John Ryan’s Polka

Polka, D, Traditional Irish
Also known as: Sean Ryan’s Polka; Armagh

John Ryan’s Polka is an exuberant tune that is fun to play, and even more fun to play fast. It’s also relatively easy to learn, which makes it a favorite among beginning and experienced players alike. Because of its distinct two-note motif in the A part, it’s sometimes teasingly nicknamed “The Dum-Dum Polka” or “The Dang-Dang Polka.”

The tune reached a worldwide audience in 1974 through Planxty’s album Cold Blow and the Rainy Night. It gained even broader fame two decades later, when it appeared in the 1997 film Titanic, performed by the band Gaelic Storm in the lively “Irish Party in Third Class” scene. Today, John Ryan’s Polka is one of those tunes that “everybody” in the Irish session world seems to know — though a few might admit they’ve played (and heard) it more times than they’d like!

Recordings

• Video – Planxty: Polkas – Dennis Murphy’s Polka / The 42 Pound Cheque (and John Ryan’s Polka) – from the album Cold Blow And The Rainy Night (1974). (The tune John Ryan’s Polka is not listed in the track title. It starts at time 2:01 in this recording.)
• Video – Gaelic Storm: Hills Of Connemara (with John Ryan’s Polka) – from the album Gaelic Storm. Though it’s not listed on the album, the track opens with John Ryan’s Polka.

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.

• Little Britches Polka Set: Britches full of Stitches (G) / Britches full of Stitches (A) / John Ryan’s Polka (D)
• 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)
• Dennis Murphy’s Polka / John Ryan’s Polka

References and Resources

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

• More Recordings
  • Video – Gaelic Storm: An Irish Party in Third Class (includes “John Ryan’s Polka” and “Blarney Pilgrim”) – From “Titanic” Soundtrack, performed by Gaelic Storm; conducted by James Horner. (John Ryan’s Polka starts at time 1:32 in this recording.)
  • Audio – John Weed and Stuart Mason: John Ryan’s – from the album Slow & Easy Volume 1 by John Weed and Stuart Mason
• Books
  • Book – Slow & Easy: 50 Irish Tunes by Mason and Weed – Book comes with 50 downloadable tracks (2 albums) of tunes played well and slowly on fiddle and DADGAD guitar.
  • Book & Audio – Tom Morley: Learn to Play Irish Trad Fiddle
• Lessons
  • Lesson – Chris Haigh (The Fiddle Channel) John Ryan’s Polka (Fiddle lesson) – video lesson, demonstrating the tune, ornamentation, and bowing. Sheet music is shown in video and available by subscription to The Fiddle Channel (Patreon).
  • Lesson – Hatao (hatao’s Irish tune of the day): 095 John Ryan’s Polka (Polka, D Ionian) – video lesson. Tune played on flute with on-screen sheet music.
• Additional Resources
  • Web page: The Session: John Ryan’s (Polka) – crowdsourced sheet music, comments and more.
  • Web page: irishtune.info: John Ryan’s Polka – archival information about the tune, curated by Alan Ng