The Whistling Gypsy

Background information: This song is very similar to "The Gypsy Rover" The story of this ballad is the same as the Child ballad, "The Gypsy Davey". That song did not have the same tune as the "The Gypsy Rover", and did not have a chorus. It dates back to Scotland in the 1740s. In 1937, Professor Dorothy Scarborough from Columbia University publish a book called, A Songcatcher of the Southern Mountains, in which contains an Irish variation of "The Gypsy Rover" that adds the "ah dee doo" chorus. It was called one of the few Irish folk songs with a happy ending. Controversy arrises when in 1950 an Irish songwriter named Leo Maguire claims to have written a song, "The Whistling Gypsy Rover", which sounded nearly identical to the version in Scarborough's book. He says he wrote it on a dare that he could not write an Irish song that had a happy ending. From there, many other artists have recorded their own versions of the ballad (Moran, 2009).

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Video recording

Lesson Plans

Idea #1

-If you are able to whistle, start by whistling the chorus for the class.

-Teach the chorus by rote on a whistle (or a "doo" for those who cannot whistle).

-Ask the class if they have ever hear of a gypsy before. Explain briefly that gypsies were nomadic people who were often the focus of many stories that characterized them as a mysterious and romantic people. The entry for Irish Travellers on the Britannica webpage can be a helpful source to know how to talk about that group of people. Here is the link: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Irish-Travellers

-Sing the whole ballad.

-Go over the students' understanding of the story of the ballad.

Idea #2

-An ostinato can be played using barred instruments. When doing this, it is recommended that the key be changed from Ab major to G major in order to make it more playable on common barred instruments.

-This is the pattern that can be played with the steady beat: s, d s d (D G D' G if you changed the key to G major).

Idea #3

-If teaching low sol and low la, the chorus can be read or taught by rote using solfege.

-If you are only focusing on low sol, you can use the first phrase of the chorus to read or teach by rote: