The Pool Song brought Mick Hanly's 'The Scourge of the Nation' to mind. More because of the subject matter, more deadly than darts and worse than the pool..., than for it being a dance tune perhaps : here

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My brain hurts

If it's Shakespeare you want, there's always Oor Hamlet by Adam McNaughton.

Thanks for the suggestions of tunes, Mr. Gumby.

As simple as it is, I don't know a great way to find the songs/lyrics that have been set to dance tunes. If I google for them, it is somewhat unreliable. I sometimes get information about the tune setting, but that isn't reliable. The other part of the time, I just find airs or just instrumentals. So hearing people's recommendations of singable tunes is helpful.

It seems worth admitting that I am a noob as it comes to Irish Traditional music. That is to say, I've been under-exposed to ITM.

I wasn't, and am still not, completely sure what it is you're after. In my own mind I separate songs that happen to be set to an air that is also used as a dance tune separate from the tunes that are danced to. To take the example of 'King Lear', it's a song not something anyone would dance to, even while it's set to a wellknown jig. And same for some of the others I mentioned. I am still not sure you're not looking for something to sing that people will dance to, something that will happen in for example old time music but not so much in Irish music (other than perhaps an old time waltz but I am not sure you're looking for the likes of 'Moonlight in Mayo' either).

There are some little ditties like Bess Cronin's 'Cold potatoes' (that Séamus Ennis used) which is set to part of the tune of 'Scattery Island' or the one the Chieftains did 'If I had a wife..', 'Auntie Mary had a canary' and things like that. And there's perhaps the more novelty like songs like 'When I was young, I was Merry and Frisky, My dad kept a pig and my mother sold whiskey..' to the Irish Washerwoman.

And there's this : Mo Dha Gabharin Bhui Not sure about it's credentials as a dance tune but it's lovely so there you go.

There's all that but again, really depends on the way you want to use the songs you're looking for.

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Mo Dha Gabharin Bhui (I have two yellow goats) is a great polka, but like many songs that are also tune melodies, the song stretches the phrasing and you wouldn't play it the same way as you'd sing it.

The Kerry Cow and You Broke My Cups and Saucers have a short couple of lines each, which Bobby Gardiner included to great effect on one of his recordings.

I was thinking of Lizzie Crotty and Micho's versions, which aren't far from what is sung.

You can trust Bobby Gardiner to have the odd line or two, he's a gas man.

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Oh, thanks for clarifying the ambiguity.

I am looking for songs to sing that are reels, jigs, hornpipes, etc. By "Dance tunes" I was hoping to exclude aires.

For example... I had not known until recently that "Whiskey before Breakfast" had lyrics. So for me it would be an example of a singable dance tune since the vocals are optional.

Arguably any melody carrying words is an air but I know what you are saying.


And, matter of wood and trees, you can look at Paddy O'Rafferty and Brian O'Lynn as well

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My brain hurts

How about that? Invitation to a funeral, sung to the tune of "The Teatotaller":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GbXX8wmcWg
Another version here: https://www.itma.ie/digital-library/sou ... nbar_boyle

Just remembered this. For whatever it's worth. https://youtu.be/SuDuvbDFdis

That is definitely worth something. Thanks for sharing it.