The Merry Blacksmith

Traditional Irish Reel, D
TrailJams Tune of the Week: October 7, 2021; August 9, 2026

With its cheerful strut, The Merry Blacksmith is a lively, satisfying reel to have in your trad Irish repertoire.

Nifty Mnemonic: Each part of the tune starts with two ringing high notes, like a double-tap of a blacksmith’s hammer. Use that to remember how to start the tune.

The Merry Blacksmith is a very popular Irish session reel, but the tune has also found a home in old-time music and contra dance. It has circulated under numerous titles: Michael Coleman recorded a related version in 1921 as The Boys of the Lough, while Missouri fiddlers knew it as Emminence Breakdown, named for the town of Eminence, Missouri. Its travels between Irish and American traditions make it a particularly useful addition to a musician’s repertoire.

Recordings

• Audio – Olympia Traditional Music Sessions: The Merry Blacksmith, Mountain Road from the album Round Tower. (Olympia, Washington, USA.)
• Video – John Redmond (accordion) + Matt Stapleton (guitar): Virtual Irish Music Session #50, The Merry Blacksmith / Sporting Paddy / Speed The Plough (reels)

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

Here are some examples of sets that include The Merry Blacksmith

• Mettle & Mirth Reel Set: The Musical Priest (Bm)  / The Merry Blacksmith (D) / The Boys of Malin (A)
• The Merry Blacksmith Reel Set: The Merry Blacksmith (D) / Drowsy Maggie (E Dorian) / The Wind that Shakes the Barley (D)
• The Merry Blacksmith (D) / The Wind that Shakes the Barley (D) / Rolling in the Ryegrass (D)
• The Merry Blacksmith (D) / The Mountain Road (D)
• The Merry Blacksmith (D) / Sporting Paddy (A Dorian) / Speed The Plough (D)

References and Resources

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

• More Recordings
  • Audio – John Weed and Stuart Mason: The Merry Blacksmith – played slowly on fiddle with guitar. From the album Slow & Easy Volume 1 (San Luis Obispo, California)
• Books
  • Book & audio – Complete Irish Fiddle Player, by Peter Cooper (Mel Bay Publications. With downloadable audio.)
  • Book & audio – Irish Music 400 Traditional Tunes, by Stephen Ducke (With audio CD)
  • Book – John Weed and Stuart Mason: Slow & Easy Volumes 1 and 2
  • Book & audio – Old-Time Favorites for Fiddle and Mandolin, by Dan Levenson (Mel Bay Publications. With downloadable audio. Also see clawdan.com.)
• Lessons
  • Lesson – Red Desert Fiddle: Fiddle Tune a Week: Merry Blacksmith slow (Instructional video. Also see reddesertviolin.com.)
  • Lesson – Red Desert Fiddle: Fiddle Tune a Week: Merry Blacksmith medium (Instructional video. Also see reddesertviolin.com.)
  • Lesson – Tom Morley: Learn an Irish Trad Fiddle Tune – The Merry Blacksmith (Instructional video. Also see irishtradfiddle.com.)
  • Lesson – Aodan Coyne (DADGAD): The Merry Blacksmith Irish Guitar Tutorial (DADGAD Tuning) – video tutorial for DADGAD guitar
• Additional Resources
  • Article – Dan Levenson: The Merry Blacksmith. From: Banjo Newsletter, the 5-String Banjo Magazine. With an audio track of John Hartford playing the tune on fiddle as “Eminence Breakdown,” and another track with Dan Levenson playing it on five-string banjo.