Wednesday 6 April 2022
Tune of the Day: The Joy of My Life
Traditional Irish jig
The earliest known appearance of this jig is in Francis O'Neill's celebrated collection Music of Ireland, published in Chicago in 1903. O'Neill found this as an unnamed and unpublished tune, and said it was a favorite with his contemporary Chicago musicians Delaney, Early and McFadden. In Irish Folk Music he writes: “A German bandmaster from Troy, New York, was so pleased with its rhythm that it fills a favorite place in his repertoire. To impress a German leader favorably is high honor indeed for an Irish jig.”