Edmund McAuley's Tune

One of the most memorable experiences during my time in Pembroke two weeks ago was sitting around the breakfast table at a rented trailer home and having Joseph Drody teach me this lovely little tune. Joseph and Anthony had been discussing a tune the previous night that their next door neighbour Edmund MacAuley used to play that they called simply, "Edmund McAuley's Tune" but couldn't recall the tune that night. The next day, Anthony, Joseph, and I were eating breakfast when Joseph said that the tune had finally come to him earlier that morning.

Here is myself playing Edmund McAuley's Tune

It took me a little while at the table to catch Joseph's little pause on the low strain of this tune, but I eventually got it ironed out I think. It really adds to the tune.

From what people have told me, the McAuley's were well-loved in Douglastown and noted musicians especially on the guitar (Edmund's brother, Ray went on to become a country music star in B.C., had a record on RCA and played on the Tommy Hunter Show). Also, many Gaspesians will tell you that the funniest person they ever met was their father, Hanson McAuley. As Cyril once said, if Hanson couldn't make you laugh he wouldn't talk to you". In fact, the Drody's are related to the McAuley's. One of their ancestors was a Ms. Rosanna McAuley born in 1851 in Douglastown. Edmund apparently played a little fiddle as well as the guitar. Brigid, Joseph, and Anthony remembered him playing this tune often when they were growing up next door to the McAuley's The Drody's have very fond memories growing up with their neighbours and I hope to share some of these with the readers in future posts.