How to Play "DADGAD" (Slipjigs & Reels) - Part 0

1st of a series of videos on playing in "DADGAD" tuning. Before the tutorials - the 1st song.... "The Slipjigs & Reels" written by Steve Tilston. A cautionary tale of Irish/American migration in the 19th Century involving an adventurous but reckless young man, a fancy old waistcoat, and a 10 Shilling note....

He was barely a man in his grandfather's coat
Sewn into the lining, a ten-shilling note
Goodbye to the family, goodbye to the shore
Till I taste good fortune, you'll see me no more


A boat on the ocean tossed like a cork
Then one fine morning they sighted New York
He stood on the gangplank and breathed in the air
"Hello land of plenty, I've come for my share"

{Refrain}
And he did like the ladies, the rise and the fall
Of their ankles and dresses, down on the dance floor
And rolling the dice and spinning the wheels
But he took most delight in the slipjigs and reels

There's talk of a pistol, some say a knife
But all are agreed there was somebody's wife
Some kind of commotion, then a terrible fight
He left a man dead and ran into the night

A train to St. Louis, just one jump ahead
He slept one eye open, with a six-gun in bed
He dreamt of the mountains and the green fields of home
While crossing the plains where the buffalo roam

{Refrain}

Now a bad reputation is a hard thing to bear
Mothers pour scorn and young children they stare
But he found consolation in flash company
Hey life ain't so bad with a girl on your knee

Oh, they called him the Kid, and by twenty-one
All that he knew was the power of the gun
And by twenty-three, he'd shot five men down
Who got in his way as he rambled around

{Refrain}

There's bones on the desert and buzzards that fly
In the highest of circles, just wishing he'd die
But in matters of cruelty, it must be said
Landlords will pick your bones before you're dead

It was wild mescaleros, I heard people say
In the deadliest ambush near old Santa Fe
Where a young buck was taken, dressed in a coat
Sewn into the lining was a ten-shilling note

{Refrain twice}

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• DADGAD;
• Slip
• Jigs;
• Reels;
• Irish
• American
• migration;
• Santa
• Fe
• Trail;
• Billy
• the
• Kid;
• Wyatt
• Earp;
• OK
• Coral;
• Roulette;
• Poker;
• Dice

[RockChick1st]

found this while looking for guitar lessons, lovely song, well played and sung my friend. I have to ask (and therefore look totally dim), but what are slip jigs and reels? The rest of the song makes perfect sense!!!

[Lowdenjim]

@RockChick1st Slip jig refers to both a style within Irish music, and the Irish dance to music in slip-jig time. The slip jig is in 9/8 time, traditionally with accents on 5 of the 9 beats — two pairs of crotchet/quaver (quarter note/eighth note) followed by a dotted crotchet note.

The slip jig is one of four most common Irish stepdances, the others being the reel, the jig and the hornpipe. I think that traditionally, they were danced only by ladies.

[Anildinho82]

Absolutely beautiful, mate. Both voice and guitar. Joy to listen to. Well done :-)

[Lowdenjim]

@Anildinho82 Thanks for listening!

[Dave001952]

Bravo Jim!

[Lowdenjim]

Cheers Dave!

[RockChick1st]

@Lowdenjim ah thank you kindly sir

[rrrrockin]

beauty rockon man ...love it 

[SiNicholls]

A great song well played and sung. Thanks.

Just one thing. I really don't understand why you make the assumption that it is a song about Irish/American immigration in your introduction? It is sung in English, written in English by an Englishman. Has it occured to you you that it might be about one of the 100's of thousands of English immigrants in America?

[Lowdenjim]

Cheers Tony - I might just give it a go