Swaggering Jig

The tune carries a comic set of words — a verse about going to the fair of Bellaghy, buying "a wee swag of a pig," and dancing the swaggering jig — which also left it the alternate titles "Bellaghy Fair" and "The Fair of Bellaghy." It belongs to a large family of 9/8 melodies that served equally as slip jigs and as song airs. O'Neill printed it early, in his 1903 "Music of Ireland: 1850 Melodies" (No. 1118), and Roche included it again in his 1912 collection. The Bothy Band recorded it under the title "Give Us a Drink of Water," and Dervish later sang the words on "Harmony Hill."