Saturday 4 December 2021
Tune of the Day: Paddy Whack
Traditional Irish jig
This popular tune has been often published from the later 18th century on in both fiddle and fife collections. Its oldest known appearance is in Rutherford's Compleat Collection of 200 of the Most Celebrated Country Dances, published around 1756. Some later publications have called it “Paddy O'Whack”. The title is from a song by the same name, the chorus of which goes:
Di du mack whack,
And where are ye from?
The town of Ballyhack
Where seven praties weight a ton.
Several other songs have been set to the air, including “Villikins and His Dinah” and the American “Sweet Betsy from Pike”.