Polka, G, Traditional Irish
Maggie in the Wood, a bright little gem of a tune, is among the most popular of traditional Irish polkas.
If I met Maggie in the wood
Maggie in the Wood, traditional verse
I would kiss her if I could
that’s the thing would do her good
and a cup of tay in the morning
Recordings
- Audio – Comhaltas: Maggie in the Wood – session recording. From the album Foinn Seisiún Volume 1
- Audio – Stephen Ducke (Tradschool): Maggie in the Woods (Polka) – played on tin whistle. From the book Irish Music – 400 Traditional Tunes.
- Video – Gemma Telfer: Maggie in the Woods – played on accordion. From the album Irish Folk Tunes for Accordion – 30 Traditional Pieces.
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.
Play from the Dots
Sets
Examples of sets that include this tune.
- Maggie in the Wood / Mairi’s Wedding
- Riding on a Load of Hay / Maggie in the Wood
- Maggie in the Wood / Egan’s Polka
- All the way to Galway / Maggie in the Wood
References and Resources
For those who want to dig deeper, here are some other resources.
- More Recordings
- Audio – Phoenix Folk resources: Maggie in the Wood, Mairi’s Wedding – from the album Phoenix Folk Playalong Series: Session Tunes 1 by Phoenix Folk resources (Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK
- Video – (Various Artists): Maggie In The Woods – tune with dance caller. From the album Choose Your Partners: Contra Dance and Square Dance Music of New Hampshire (Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, 1999).
- Books
- Book – Foinn Seisiún, Volume 1 — Published by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann.
- Book – Gary Coover: 75 Irish Session Tunes for Anglo Concertina (Rollston Press). One of a series of Anglo concertina tune books by this author. Available as a printed book a e-book.
- Book – Stephen Ducke: Irish Music 400 Traditional Tunes
- Additional Resources
- Webpage – The Session: Maggie in the Woods (Polka) – crowdsourced sheet music, comments, and more.
- Webpage – Slowplayers.org: Maggie in the Woods – notes, sheet music, play-along tracks and more.