Tune of the Week: Swinging on a Gate

This week I am putting together Cooley's Reel and Swinging on a Gate into a set.  Swinging on a Gate is a reel in G major.  It is not actually an Irish tune.  It was originated in the British Isles and New England.  Again, I couldn't find the exact version that I am playing, which is from the Fiddler's Fakebook, so I this one is a little different than mine.


 


In my version, at the beginning you have two pickup notes, an E and and F#, before that first G.  Also, in the third measure where there is a single G quarter note, I have two G quarter notes.  In the last measure of the first line I also play a dotted quarter note instead of the four eighth notes.
In the B part, first measure, I have again an E and a F# pick up notes, and instead of the dotted quarter G I have a G, F#, G, eights notes.  And, again the end it is a quarter note G instead of the last three eight notes.
I honestly don't know how helpful that all was, but you can play it which ever way you like.  

Well, now that I look at all that, it almost doesn't seem like its the same tune at all, but I guess its the same general idea.  I always thought if I was ever good enough to do a CD recording, I would call it "Swinging on a Gate" and have the front cover a picture of me holding my fiddle sitting on my chicken coop picket fence gate.  That's really more of a day dream than reality though.  :)  But, then again, who knows, maybe one day....


Here is a video of Swinging on a Gate...  This must be a popular Dulcimer tune because a lot of the videos all have Dulcimers (or accordions... why?) anyway, so here is one that at least has one fiddle...  :)