G2 :|
de/f/ g>f e>d B2 | d>eB>g A>G E2 | de/f/ g>f e>dB<g | G<GB>G A2 G2 |
de/f/ g>f e>d B2 | c>aB>g A>G E2 | g>be>g d>gB<b | G<GB>G A2 G2 ||
|: G>BA>c B>GA>c | B>GA>F G>B, A,2 | G,>B,A,>C B,>DG<B | A>Bc>B A2 G2 :|
G/A/B/c/ d<g e>cB>G | c>AB>G A>G E2 | BA/B/ cB/c/ de/f/ g2 | G<GB>G A2 G2 |
G/A/B/c/ d<g e>cB>G | ce/c/ Bd/B/ A>G E2 | g>be>g d>gB<b | G<GB>G A2 G2 ||

# Posted on October 24th 2006 by ceolachan

MARCH! ~

1799 ~ John Miller manuscript (for the fife)
T: Whistle Oure the Leave O't
T: The Royal Highland Fusiliers March

K:G Major
G>DE>G BA B2 | d>eB>g A>G E2 | G>DE>G B>AB>g | G/G/G B>G A2 G2 :|
|: de/f/ g>d e>d B2 | d>eB>g A>G E2 |1 de/f/ g>d edeg | G>GBG A2 G2 :|
2 gbeg deBg | G>GBG A2 G2 ||

my take on it as a march ~
"March of the Irish Volunteers"

GDE>G BA B2 | d>eBA/G/ AG E2 | G/A/G/D/ EE/G/ BB/A/ Bg | GG/A/ BG A2 G2 :|
|: de/f/ g>f e/f/e/d/ Bg | GG/A/ Bg A>G ED |1 d2 g>f (3efd Bg | G>A B/A/G AG G2 :|
2 gbeg dgBg | G>ABG A2 G2 ||

# Posted on October 24th 2006 by ceolachan

reel for whistle ower the lave o't

Any suggestions for a reel to go with this strathspey?

# Posted on October 3rd 2008 by nickyviola

Re: reel for whistle ower the lave o't

Is it for dancing?

# Posted on October 3rd 2008 by conscientious objector

Re: reel for whistle ower the lave o't

calling ceolachan ~ I just saw a few comments from him on this tune.
http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/2051

# Posted on October 3rd 2008 by Random_notes

Re: reel for whistle ower the lave o't

I've got a recording of John Doherty where he plays this after it - I'd add it to the database but can't recall the name:

# Posted on October 3rd 2008 by mutatis mutandis

Re: reel for whistle ower the lave o't

It's not really for dancing, just for playing.

# Posted on October 3rd 2008 by nickyviola

"Will You Go and Marry Ketty" ~ also played in A

Excellent choice mutatis, as that air is also used for the Sean Triubhas, along with "Whistle". As well, it is sometimes known from the lyrics that took the air ~ "Wha' Wadna Fetch for Charlie". There are a slew of other tunes and tune forms that are related...

# Posted on October 3rd 2008 by ceolachan

Re: reel for whistle ower the lave o't

# Posted on October 3rd 2008 by ceolachan

A few keys you can find it played in ~ D, G & A...

# Posted on October 3rd 2008 by ceolachan