The town of Sheffield, Yorkshire, has been an industrial center in
northern England for centuries, historically famous for its knives
and edged tools.
This has been recorded by the Boys of the Lough and many others. The Skirtlifters play an almost identical tune called "Fred Wilson's Clog" on their album Wait for the Wagon. According to their notes, it was printed under "Fred Wilson's Clog" in 1860, as "The Empire Clog" in 1868 and as "The Clog Hornpipe" in 1883. I learned this from Robin Williamson's English, Welsh, Scottish and Irish Fiddle Tunes (1976). I play this tune in a medley with: "Boys of Blue Hill" and "John Ryan's Polka" in the Irish section "Come Dance and Sing" and "Green Willis" in the Tunes section. |