Sheet Music: The Bunch of Roses

TitleThe Bunch of Roses
Alternate titlesGreensleeves Jig
I'm a Silly Old Man
The Bunch of Currants
The Basket of Oysters
ComposerTraditional Irish
InstrumentationFlute solo
KeyG minor
RangeD4–A5
Time signature6/8
Tempo100 BPM
Performance time0:40
Difficulty leveleasy
Download printable scorePDF Sheet Music (47 kB) (preview)
Download audio tracksMIDI (change tempo/key) MP3 (325 kB)
Date added2026-03-13
Last updated2026-03-13
Download popularity indexnot yet available
Categories
Jigs, Traditional/Folk

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Friday 13 March 2026

Tune of the Day: The Bunch of Roses

Traditional Irish jig

This variant of the famous “Greensleeves” tune is taken from Francis O'Neill's collection The Dance Music of Ireland (Chicago, 1907). Its title was a common name for the red-coated British Army (which always had a large number of Irish conscripts), but also refers symbolically to the union of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland.

Under the title “The Bunch of Currants”, a very similar tune had previously appeared in R.M. Levey's First Collection of the Dance Music of Ireland (1858).

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