Details ABC Sheetmusic Comments

The Skylark

reel

Key signature: Cmajor

Submitted on April 5th 2002 by Mad Baloney.

This tune has been added to 112 tunebooks.

Also known as Paddy Gardiner's Favourite, The Skylark.

Recordings of a tune by this name:

A Tribute To Joe Cooley by Frankie Gavin, Paul Brock, Charlie Lennon
A Tribute To Michael Coleman by Joe Burke, Andy McGann And Felix Dolan
Cooley by Joe Cooley
Dance Music Of Ireland: Volume 2 by Matt Cunningham
Dance Music Of Ireland: Volume 7 by Matt Cunningham
Festival Of Traditional Irish Music by Various Artists
Fiddler's Fancy by Tommy Peoples
Foinn Seisiun 1 by Ceoltóirí Cultúrlainne
Fortune Favours The Merry by Peter Horan And Gerry Harrington
From Leitrim To London by Brian Rooney
From Shetland by Trevor Hunter
Ireland's Best Session Tunes CD 1 by Waltons Recording
Irish Traditional Accordion Session With Four Champions by Joe Burke, Kevin Loughlin, Finbarr Dwyer And John Whelan
Irish Traditional Music by Jim McKillop
Master Irish Fiddle Player by Tommy Peoples
Memoire Celte by Broken String
Memories Of Clare by Bobby Gardiner
Music All Around by Brenda Stubbert
Rossinver Braes by Ben Lennon And Tony O'Connell
Sceal Eile by Gerry Harrington And Eoghan O'Sullivan
Shadows On Stone by Matt Molloy
The Boston Edge by Joe Derrane, Seamus Connolly And John McGann
The Frost Is All Over by Paul McGrattan
The Galway Rambler by John G. Walsh
The Lark In The Clear Air by Various Artists
The Moneymusk by Hammy Hamilton
The Professor by James Morrison
The Schoolmaster's House by Mike McHale
The Slopes Of Benbulben by John Regan
The Wheels Of The World, Early Irish American Music, Vol 2 by Various Artists
Time On Our Hands by SiobhᮠPeoples And Murty Ryan
Tom McHale: All Ireland Whistling Champion At Boyle by Tom McHale
Turn To Me by Bill Jones
Wooden Flute Obsession: Volume 3, Disc 2 by Various Artists
Year Of The Dog by Culann's Hounds

Details ABC Sheetmusic Comments

The Skylark

I'm pretty sure James Morrison wrote this, or was the one who made it popular. This tune was super popular in the 30's & 40's. Somewhere along the line flutes put this tune in "D" which isn't as nice a key on the fiddle - not that it's easier but because all of the rolls you can put into it.

# Posted on April 5th 2002 by Mad Baloney

Skylark

Haven't come across this tune in "C" before. I learned it years ago from a recording of Barney McKenna of the Dubliners.
I think it was a favourite tune of Ciaran Collins, the Galway whistle player, who used to follow it with "Roaring Mary", and it is very common for the two tunes to be played together.

# Posted on April 6th 2002 by Kenny

Skylark in Dmaj

X: 1
That's how Matt Molloy plays it on "Shadows On Stone" with Ciaran Tourish playing the fiddle.

T: The Skylark
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: reel
K: Dmaj
agfd ~e2dB|A~F3 DFAd|B~G3 EAAG|F~A3 F~A3|
agfd ~e2dB|A~F3 DFAd|BGGF ~G2ag|faeg fed2:||
a2fd Adfd|~e3d c'~a3|a2fa bged|Beed efge|
~f3a ~g3e|~f2ef dBAG|F~A3 faag|faeg fed2:||

# Posted on May 24th 2005 by sligo_mm

More or less standard session version

Here's a transcription of the fairly common tune, which is mostly based on Peter Horan and Gerry Harrington's flute and fiddle duet playing:

K: Dmaj
agfg efdB|AF~F2 DFAd|BG~G2 EFGE|FA~A2 BA~A2|
agfg efdB|AF~F2 DFAd|BGGF G2ag|1 faeg fddf:|2 faeg fdd2||
a2fd Adfd|efed cAAf|a2fa bged|Beed efge|
~f3a ~g3e|f2ef dBAG|FAAF GBed|1 ceag fdd2:|2 ceag fddf||

It's not exactly the same as you hear on their recording "Fortune Favours the Merry", but this is the setting you'd come across in sessions all over the world.

Kenny's right: it's never ever played in C, and almost always folllowed by "Roaring Mary," which is often attributed to Michael Coleman.

# Posted on July 11th 2006 by slainte

Skylark

Uh... 'never ever'?

# Posted on August 22nd 2006 by Pawl

I said I hadn't come across "The Skylark" in "C" - that's not the same as "never", which is a word I didn't use.

# Posted on August 22nd 2006 by Kenny

Kenny, I think that was addressed to Slainte.

Slainte, you shouldn't go making sweeping generalisations like that :-)

I occasionally hear the Skylark played in C in my session, with a variation on the start of the A-part 2nd time thru: |GAce decA|G...

# Posted on August 22nd 2006 by Dow

I'll learn the version in C if you buy me a C flute.

# Posted on August 22nd 2006 by slainte

James Morrison composition

I found out today this was composed by James Morrison on the sleeve notes of Paul McGrattan's album "The Frost is All Over", as the original poster says.

I don't know why, but I am very surprised.

# Posted on March 11th 2007 by PaddyCmusic

Skylark

Excuse my ignorance, but was looking for the tab for" The Skylark" and the search is bringing up "Skylark/St Anns Reel. Are they the same tune?
Daithí

# Posted on September 26th 2007 by daphil

Re: Skylark

No. They have some similarities but are distinct tunes.

# Posted on September 26th 2007 by Hanley

Re: Skylark

I think you mean the tune by James Morrison - I've got an ABC version of that and I think it came from here: http://www.norbeck.nu/abc/i/hnr2.abc

# Posted on September 26th 2007 by RichardB

Re: Skylark

Thanks lads
Daithi
Cork

# Posted on September 26th 2007 by daphil

Re: Skylark

The A parts are virtually interchangeable. The B parts are distinct.

# Posted on September 26th 2007 by crazy_fingerz

Re: Skylark

I find this very strange. The Skylark and Saint Anne's Reel are two totally distinct, separate reels, yet St. Anne's as entered on this site with the Skylark in brackets:
http://www.thesession.org/tunes/index/search?name=The+Skylark&type_id=&mode_id=
This is news to me. To me it looks just plain wrong.

# Posted on September 26th 2007 by Key Maniac Lad

Re: Skylark

I've seen St. Annes Reel called Skylark in a few places -Padraig Carroll's book "Irish Mandolin" published by Waltons a few years back for one. Confused me no end when I first saw it as I hadn't really got my head round the one tune many names, one name many tunes thing.

# Posted on September 27th 2007 by Ceratonia