I Buried My Wife and Danced on Her Grave

Jig, D Mixolydian, Traditional Irish
Also known as: I Buried My Wife and Danced on Top of Her

TrailJams Tune of the Week: I Buried my  Wife and Danced on Her Grave. Traditional Irish Jig. Play it together October 30, 2022. trailjams.org. Illustration copyright 2022 Jonathan Lay.

This traditional Irish jig has quite an extravagant name. The title is shocking, but the tune is sweet.

Recordings

Dots (Music Notation)

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. In this setting of the tune, the melody is in D Mixolydian all of the way through, meaning that it includes C natural but not C sharp. Some players like to switch to D Major in the second half of the tune, so the C notes change to C sharp. (For a brief and painless explanation of the difference between D Major and D Mixolydian, see the article Dorian, Mixolydian, Oh My: Modes in a Nutshell.)

Sheet music and chords for "I Buried My Wife and Danced on Her Grave." Traditional Irish jig in D Mixolydian. Arranged by Jonathan Lay 10/3/2022. trailjams.org

Play from the Dots
Slow tempo 70 bpm
Moderate tempo 90 bpm

Sets

Examples of sets that include this tune.

  • Shandon Bells / Father Kelly’s (Jig) / I Buried My Wife and Danced on Her Grave
  • Old Hag You Have Killed Me / I Buried My Wife and Danced on her Grave / Jimmy Ward’s Jig
  • I Buried My Wife and Danced on Her Grave / Petticoat Loose

References and Resources

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