The Session >> Tunes >> Garrett Barry's (jig)

Details ABC Sheetmusic Comments

Garrett Barry's

jig

Key signature: Gmajor

Submitted on February 13th 2002 by Zina Lee.

This tune has been added to 660 tunebooks.

Also known as Barret Garry's, Garret Barry's, Garrett Barry, I Buried My Wife And Danced On Top Of Her, Pat Burke's, Rogha Ghear.

Recordings of a tune by this name:

Details ABC Sheetmusic Comments

X: 1
T: Garrett Barry's
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
R: jig
K: Gmaj
A|: DEF ~G3|AGE c2A|dcA d2e|fed cAG|
~F3 GFG|AGE (3Bcd e|dcA GEA|DED D2 A:|
|:dcA d2e|fed (3efg e|dcA c2d|efd ecA|
dAA d2e|fed (3efg e|dcA GEA|DED D2 A:|

Details ABC Sheetmusic Comments
Garrett Barry's sheetmusic
Details ABC Sheetmusic Comments

I often play this tune this way

|: A,B,C | DEF ~G3|AGE c2A|dcA d2e|fed cAG|
~=F3 GFG|AGE B/c/de|dcA GEc|DED :| D3 |
|:dcA d2e|fed (3efg e|dcA c2d|e=fd ecA|
dcA d2e |1 fed e/f/ge|dcA GEc|DED D2 A
:|2 =fdA Gce | dcA GEc | DED A,B,C ||

Those low lead in notes add a whole new dimension to the tune & I think that 2nd ending is the clare way of playing it. I glued this setting together from various players I think this tune sounds best very slow & lilted heavily, when I hear people rip through it fast & straight it makes me wince.

# Posted on February 15th 2002 by B Rad

Which setting is most original?

Looking for a setting of this jig is how I found this site but I'm curious about the tune. I heard it first as played by Kevin Burke on the Celtic Fiddle Festival. This is quite different. The A and B parts are switched around and he (Kevin Burke) plays it with an f natural rather than f sharp. I love this jig because you get to employ all kinds of lovely ornamentation... especially downward slides and open string rolls. I am curious though... have I learned it all wrong? You certainly couldn't play the two versions at the same time.

# Posted on December 3rd 2002 by ANNY

I got this tune from Bill McNamara a flute player from Quilty and Zina's setting is the common Clare setting as handed down from Willy Clancy, whose father Gilbert got it from Garret Barry. The F naturals are probably a modern addition. I have heard Keiran & Niall Crehan play the F version though I didn't ask them where they got it from.
BTW I wouldn't consider downward slides as practised by Kevin Burke to be traditional.. in fact they make my teeth itch!

# Posted on January 15th 2003 by milesnagopaleen

Locally, in Bristol (UK) it is known as Barret Garry's.

# Posted on January 24th 2003 by Trevor Jennings

Sorry about the itchy teeth. :) My fiddle teacher was searching for something that she could employ downward slides as she had heard someone in a workshop use them. When I heard this tune, I thought of her quest. Am I right in remembering that Garrett Barry was a piper? I imagine downward slides would be a bit difficult on pipes.

# Posted on March 20th 2003 by ANNY

Yup, he was a piper right enough, considered one of the great Clare pipers. I believe that he was blind, but haven't been able to confirm that -- in fact, I can't seem to find out much info about Mr. Barry at all, which is a great shame. (I have heard that Willie Clancy learned a great many tunes from him through Clancy's father as he was a good friend of the Clancy family and always stopped in with them when traveling through.) I learned this setting from Dirk Mewes, who I think learned it from the Heather Clarke piping tutor, but I could be wrong about that one. We tend to play it relaxed (though at a fair clip) and swingy, usually as the second jig in a set with Dirk starting out with Women of Ireland, into Sliabh Russell.

Zina

# Posted on March 20th 2003 by Zina Lee

Key

This tune, despite having one sharp, is not in the key of G, instead it is in D modal, with D, C and G being the most prominent chords. In standard tuning on guitar, drop your low E to D, and keep a finger on the third fret of the B string throughout for a nice droning effect.
AL

# Posted on October 7th 2004 by AlBrown

Key/Mode

This tune is in the Mixolydian mode of D. It combines very nice in a set with tunes in Gmaj like "Willie Coleman's"

# Posted on March 8th 2007 by henk

Another version

Here's more or less how I play Garrett Barry's jig, in a version I got from Paddy O'Brien, which I think originates with Paddy Canny.

X:1
T:Garrett Barry's
L:1/8
R:jig
M:6/8
K:DMix
|:DEF ~G3|AGA c2(3A/B/c/|dcA d2e|=fed cAG|
FEF GFG|AGA cde|dcA GEA|[1 DED A,B,^C:|[2DED D2d||
|:dcA d2e|=fag efd|dcA c2d|(3efg c edc|
[1dcA d2e|=fag efd|dcA GEA|DED D2d:|
[2dcA _Beg|=fdA G_Be|dcA GEA|DED A,B,^C|]

# Posted on May 15th 2008 by GaryAMartin

Garret Barry's in Dmin

Sean O'Driscoll plays a lovely version of this on The Kitchen Recordings in Dmin. It's a nice variation on the tune.

# Posted on July 20th 2008 by cferrie

"Garrett Barry's"

X: 4
T: Garrett Barry's
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
R: jig
K: Dmix
|: D2 |\
DEF GE/F/G | AGE c2 A | dcA d2 e | fed cAG |
F^EF GFG | A^GA cde | dcA GEA | DED D- :|
|: F/G/A |\
dcA d2 g | fed eg/f/e | dcA c2 d | efe e^cA |
dcA d2 e | fed efe | dcA GEA | DED D- :|

# Posted on July 21st 2008 by ceolachan

~ | =fed cAG | ~

A-part, bar 4, yup, I also tend to play that as f natural...

# Posted on July 21st 2008 by ceolachan

"Garret Barry's" ~ in D Dorian, which I suspect rather than minor

Here's just a simple transcription for comparison...

X: 5
T: Garrett Barry's
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
R: jig
K: Ddor
|: DEF GE/F/G | AGE c2 A | dcA d2 e | fed cAG |
FEF GFG | AGA cde | dcA GEA | DED D3 :|
|: dcA d2 e | fed efe | dcA c2 d | efe ecA |
dcA d2 e | fed efe | dcA GEA | DED D3 :|

If you try doing Bb in crossing, which would be the case if the tune were in D minor, it jars ~ does not sit comfortably... But D Dorian offers an interesting step in a direction the tune can take at times anyway, with the F nats...

# Posted on July 21st 2008 by ceolachan

Since there was some discussion yesterday at a session re: I Buried My Wife and Danced on Top of Her, I did some research on Mr. Garrett Barry. According to Fiddler's Companion, he was born in Co. Clare in 1847, died in 1899. He was blinded by malnutrition, but was able to support himself for most of his life playing the pipes, being one of the great pipers. However, he died at the poorhouse in Ennistymon. How sad!

I think there are as many ways to play this tune as there are musicians. It's very versatile and lends itself to interpretation.
I like to play it on my low G whistle, and that necessitates some interesting inverted octaves.

# Posted on July 21st 2008 by c.smitty

I would like to note that if you type in "session.org, I Buried My Wife and Danced on Top of Her", you get pages for another jig, other than Frieze Britches and Garrett Barry's, that seems to have similarities to the aforementioned two.

# Posted on July 22nd 2008 by c.smitty

Garrett Barry's Jig

I think it's a plain mistake to call this jig "I Buried My Wife and Danced on Top of Her." There aren't many similarities between the two tunes.

Several people mentioned the D dorian/minor version of the tune above. Kevin Burke recorded a very nice version in the key on "Eavesdropper." He even plays a hornpipe setting of the tune with Jackie Daly. I will transcribe both jig and hornpipe settings recorded by K. Burke, hopefully in a few days.

# Posted on July 22nd 2008 by slainte

Similar tune

The Girl of the Big House: http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/1214

# Posted on July 22nd 2008 by slainte

Well, Slainte, I'm not sure what to call it. That was the point of the discussion...There was agreement and disagreement that Frieze Britches and Garrett Barry's had similarities. As I said, if you type in I Buried My Wife and Danced on Top of Her, there seems to be similarities, also. The Girl of the Big House, which you note, also has similarities. I get to wondering, knowing that there are regional interpretations of tunes, if some of these similar tunes are some great musician's or teacher's interpretation of a tune that was much played in a particular region.

It'll be interesting to see the version's by Mr. Burke posted.

Looking forward to that...

# Posted on July 22nd 2008 by c.smitty

I have been thinking about this and I think, for the sake of commonality and identification, I would refer to Frieze Britches as just that and Garrett Barry's as just that. After all, I Buried My Wife and Danced On Top of Her is such a long and unpleasant-sounding title.

# Posted on July 22nd 2008 by c.smitty

I agree. This jig is commonly known as Garrett Barry's, so we have no reason to call it "I Buried My Wife...."

I've just found this discussion thread: http://www.thesession.org/discussions/display/11490

It seems both "Garrett Barry's" and "I Buried My Wife..." are both associated with Garrett Barry, but it doesn't mean they should share the same title. I believe someone mixed up the two tunes and added the wrong alternative title.

I don't know if this jig predates Garrett Barry, who died in 1899. "The Girl of the Big House" was first printed in the mid 19th century. These two tunes might have the same origin, but let's wait for an expert to add more reliable info.

# Posted on July 23rd 2008 by slainte

Kevin Burke's version can be found on Fiddler's Companion. Sorry for my laziness, but I will transcribe the hornpipe setting of it.

# Posted on July 23rd 2008 by slainte

I just listened to samples of Martin Fay playing I Buried My Wife and Danced on Top of Her, not Frieze Britches or Garrett Barry's. I would consider them to be different tunes altogether. I suppose that might be because of the key in which he plays it, but they are only vaguely similar, if at all.

I would imagine that some information re: Mr. Garrett Barry could be obtained by contacting the Traditional Music Archives at 73 Merrion St., Dublin. They have an incredible wealth of music, recordings, info, etc.

# Posted on July 23rd 2008 by c.smitty

Garrett Barry's

Hornpipe setting of the tune: http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/8747

# Posted on July 28th 2008 by slainte

Tune Name Confusions

Garrett Barry's jig is, according to Nollaig Casey,
not to be confused with I buried my significant other. In fact, I had confused the two in a conversation and she corrected me.

These two tunes also appear side by side, each with its name, on http://www.thesession.org/recordings/display/463 (Moreover "I buried etc." is identified as a version of The Frieze Breeches in the inlay to that CD, by Pat Mitchell).

# Posted on September 15th 2008 by sixholes

Share bars with...

... Do you want anymore?http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/1051

# Posted on June 12th 2009 by birlibirdie

T:Garrett Barry's
M:6/8
S:Eavesdropper by Kevin Burke And Jackie Daly
R:jig
Z:gian marco pietrasanta
K:DDor
DCD G3|AGA c2A|dcA d2f|fed cAG|~F3G3|AGA cde|dcA GEA|1D>ED A,3|2D>ED D3||
dcA d2e|f/g/ag f2e|dcA c2d|egc ecA|
dcA d2e|1f/g/ag f2e|dcA GEA|D>ED D3||
2fdA Gce|dcA GEA|D>ED A3,|

% Output from ABC2Win 2.2 22/09/2011

# Posted on September 22nd 2011 by gian marco

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