OK, what's the deal with Down the Broom (the reel)?

[Azalin]

There's something I've ever wanted to know and never dared to ask. There seems to be two different 'version' of Down the Broom, at least a different end to the second or third phrase in the second part. Some people will play it the way I've been taught, and some other people will play it the way you'd play it in Bag of Spuds, so going down to through C and below. It's as if someone borrowed the phrase from Bag of Spuds and put it in Down the Broom. Can anyone enlighten me on this? Thanks

[monkey587]

Yeah. I think the bag of spuds people are just wrong.

[BrendanB]

Don't know if this helps, but there is a Fermanagh version of Down the Broom that some folks play that might be what you are hearing. The turnaround in the first part is different and the b part is rearranged and maybe sounds a little bit like the bag of spuds. I think Cathal McConnell recorded it somewhere if you want to take a look.

Brendan

[StevieJ]

Yeah. I think the bag of spuds people are just wrong.

Ditto. The way I seem to have the tune, it's C-less and pretty well F-less too. It seems a shame to mash it up with the obtrusive spud C. The first person I heard doing so was Manus McGuire and it gave me a jolt.

[Azalin]

Personally, there's another reason why I hate it. It's because I think it's the nicest part of Bag of Spuds. Now, to borrow it and put it in Down the Broom, yerk!!!!