Here's another Irish polka. This one is also a song & it took a 4th grade teacher to inform me of its identity. The Rattlin' Bog is a round song that appears in many elementary school music books in the United States. Most of those books indicate its Irish origins and indeed I learned its melody from the cd cited in my April 2007 column, Set Dances of Cork and Kerry. That issue can be found here:
http://www.melbay.com/mandolinsessions/apr07/Gregory.html
I'm sure you'll find it very easy to play and that it goes well both before and after the other polka, Tripping to the Well. To support that, I've recorded the accompanying mp3 to so indicate. If you're interested in the words, do an Internet search for the title and you'll find many versions. On YouTube,you might be able to find several interesting performances, such as this one:
It has been gratifying to hear from the visitors of these columns and I hope to be able to continue writing it for many years. As usual, you can reach me at michael.gregory@und.nodak.edu. Your requests and comments are always welcome.
