Off to California

This hornpipe is probably Irish, but it is played well beyond Ireland. Ellis Knowles of Radcliffe, Lancashire, wrote it down as "A Clog Dance" in his manuscript of around 1847. Vivian Williams found it in an Oregon family's tune book from the 1860s and 1870s, titled only "Jig Cotillion."

Its first part turns up in several other tunes, including "Fireman's Reel." Michael Grogan's 1931 recording and Peter Guinan's from 1937 are early Irish American versions, and in Pennsylvania it was also known as "Buttermilk and Cider."