Going to the Well for Water

Slide, D, Traditional Irish
Also known as Denis Murphy’s; The Kaiser

A bouncy Irish slide. The illustration comes from a children’s book, Jack and Jill and Old Dame Gill, published in 1806.

Recordings

• Audio – Comhaltas: Going to the Well for Water – session recording from the album Foinn Seisiún Volume 2
• Video – Dulahan Ireland: Going to the Well for Water – played on fiddle with guitar
• Audio – Mossie Martin: Slides: Cathleen Hehir’s / Going to the Well for Water – from the album The Humours of Derrynacoosan, 2019, Sligo, Ireland. (Going to the Well for Water starts at time 2:04 in this recording.)

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.

Sets

Examples of sets that include this tune.

• Quaker’s Water Slide Set: Merrily Kissed the Quaker (G) / Going to the Well for Water (D) / The Star above the Garter (G)

References and Resources

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

• More Recordings
  • Video – Stockton’s Wing: Bill Harte’s, Going To The Well For Water (Jig & Slide) – from the album Take a Chance. (Going to the Well for Water starts at time 1:00 in this recording.)
  • Audio – Stephen Ducke (Tradschool): Going to the Well for Water – played on tin whistle. From the book Irish Music – 400 Traditional Tunes
• Books
  • Book – Foinn Seisiún, Volume 2 — Published by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann
  • Book & Audio – Stephen Ducke: Irish Music – 400 Traditional Tunes
• Additional Resources
  • Webpage – The Session: Going To The Well For Water – crowdsourced sheet music, comments and more