The Rambling Pitchfork

Jig, D, Traditional Irish
TrailJams Tune of the Week: April 9, 2024; September 8, 2024; January 11, 2026

A frolicsome Irish jig named for a working farmhand.

What is a “rambling pitchfork”? — In eighteenth- and nineteenth-century rural Ireland, many farm workers had no land of their own and earned a living by moving from farm to farm as seasonal laborers. These itinerant workers were hired when extra hands were needed for planting, haymaking, or harvest, with the pitchfork serving as a symbol of basic, indispensable farm work. The term reflects a common working-class reality rather than a comic or fanciful image.

Recordings

• Video – Comhaltas: The Rambling Pitchfork – session recording. From the album Foinn Seisiún Volume 1
• Video – Kevin Burke & Ged Foley: The Rambling Pitchfork – played on fiddle with guitar backing. From the album In Tandem. (The Rambling Pitchfork, in D Major, begins at time 2:47 in this recording.)
• Audio – Stephen Ducke: The Rambling Pitchfork (Jig) – played on tin whistle. From the book Irish Music – 400 Traditional Tunes.

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.

• Tatter Jack’s Jig Set: Tatter Jack Walsh (D Mixolydian) / The Rambling Pitchfork (D) / Willie Coleman’s (G)
• Rambling Rogue Jig Set: The Rambling Pitchfork (D) / The Black Rogue (D) / The Blackthorn Stick (G)
• Jerry’s Beaver Hat / Kesh / Rambling Pitchfork
• Tatter Jack Walsh / The Rambling Pitchfork
• The Rambling Pitchfork / The Sporting Pitchfork
• Connaughtman’s Rambles / The Rambling Pitchfork

References and Resources

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

• More Recordings
  • Video – Shannon & Matt Heaton: Sept 26 Virtual Guided (Slow) Session – The Rambling Pitchfork – played on flute with bouzouki accompaniment. (The Rambling Pitchfork starts at time 27:00 in this video.)
  • Video – Séamus Egan: Tatter Jack Walsh / The Rambling Pitchfork – played on tenor banjo & harmonica. From the album In Your Ear. (Portland, Oregon, USA. The Rambling Pitchfork starts at time 1:29 in this recording.)
  • Video – Chris Smith: The Rambling and Sporting Pitchforks – from the album Coyotebanjo, Irish Traditional Music from America, Chris Smith with Roger Landes and Randal Bays. Played on tenor banjo and fiddle with bouzouki backing.
  • Audio – Castlerock: – Jig: Rambling Pitchfork – played slowly on flute and fiddle. From the album Slowplayers: Session Tunes volume 1. (Castlerock is William Bajzek and Angeline LeLeux, Mt. Vernon, Washington, USA)
  • Video – Shane Farrell: The Rambling Pitchfork Jig. Irish Tenor Banjo Music – played on tenor banjo, with variations.
• Books
  • Book – The Portland Collection, Contra Dance Music in the Pacific Northwest, Volume 2, by Susan Songer with Clyde Curley.
  • Book – Foinn Seisiún, Volume 1 — Published by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann
  • Book & Audio – Grey Larsen: 150 Gems of Irish Music for Tin Whistle – with audio tracks of the tunes played on tin whistle
  • Book & Audio – Stephen Ducke: Irish Music 400 Traditional Tunes – with audio tracks of the tunes played on tin whistle
• Lessons
  • Lesson – Pat Barton: How to play ‘The Rambling Pitchfork’ – jig on Irish b/c Accordion – demonstration video of the tune played slowly on button accordion
  • Lessons – Online Academy of Irish Music: The Rambling Pitchfork – lessons for fiddle and flute. (Requires subscription to OAIM.)
  • Lesson – James Finnegan (The Banjo Buddy): The Rambling Pitchfork & Right Hand Technique – Traditional Irish Music Tutorial – tenor banjo lesson
  • Lesson – Niall Murphy (Fiddlevideo): The Rambling Pitchfork (Jig) – Trad Irish Fiddle Lesson – video lesson & sheet music. (Requires a subscription to Fiddlevideo.)
• Additional Resources
  • Webpage – The Session: The Rambling Pitchfork (Jig) – crowdsourced sheet music, comments, and other information about the tune
  • Webpage – Slowplayers: The Rambling Pitchfork (D) – background information, audio tracks, and sheet music for the tune