Sheet Music: The Banks of Inverness

TitleThe Banks of Inverness
Alternate titlesThe Croppies' March
The Croppies' Retreat
The Lark's Nest
Freedom for Ireland
ComposerTraditional Scottish
Also attributed toTraditional Irish
InstrumentationFlute solo
KeyD major
RangeF#4–D6
Time signature2/2
Tempo92 BPM
Performance time1:05
Difficulty leveleasy
Download printable scorePDF Sheet Music (47 kB) (preview)
Download audio tracksMIDI (change tempo/key) MP3 (518 kB)
Date added2020-10-14
Last updated2020-10-14
Download popularity index☆☆☆☆☆ 0.2 (relatively unpopular)
Categories
Polkas, Reels, Strathspeys, Traditional/Folk

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Wednesday 14 October 2020

Tune of the Day: The Banks of Inverness

Traditional Scottish/Irish tune

This melody is a popular polka in Ireland, but due to the word “Inverness” in the title it is thought to have Scottish origins (perhaps derived from a strathspey), and O'Farrell (c. 1806) gives the provenance as “Scotch”.

The tune is better known in Ireland under the title “The Croppies' March”. The term “Croppy” grew from the custom of the English and Scotch reformers in 1795, who cut their hair short. The same custom was adopted by the reformers in Ireland; and hence all those who wore their hair short were denominated “Croppies”, and were the marked objects of government vengeance. In truth, clipped hair constituted secondary evidence of treason, and was sufficient to cause the arrest and ill treatment of any person daring enough to adopt it.