Jig, D, traditional Irish
Also known as: Cailleach an Airgid
The Hag with the Money is a savory and striding Irish jig. As a tune, it flirts with the Mixolydian mode without making any commitment to it. As a song, firmly in the Mixolydian mode, it sings of a woman respected for her character, strength, and wealth.
The Hag with the Money is one of those Irish melodies that lives in more than one form: as a song, an air, and a double jig. As a jig, it is often played in D major, while related song and air versions tend to reveal more of the melody’s Mixolydian character. As a song, it is titled Cailleach an Airgid (“the hag/old woman of the money”) or sometimes ’Sí do Mhaimeo Í (“she is your granny”). The song melody is often heard with a Mixolydian character, which means that, in D Mixolydian, the C notes are sung or played as C-natural rather than C-sharp. A related air is known as I Was Born for Sport, a 3/8 pipe air.
If you are a bit hazy on the Mixolydian mode, see the article “Dorian, Mixolydian, Oh My: Modes in a Nutshell” for a brief and friendly explanation.
She’s your grandmother, she’s your grandmother
She’s your grandmother, the hag with the money
She’s your grandmother, the woman with silver and gold
And she’d ride in coaches on the roads of Cois Fharraige— translated verse from Cailleach an Airgid, from The Joe Heaney Archives
Recordings
- Video – Patrick Madden and Friends: Top of Cork Road or Father O’Flynn – Sliabh Russell – The Hag with the Money From the album Sounds of St Andrews. (The Hag with the Money starts at time 2:59 in this recording.)
- Video – Alan McCartney, Jason O’Rourke, Brendan O’Hare, Ray Gallen, Paul Bradley: Out On The Ocean / The Hag With The Money – from the album Traditional Irish Music From Belfast. (The Hag with the Money starts at time 1:32 in this recording.)
- Video – Craig Duncan: Hag With The Money / The Kerfunten (Medley) – from the album Irish Country Dance
- Video – Dan Compton & Fran Slefer: The Hag with the Money / Out on the Ocean – from the album Session at the Cottage
- Video – Na Connerys: Hag with the Money, Na Ceannabain Bana, Paidin O’ Rafferty – from the album Best of Irish Pub Music
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.
Sheet music and play-along tracks will be added here.
Sets
Examples of sets that include this tune.
- Out on the Ocean / The Hag with the Money
- The Hag with the Money / Old Hag you have Killed Me / The Hag at the Churn
- The Hag With The Money / The Kerfunten
- The Hag with the Money / Out on the Ocean / I Buried My Wife and Danced on Her Grave
References and Resources
For those who want to dig deeper, here are some other resources.
- More Recordings
- Video – Altan: Sí Do Mhaimeo Í – song, from the album Harvest Storm
- Books
- Book & audio – Grey Larsen: 300 Gems of Irish Music for All Instruments
- Book & Audio – Stephen Ducke: Irish Music – 400 Traditional Tunes (The tune is in the key of G in this book.)
- Lessons
- Lesson – Enda Scahill (Irish Banjo & Mandolin with Enda Scahill): The Hag With The Money – 3 Different Ways To Play This Jig – video, tenor banjo lesson
- Lesson – Hatao (hatao’s Irish tune of the day): – 217 The Hag with the Money (Double Jig, D Ionian)
- – video lesson. Tune played on flute with and without on-screen sheet music.
- Additional Resources
- Web page – The Session: The Hag with the Money – crowdsourced sheet music, comments, and more
- Web page – irishtune.info: Cailleach an Airgid – archival information about the tune, curated by Alan Ng
- Web page – Cartlanna Sheosaimh Uí Éanaí (The Joe Heaney Archives): Cailleach an Airgid – listen to Joe Heaney sing, lilt, and explain the song; lyrics in Irish and English (translation).
- Article – Jonathan Lay (TrailJams): Dorian, Mixolydian, Oh My: Modes in a Nutshell