Song Description

A leisurely stroll through four traditional hornpipes, played on concertina and guitar by the duo ROUTES. I learned the first two from fiddler Peter Dossin. He doesn't know their names, so neither do I. They may be Irish. Parts of the second one sound very like parts of The Belfast Hornpipe. Any information welcome. The third one is our none-too-savage take on The Savage Hornpipe, which is probably English though sometimes claimed for Ireland. We end up with The Trumpet Hornpipe, played across the world since at least the nineteenth century. It may have originated in America, where it's sometimes called The Thunder Hornpipe. These days, it's also known as Captain Pugwash, as it was the theme tune for the cartoon series starring the eponymous Cap'n and his blundering buccaneers. Each cartoon shows Tom the Cabin Boy playing the tune on a concertina. Quite some feat as (a) Tom and his hearties must have been dead and buried at the spot marked X on the parchment long before the concertina was invented and (b) the theme tune was played on a piano accordion. But thanks to Tom, everyone now expects concertina players to unbuckle their swashes and get down to playing this one. Which is most unfair and not at all conducive to health and safety.