"When Sick Is It Tea You Want"

Not exactly the same as the original sheet we have, but better, I think.

Per TTA, the origin of the title is obscure, but at least one circulating story has it that a piper came home one night after an evening spent in his favorite pub, playing and drinking far too much. The next morning he nursed a monumental hangover, and his wife, pitying him, offered to make him a cup of tea to soothe his condition. Far from appreciative, however, the piper growled, “When sick, is it tea you want?�

The melody appears in O’Neill under the titles “When Sick is it Tea You Want?� “Go to the Devil and Shake Yourself (1),� and “Penniless Traveller (The).� Ryan’s Mammoth Collection (1883) gives the tune as “Go to the Devil and Shake Yourself.� Breathnach finds the tune first printed about 1778 in a London country dance collection, after which it appears frequently in collections published in England throughout the rest of that century. Although the titles are similar, Petrie’s “When you are sick ‘tis tea you want� is a different tune.

Printed sources:

• Breathnach (CRÉ III), 1985; No. 27, p. 13.
• Mallinson (100 Enduring), 1995; No. 28, p. 12.
• O'Neill (Krassen), 1976; p. 18.
• O'Neill (Music of Ireland: 1850 Melodies), 1903; No. 714, p. 133.
• O'Neill (Dance Music of Ireland: 1001 Gems), 1907; No. 16, p. 19.
• Ryan’s Mammoth Collection, 1883; p. 81.
• Songer (Portland Collection), 1997; p. 209.
• Taylor (Music for the Sets: Yellow Book), 1995; p. 21.

Per TS, it has been recorded together with:

• Nóra Críona(a few times),
• The Banks Of Lough Gowna(a few times),
• Rosewood(a few times),
• Apples In Winter(a few times) and
• Australian Waters(a few times).

A bit more digging reveals that a 'standard' set would be If Sick Is It Tae You Want?/Nora Criona/Rose Wood.