Key signature: Aminor
Submitted on February 4th 2004 by Jamie.
This tune has been added to 23 tunebooks.
Recordings of a tune by this name:
X: 1
T: Jinkin' Mermaid, The
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: reel
K: Amin
cBAG ABcA|B ~E3 cEBE|cBAG ABcd|efed cBAB|
cBAG ABcA|B ~E3 cEBE|cBAG ABcd|edcB A3 B:|
c2 Gc EcGc|A ~c3 gcac|A ~c3 GcEc|EFGA BdcB|
c2 Gc EcGc|A ~c3 gcac|e ~g3 ag^fa|g^fed cBAB:|
The Jinkin' Mermaid
This is a great tune which has a lilt and is open to lots of variation and interpretation. I got it from a friend in Cork, Michael Sweeney. He is a good fiddler with a Donegal style who got this tune from the composer, Dinny McLaughlin. He prefers triplet bowed ornaments in the first half, I prefer using rolls in both halves.
This tune is also featured on Liz Doherty's - Last Orders. She also got it straight from Dinny McLaughlin who taught her fiddle in Buncrana, Donegal.
# Posted on February 4th 2004 by Jamie
is that the dude who taught mairead ni mooney and ciaran tourish?
# Posted on February 4th 2004 by NickPhelan
I know he taught Mairead, but I don't know about Ciaran. Ciaran comes from Buncrana too so its quite likely.
# Posted on February 4th 2004 by Jamie
if he taught mairead then he taught ciaran, they met initially at their teacher's house (or so i've been told). 'tis a cracker of a tune. A minor's my favourite key.
# Posted on February 4th 2004 by NickPhelan
What is jinkin'?
# Posted on February 5th 2004 by granama
Jinkin'
I was going to say that only God and Dinny knew, but, being short for "jinking" its in the Oxford English Dictionary as: to move elusively, dodge or to elude by dodging! I guess that's a characteristic of the mermaid in question.....
# Posted on February 5th 2004 by Jamie
Jinkin'
Thank you. I am much relieved. I was concerned lest the revelation of its meaning could have necessitated the renaming of the tune.
Trevor
# Posted on February 6th 2004 by lazyhound
In't this tune in e-minor?
# Posted on February 11th 2004 by swisspiper
Key of Jinkin' Mermaid
Nope, the tonic is clearly A, not E, and there are no F#s.
# Posted on February 11th 2004 by Jamie
Here's what Dinny says about this tune in "From Barefoot Days", the book that Liz Doherty wrote about him.
"This reel honours Ballymagan Celtic's contribution to the St. Patrick's Day Parade some years ago- a float of Noah's Ark, complete with jinkin' (jumping) mermaids".
# Posted on October 18th 2005 by Jason G
Neverbflat...sometimesbsharp....alwaysbnatural
Jamie
I'm not disputing your conclusion about the key but your evidence is somewhat flawed. There are twice as many F sharps in this tune as F naturals. It won't take you long to count them.
Great tune as is the Gally Canter which I learned from Liz Doherty a couple of years back in Ullapool.
# Posted on September 8th 2006 by pierceroche