David Mallett's Song to St. Anne's Reel

I've been telling folks about this song for a couple of years -- usually after they play the tune "St. Anne's Reel" bluegrass style, faster than I can make my fingers move on the mandolin, probably faster than would be comfortable to dance to... and certainly faster than most folks could sing David Mallett's sweet song inspired by the old dance tune.

Today I finally decided to go looking, and found a video of the author singing "The Ballad of St. Anne's Reel" himself -- complete with symphony orchestra.

In case the embedded video doesn't work here, you'll find the original on David Mallett's own page. You may see some other tunes that John Denver and others helped popularize.

The Mudcat Cafe's Digital Tradition collection has the lyrics here: Ballad of St. Anne's Reel

Meanwhile, for the tune itself, here's a lovely ensemble from both sides of the pond playing it on fiddle, dobro and guitar (Aly Bain, Jerry Douglas and Russ Barenberg, respectively):