Jacky Tar

Hornpipe, Em, Traditional
Also known as: Jackie Tar; McGivney’s Fancy
TrailJams Tune of the Week for September 30, 2021; September 17, 2023

A traditional Irish hornpipe, Jacky Tar is a sailor’s dance tune with a sailor’s name.

The tune has a lot of similarity to the tune The Cuckoo’s Nest, and it sometimes goes by that name. For accompanying contra dance, the tune is played at a faster tempo and with less of the distinctive hornpipe swing (in other words, it is played more like a reel). Jacky Tar or Jack Tar is an old nickname for sailors on wooden ships, where the sailor’s hands and clothes would be stained from the tar used on the ships. A hornpipe is traditionally a sailors dance, perhaps because it can be danced by one person in a small space.

Recordings

• Audio – Sligo Rags: Jackie Tarr / Harvest Home / Banish Misfortune – from the album The Night Before the Morning After (Los Angeles, California)
• Video – Elan Chalford: Jackie Tar Hornpipe – played on solo fiddle
• Video – Concertinette: JackieTar / McGivney’s hornpipes – played on solo Anglo concertina

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.

Sets

Examples of sets that include this tune.

• Jacky Tar Hornpipe Set: Off to California (G) / Jacky Tar (Em)
• Jacky Tar / The Rights of Man
• Chief O’Neill’s Favourite / Jacky Tar / The Plains Of Boyle

References and Resources

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

• More Recordings
  • Audio – Olympia Traditional Music Sessions: Round the Horn, Jacky Tarr – session recording from the album Round Tower. (Olympia, Washington, USA. Jacky Tar starts at time 1:48 in this recording.)
  • Video – George Penk, Clyde Curley, and Susan Songer: Miss Gayton’s Hornpipe/Jacky Tar/Miss Thompson’s. From the album A Portland Selection 2: Contra Dance Music in the Pacific Northwest. (This version, for contra dance, is played at a faster-than-hornpipe tempo.)
  • Video – Michael Kelly: The “Jackie Tar” Hornpipe Set – Michael Kelly, fiddle
  • Video – Dale Russ: Jackie Tar and The Stack of Barley
• Books
  • Book – Complete Irish Fiddle Player, by Peter Cooper (Mel Bay Publications)
  • Book – The Portland Collection Volume 2
• Additional Resources
  • Webpage – The Session: Jacky Tar (Hornpipe) – crowdsourced sheet music, comments, and more