Britches full of Stitches

Polka, G and A, traditional Irish
Also known as: Oh! The Britches Full of Stitches

Britches Full of Stitches is a lively, good-humored Irish polka. A fun tune to play, it’s often one of the first polkas that new players of traditional Irish music learn. The tune’s melody is easy to remember, because it fits the phrase “Oh, the britches full of stitches.” On this page, the tune is set in the keys of G major and A major, and it gives a nice burst of energy to first play the tune in G and then modulate up to A.

“Oh, me britches full of stitches, and me pockets full of holes,
I danced all night to the polka, till I wore out me soles!”

— Song verse, echoing oral tradition

Recordings

• Video – Comhaltas: Britches full of Stitches – Session recording of the tune played in G. From the album Foinn Seisiún 1: Traditional Irish Session Tunes, published by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann
• Video – Hermann Overholdt: Britches Full of Stitches (Polka)/Bill Sullivan’s Polka – Session recording, traditional Irish Music class in Sweden.

Sheet Music

As always for traditional tunes, the musical notation and chords do not indicate the “right” way to play the tune, but are a useful reference.

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Sets

Examples of sets that include this tune.

• Little Britches Polka Set: Britches full of Stitches (G) / Britches full of Stitches (A) / John Ryan’s Polka (D)
• Bill Sullivan’s / Britches full of Stitches
• Captain Bing / Mairi’s Wedding / Britches full of Stitches (G) / Britches full of Stitches (A) / John Ryan’s Polka
• Sean Ryan’s Polka / Britches full of Stitches (A)

References and Resources

For those who want to dig deeper, here are some other resources.

• More Recordings
  • Audio – Stephen Ducke (Tradschool): The Britches Full of Stitches (Polka) – played in on tin whistle. (Played in the key of A on a D tin whistle.) From the book Irish Music – 400 Traditional Tunes
• Books
  • Book – Foinn Seisiún, Volume 1 — Published by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann. (The tune is in the key of G in this book.)
  • Book & Audio – Stephen Ducke: Irish Music – 400 Traditional Tunes (The tune is in the key of G in this book.)
• Lessons
  • Lesson – Liz Faiella: The Britches Full of Stitches, Irish Polka Fiddle Lesson – video lesson of the tune in A.
  • Lesson – Baron Collins-Hill (MandoLessons): The Britches Full Of Stitches (With Tabs & Play Along Tracks) – Mandolin Lesson – video lesson of the tune in A, with downloadable sheet music and play-along audio tracks.
  • Lesson – Shannon Heaton: Britches Full of Stitches [Polka] – Tune of the Month with Shannon Heaton – video lesson of the tune played in the keys of G, A, and D. Played on flute, with and without backing rhythm.
• Additional Resources
  • Web page – The Session: The Britches Full Of Stitches (polka) – crowdsourced sheet music, comments and more