Bill Sullivan’s Polka – Fiddle Tune a Day – Day 77

Bill Sullivan’s Polka (AKA Dennis Murphy’s Polka) is a tune I learned from Eric LeVine a long long time ago, but I hadn’t played it probably since junior high when Steve Eulberg reintroduced me to it. The A Part of Bill Sullivan’s Polka is pretty distinctive melodically, and the B Part reminds me of Boil the Cabbage Down.

Bill Sullivan’s Polka according to the Fiddler’s Companion

BILL SULLIVAN’S. AKA and see “Denis Murphy’s (Polka),” “Micky chewing bubblegum.” Irish, Polka. A Major (Mallinson, Taylor): G Major. Standard tuning. AABB. Composed by Terry “Cuz” Teahan as a youngster prior to leaving Ireland for America. Philippe Varlet says that Teahan composed the tune while still taking lessons with the great Sliabh Luachra fiddler Padraig O’Keeffe.  O’Keeffe liked the composition and continued to teach it after Teahan’s departure, and it eventually circulated among local musicians; hence the name “Bill Sullivan’s,” for a local player who popularized it. Teahan’s tune originally had a third part, but it was dropped in popular playing in Ireland. Some have noticed similarities with the Scottish tune “Stumpie/Stumpey.”