Trip to Moultonborough

Story

Meghan Mette was one of the musicians featured on 'A Polka for Matt'. She is the younger sister to Eliza Mette, who can be heard on 'Summer's Waltz'.

Here Meghan plays one of her own compositions and, below, she tells us in her own words how the tune came to be. What beautiful sentiments about our music and song from such a young person. It tells us much about her soul.

'Every summer of my life I have gone with my family down to New Hampshire to spend a week on Squam Lake. These weeks are always wonderful, but my fondest memories come from a time when I was much younger, a time when the entire family was able to join us at the lake.

For us, as children, the lake was a sea of mysteries waiting to be discovered and fully taken advantage of on sunny days: swimming, canoeing, going to the rope swing in Sandwich Bay, or maybe a motorboat ride out to the islands, setting up camp for a picnic. However, when a rainy day came along, we were far from disappointed. Today there would be a trip to Moultonborough. We would all pile into our cars and drive through the sprinkling rain – or the downpour – to Moultonborough Country Candy Shop.

The tired floorboards would creak as all of us children ran to collect our brown paper bags at the front of the candy bar, our mothers calling "Five dollar limit!" It is amazing, however, how much candy one can purchase for five dollars at a penny candy store. On the car ride home we would trade some candy – as long as it was an equal trade of course...

I wrote this strathspey in honor of those memories. Although we have grown up since then and many of my cousins no longer join us at the lake, we continue to go to Moultonborough once a year, because the tradition – like the music – must be passed on, never forgotten. Tradition is what allows us to hold the past dear, while all the time making and adding new memories and creations to our lives. We can never let these traditions die.'

Publisher

Séamus Connolly
Boston College Libraries

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03-31_Trip_to_Moultonborough-Strathspey.pdf
Some transcriptions are based on historical source recordings. More info.

Song & Tune Type

Part of:

Citation

Mette, Meghan (fiddle) (composer), “Trip to Moultonborough,” The Séamus Connolly Collection of Irish Music, accessed October 13, 2024, https://connollymusiccollection.bc.edu/document/720.