Jimmy Allan - again

[Matt Seattle]

For reasons unimportant here, I found our old friend in a Jimmy Shand medley
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCptMS8IZvA
It appears to be called "I Wish I Were Married"
Whether it predates Iain Powrie's "Reel Of Tullochgorum" I don't know.

I note that Barry elsewhere is of the opinion that the tune is not great on NSP - I find this surprising considering how often it is played. Anyway, whatever its (now dubious) pedigree, it plays fine on the Border pipes and is good for practising the octave jump from B to b.

[John Gibbons]

I don't know why Barry doesn't like it, but it is rather chunky and square, compared to say 'The Herd on the Hill'.
Much less scope for ornamentation, too.
A good tune for learners as it goes (just) beyond the octave, and this probably accounts for its popularity in sessions.
But popularity in sessions is not a measure of appropriateness -
eg Winster Galop is not a great Northumbrian pipe tune either, or even a pipe tune at all; nor is it Northumbrian (either?).

The top a (b on BP) in Jimmy Allen marks it out as either modern or foreign to the NSP tradition - it would be nice to track down the prehistory of this tune beyond Ian Powrie and Jimmy Shand, but it seems to be from well north of the Border.

There is a well established tradition of Northumbrianising tune titles to disguise their origins.
Jack Armstrong had to play Northumbrian music for the beeb, and this is one way he did it.

John

[Julia Say]

Just checked Gore for "I wish I were married (and "Wish I were married, I"- just in case) and came up blank.

And the codes 3131 4243.

But you probably knew that.

Julia

[Matt Seattle]

There is a well established tradition of Northumbrianising tune titles to disguise their origins.
Jack Armstrong had to play Northumbrian music for the beeb, and this is one way he did it.

It's kind of 'in the spirit of the Border' to nick tunes from ones neighbour, and his name was Armstrong. 'Cuckold' is a great example, and in that case there are many who might agree that the Northumbrian version is both distinctive enough and of sufficient quality to say that it found a better home. The amusing thing about 'Jimmy Allan' is that it fooled so many for so long, self included.