Ned Of The Hill

I was surprised this wasn't in the database, as it has been mentioned many times and is listed in many of the Recordings. I played it for the first time last night on fiddle at our weekly session/'gathering' and it was very well received.
A truly beatiful tune, I've posted it as a waltz but it is a slow air, best played fairly freely, I feel.

I got the abc and info from Fiddler's Companion and I quote them here:

NED OF THE HILL [1] (Eamonn/Eadmun an Cnuic). AKA - “Edmund of the Hill.” AKA and see "As a Beam O'er the Waters," "Captain Carswell [1]," "Col O'Gara," “Eamonn a' Chnuic,” "The Young Man's Dream.” Irish, Slow Air (3/4 or 6/8 time). G Major/E Minor. Standard. AB (O’Neill, Roche): AABB (O’Farrell, Shields/Goodman). An Irish ballad of the period 1698‑1704 written in memory of Edmond (O’)Ryan, of Knockmeill Castle, Co. Tipperary, who was an outlaw under King William. Edmond, or Ned, was the scion of an old family, the O'Ryans of Kilnelongurty, County Tipperary, who "was forced to become a Rapparee, and to do a man's part in spoiling the spoiler" (Flood, 1906). O'Ryan "took to the hills" after the capitulation of Limerick, and was murdered in one of the first years 18th century by one Dwyer for the reward of 200 Pounds set by the British on his head. He is burried in Curraheen, near Hollyford. The air itself dates from the close of the 16th century (though the first printed version appeared in 1729), according to Flood, and it underwent various modifications between the years 1600 and 1760 appearing under many titles, including "The Young Man's..." and a Scotch variant (in Johnson's Scots Musical Museum, 1788) "I Dreamed I Lay" with words by Robert Burns. Another early printing of the melody appears in the appendix to Walker’s Historical Memoirs of the Irish Bards (1786). Source for notated version: a manuscript collection dated 1861 by the Anglican cleric and piper James Goodman (1828-1896), who collected primarily in County Cork [Shields]. O’Farrell (National Irish Music for the Union Pipes), 1804; pg. 21. O'Neill (Music of Ireland: 1850 Melodies), 1979; No. 133, pg. 24. Roche Collection, 1982, vol. 1; No. 1, pg. 7. Shields (Tunes of the Munster Pipers), 1998; No. 34, pg. 16. Plant Life Records PLR017, "The Tannahill Weavers" (1979).

# Posted on December 14th 2006 by domnull

Yeah, that surprised the hell out of me... I had to go do several searches just to check... I'm glad it is here now, in whatever form, and am glad to see the source credited... It is an old favourite... Here's a bit more on this particular set of ABCs:

N: "Slow"
R: Air
S: O’Neill – Music of Ireland (1903), No. 133
Z: AK / Fiddler’s Companion

# Posted on December 14th 2006 by ceolachan

Ned

Ceol
Thanks for the 'extras' - I had removed them to comply with the ABC submission format on this site, and forgot to include them with the other notes.

(Glad too that it wasn't a duplicate - one always dreads the one-line comment posted by one of the eagle-eyed ( /-eared) regulars on this fine site viz

"Duplicate
<link to original posting> "

Glad too that the ABC was ok - the sheetmusic was generated within a couple of minutes of ABC submission!

# Posted on December 14th 2006 by domnull

Not Captain Carswell

It’s not on as many recordings as you think. For some reason known only to themselves – and I’ll ask them the next time I see them – the “Tannahill Weavers” seem to have given the name “Ned Of The Hill” as an alternative title to the 2/4 bagpipe march “Captain Carswell”, on their eponymous album. I’m pretty sure they never recorded this, ie – the air “Ned Of The Hill”, but they certainly have recorded the 2/4 march, as have “Boys Of The Lough”, and Phil & Aly. That takes 5 of the listed recordings out.
“Fiddler’s Companion” are listing it as being on the “Tannahill’s” album, but I wonder if they checked. I’ll listen to it tonight – I could be wrong, but it looks like a classic March/Strathspey/Reel to me, and it would be very odd to start that particular combination with an Irish slow air.
Whereas it’s a fine song when sung by somebody like Al O’Donnell, [ recorded on his 1st album ], it’s not something that’s liable to crop up in many sessions, in my opinion.

# Posted on December 14th 2006 by Kenny

You are right Kenny, and as always valued comment, yes, it is a solo slow air, more of a solo piece, but sweet in the right hands... There are a few of these on site, Scottish, Irish and otherwise... The only way to really give these instrumental justice, a personal belief, is to know the song, or to learn it from a singer...but there are always exceptions...

# Posted on December 14th 2006 by ceolachan

It's very popular in one of our sessions...

Played on the whistle (regular and low D) as a slow air, slightly different from the midi version I hear in the download. I found it years ago on JC's - more the way they've played it at our session.

# Posted on December 15th 2006 by vonnieestes

Ned Of The Hill

My take on this tune is more or less as follows:

X: 1
T: Ned Of The Hill
M: 3/4
L: 1/8
R: Waltz
K: G Major

||BA|G3 E F2|G4 GA|B2 g2 f2|e4 ge|d2 B2 A2|G3 A B2|c3 B AG|E4 BA|G2 E2 F2|G4 GA|B g3 f2|e4 ge|d2 B2 A2|G3 A B2|A3 G GF|G4 d2|e c3 g2|d4 d2|e2 f3 e|d4 de|d2 B2 A2|G3 A B2|c3 B AG|E4 BA|G2 E2 F2|G4 GA|B2 g3 f|e4 ge|d3 e dB|A2 G2 AB|A3 G GF|G4 ||

- Played as a rhythmic slow air, not a waltz. The quantities of the notes ("quantities" in the musical sense, I mean) can of course be varied.

The Tyneside-based High Level Ranters recorded this tune on one of their late 60s albums. I think it's a great tune but easily get it mixed up with others such as "The Lambs On The Green Hills" (a song tune) and Neil Gow's Lament For The Death Of His Second Wife; so the purity of my version is not 100% guaranteed.

# Posted on December 15th 2006 by nicholas

BA|{F}G2 E3 F|G4 {B}GA|B2 g3 f|e4 e2|d4 BA|
G4 AB|_c3 B AG|E4 BA|G2 E3 F|G3 G GA|B2 g3 f|
e4 g2|d4 BA|G4 AB|A4 GA|G4 GB||e2 _c2 g2-|
ge d2 B2-|Bd e2 g2|ge d2 de|d2 B2 A2|G4 (3GAB|_c3 B AG|
E4 BA|G2 E3 F|G4 GA|B2 g3 f|e4 fe|d4 BA|
G4 AB|A4 GA|G4 {G}BA||{B}G2 E3 F|G3 A GA|B2 g3 f|
{d}e4 g f/2e/2|d4 BA|G4 AB|_c3 B c/2B/2A/2G/2|E3 A BA|G2 {B}E3 F/2E/2|
G3 A BA|B2 g3 f|e4 g f/2e/2|d2 B2 A2|{F}G4 F G/2A/2|B2 G2 A2|
G4 GB||e2 d_c g2-|ge d2 B2|A/2B/2_c/2d/2 e2 g2-|ge d2 de|d2 B2 A2|
G3 G AB|_c3 B AG|E4 BA|G2 E3 E/2F/2|G4 GA|B2 g3 f|
e4 (3efe|d2 B2 A2|G3 G AB|A4 GA|G4||

I really love the version of jean-michel veillon on Beo!

# Posted on December 16th 2006 by swisspiper

This is great, keep them coming... :-)

# Posted on December 16th 2006 by ceolachan

Wrong....and right........

I was wrong. I listened to this recording yesterday, and the “Tannahills” did indeed record “Ned Of The Hill”, but on their eponymous 3rd album, not “Tannahill Weavers 4”. I was also right. The sleeve notes on my cassette copy of this recording say “Ned Of The Hill” ( or Captain Carswell / Ewie Wi’ The Crookit Horn / Marquis Of Tullibardine” ), but those 3 tunes are not on the recording at all, at least not on the cassette tape version. Looks to me like “Green Linnet " screwed up the sleeve notes. It is possible, I suppose, that all 4 tunes are on the CD or LP record formats, and not on the cassette, but there’s no way that “Ned Of The Hill” can justifiably be called “Captain Carswell”. The march was composed by Pipe Major Willie Lawrie, and “Ned” is many , many years older than he was. Two entirely different tunes altogether. It would be more accurate to remove that “alternative” title altogether.
The “Captain Carswell” showing up on “Tannahill Weavers 4” is Willie Lawries’s march.

# Posted on December 18th 2006 by Kenny

Ned on the Hill

Kenny - your evidence suggests that Cpt Carswell shouldn't be listed as an alternative title for Ned on the Hill: I've therefore removed it.
Thanks for the digging!

# Posted on December 19th 2006 by domnull

Thank you , domnull.

# Posted on December 19th 2006 by Kenny

Ned of the Hill

We did this at Christmas time singing the words to I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day. Its haunting tune gave a whole new perspective to the lyrics. I love it. A great tune.

# Posted on January 13th 2007 by harpalaska

Eamonn an Chnoic

Having read some of the comment above, I confess to a very limited knowledge of this song/ tune. However I seem to remember learning a poem at school(back in the dreamtime) of this title. I'm sure I've heard it sung as a slow air somewhere since. A snatch of the poem went like this, " mise Eamonn an chnoic, ata baite fuar fliuch, o shiorsheideadh sleibhte is gleanntaibh. Obviously there are fada's missing as I can't put them in on this site. The air to which I've heard this sung wasn't a 3/4 tempo, but a slow haunting air. Any Ideas anybody.

# Posted on August 12th 2009 by the mullinavat fiddler