I Buried My Wife And Danced On Her Grave (2024)

Jeremy posted a version of this ages ago, although to me it was closer to Frieze Britches, a related but disinct tune.

The version I go by is in D major, and has been widely recorded, notably by Martin Hayes.

In Josh’s post here, I’m assuming those C’s are meant to be little c’s?

I’m concerned that we have several versions of this floating around on this site, but one is actually Frieze Britches, a similar but different tune, and the other (I Buried My Wife and Danced on Top of Her) matches no version I’ve ever heard.

Which left us without a session-able version--one that would likely fit in with what’s more commonly played under this name at sessions here and beyond. I think one of this site’s strengths is as a source of widely played versions of tunes. Learn them, and you can sit in at sessions everywhere. So I’ve posted that more common version here.

This is based on Martin Hayes’ playing on his early self-titled cd. He also sometimes playes it sharping the c’s in the B Part for a more major (less modal) feel. You can put rolls on those GFG’s in the A Part, and don’t be afraid to slide into that F in measures 1 and 5 of Part A.

Hope this doesn’t ruffle anyone’s hackles….
Will

This setting comes from “Smoke In Your Eyes - A Complilation of Irish Tunes Played at Seattle Sessions” as collected by Caoimhin Gaimh.

It’s not surprising that Josh and I have the same setting for this tune as we both share the same teacher, Skip Healy (www.skiphealy.com), who is a good friend of Caoimhin and spends a lot of time out there at various tionols and trad events.

I don’t know if this makes this setting more or less legitimate, but that’s where it comes from.

Take care,
John Harvey
http://www.rhodeirish.net

We play this as follows, in Dmix (F sharps, c naturals), although sometimes we do the |dcA dcA| phrase in the B part with c sharps because one of our local fiddlers learned it that way from Martin Hayes at a Valley of the Moon workshop.

X: 1
T: I Buried My Wife And Danced On Her Grave
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
R: jig
K: Dmix
DED F2 G|AdB cAF|~ G3 BAG|FAF GEA|
DED F2 G|AdB cAF|GFG BAG|1 AFD D2 E :|2 AFD DFA||
d2 e fed|faf gfe|d2 e fed|dcA dcA|
d2 e fed|f/g/af gfe|d2 A BAG|1 AFD DFA :|2 AFD D2 E||

Key signature: D minor
Submitted on November 17th 2001 by Josh Kane.
https://thesession.org/tunes/381

Key signature: D major
Submitted on November 18th 2001 by Will Harmon.
https://thesession.org/tunes/383

Key signature: D Major
Submitted on November 18th 2001 by Will Harmon.
https://thesession.org/tunes/383

Key signature: G Major
Submitted on August 29th 2003 by dafydd.
https://thesession.org/tunes/3121

Key signature: D minor
Submitted on November 17th 2001 by Josh Kane.
https://thesession.org/tunes/381

Key signature: G Major
Submitted on August 29th 2003 by dafydd.
https://thesession.org/tunes/3121

i was at a workshop for singing in urm…….. what did you call that place…..? i’ll get back to you on that……

anyway, we learnt a song called “cunnla dear” the tune was exactly the same to the this tune…. has anyone any info on that…

it went
“who’s that there who’s knocking the ditches down?”

GOT IT !

MAGHERY, CO. SUMTHING NI NORTHEN IRELAND

PHEW, THE RELIEF!

Cunla - not this tune. A related, but distinct one: Frieze Britches:-

https://thesession.org/tunes/34

I found a very nice set of 3 jigs on youtube by Mick Maloney and friends.

I Buried My Wife And Danced On Her Grave
The Rambling Pitch Fork
The Hag at the Churn
Listen Here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzz7g5dTb7k

The last 2 tunes are as expected, the first is totally different from any version of the Buried Wife I’ve heard or could find.

I wrote it out as best I could. If anyone knows of another name for it that would be nice.

X: 1
T: I Buried My Wife And Danced On Her Grave
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
Q: 1/4=180
K: G
Bc \
|: dge fdc | B2B cAF | GGG ABA | GFG ABc \
| dge fdc | BAB cAF | GGG ABA | GAF GBc :|
|: d2B cBA | BdB cAF | GFG ABA | GFG ABc \
| dcB cBA | B/c/dB cAF | GGG ABA | GAF GBc :|

Sure enough, Thanks so much. And, you’re quite correct - he didn’t mention it as a tune they would play, but simply that it was a favorite silly name for a tune they had played before.

The reason I concluded that it was Danced on Her Grave was that about 2 seconds before they begin playing the fiddler on the end says “I danced on her” - or so I believe after listening to it several times - I really wanted know the name that tune! 🙂

Again, thanks very much.

From the playing of Magical Strings.

First tune of their “The Gypsy Jigs” set.