Key signature: Gmajor
Submitted on by Kenny.
This tune has been added to 15 tunebooks.
Also known as Frances John McGovern's.
Recordings of a tune by this name:
X: 1
T: Frances John McGovern
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: reel
K: Gmaj
BcBA GEED | G2 BG cG BG | BcBA GEED | EAAG A2 GA :|
Bded g2 ed | g2 ed BGGA | Bded g2 fg | eaag aged |
Bded g2 ed | g2 ed BGGA | BcBA GEED | EAAG A4 |
Frances John McGovern
I think this may be the first of Charlie Lennon's tunes to have been recorded, on an early [3rd ?] "Stockton's Wing" album. Goes very well on flute.
# Posted on April 12th 2004 by Kenny
Frances John McGovern
Kenny, are you sure this is composed by Lennon?
# Posted on April 12th 2004 by radriano
Gillespie's
This tune shows up on Damp in the Attic's CD, 'I was flyin' it' as "Gillespie's."
# Posted on April 12th 2004 by Phantom Button
Maybe not by Charlie
radriano,- you've got me thinking. I've always believed this to be one of Charlie Lennon's tunes, as I'm sure it was introduced as such by "Stockton's Wing" at a concert they did in Edinburgh in the early 80s. We also had a session in Aberdeen with an old box player from Leitrim in the mid-80s, who knew Charlie, and we played this tune with him. My recollection is that he, too, said it was one of Charlie's. It is possible that I may have misunderstood them, and that they were meaning they learned the tune from Charlie rather than he composed it.
The only recording I have of this reel is on the Comhaltas LP "Lucky In Love". Charlie plays a solo set of 3 reels, and this one is the first. Interestingly, the sleeve notes say that he composed the 2nd* and 3rd**, but not this one. Also, I have a CD which Charlie made entirely of his own compositions, and he plays these 2 reels [ "Road To Cashel* / Charlie Lennon's #4" **] but not "Frances John McGovern".
This does lead me to wonder whether or not you may be correct. What do you know about the tune that made you ask whether or not Charlie composed it?
# Posted on April 12th 2004 by Kenny
I remember this tune from a Stockton's Wing recording years back. More recently, it turns up on piper Kieran O'Hare's solo recording. I really like this tune a lot, but it rarely gets much play in my neck of the woods. Can't say that I know who composed this piece, however.
# Posted on April 13th 2004 by Bill Reeder
Frances John McGovern
Hi Kenny. I have the "Lucky in Love" album too so I was thinking of those liner notes but I've never heard anyone attribute "Frances John McGovern" to Charlie Lennon. I also have the Lennon tunebook "Musical Memories" that does not include this tune. I realize that the tunebook doesn't contain all of Lennon's compositions but it does have "Road to Cashel" and "Charlie Lennon's # 4" in it. I have also heard that "Road to Cashel" was not written by Lennon - the tune appears under the name "The Chesnut Tree" in some older collections. Of course I have no proof for any of this - that's why I asked if you are sure, maybe you know something I don't.
# Posted on April 13th 2004 by radriano
Joe Bann's??
I recall having this one on a Stockton's Wing recording many years ago which has unfortunately gone AWOL! It would have been played as a slow reel before Lucy Campbell played at normal speed. Interestingly the tune sounds quite a bit like "the Old Torn Petticoat" although the "B" part is different. I used to know the tune as Joe Bann's although I'm not sure where this title originated from.
# Posted on April 13th 2004 by Bannerman
Go here for another transcription under a different name http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/5073.
# Posted on February 12th 2007 by Dow
That's an interesting discovery. I've passed through Charlie Lennon's birthplace Kiltyclogher several times, and know it's located on the border between Leitrim and Fermanagh. The version I transcribed is from Fermanagh man Cathal McConnell. So, now we can conclude this tune is not Charlie Lennon's composition but a traditional tune played around the area.
# Posted on February 12th 2007 by slainte
According to Fiddler's Companion, it's a north Leitrim version of the Old Torn Petticoat. Don't know if that's true but I see Bannerman noticed the similarities too.
# Posted on February 12th 2007 by Dow