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Tune The Blackbird

Also known as:

  • Queen of The Earth and Child of the Skies

This tune is so amorphous, it's hard to write down because there are just so many different things to do. When John Carty plays it, it's almost unrecognisable at times from the sheer exuberance of his variations and as for Tommy Potts' version, I'm not even completely sure it's the same tune. I've chosen to write it here without repeats so as to include a couple of different ideas. It's not just an Irish tune, you'll hear versions of it from all around these islands, and there's even an American version called "Queen of The Earth and Child of the Skies".

This tune appears in this collection: Lewes 2026

Trad arr. ©2026 Ben Paley

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Recordings:

  • Edden Hammons, "The Edden Hammons Collection", 1999 (as "Queen of The Earth and Child of the Skies")
  • Seán Ryan and P.J.Moloney, "Traditional Music of Ireland Vol.1", 1960
  • Seán Ryan and Peter Carberry, "Traditional Music of Ireland Vol.2", 1960
  • Tommy Potts, "The Liffey Banks", 1971
  • Finbar and Eddie Furey, "The Dawning of the Day", 1972
  • John Carty, "Yeh, That's All It Is", 2005
  • The Expatriate Game, "Traditional Irish & American Music", 2005

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