ARKANSAS TRAVELER. Old-Time, Bluegrass, American; Reel, Country Dance. USA, almost universally known. D Major (Rosenberg, Sweet): G Major (Shaw): A Major (Kerr). Standard or ADAE. One part (Burchenal): AB (Shaw): AABB (most versions): AABBA'A' (Phillips, 1994). One of, if not the most famous of American fiddle tunes. E. Southern (1983) calls "Arkansas Traveller" a "plantation fiddle tune" (pg. 186), while Cauthen (1990) writes that it "had been played and sung as (an) anonymous folk tune, claimed and popularized by minstrel performers, then passed into the realm of folk music once more" (pg. 15). It is true that at least some of the elements of the famous dialogue typically attached to the melody (i.e. the conversation between the 'hick' and the 'city-slicker') were in circulation in the 1820's-1830's, during the plantation era, and it has been found that the tune and sketch had been joined and were being performed not long after (Yates and Russell, O.T.M. # 31 Winter 78/79). {For more information see article by H.C. Mercer in JEMFQ VI:2 (18) Summer 1970.} Rosenberg (198-) records that "Arkansas Traveller" was first published by Oliver Ditson and Company of Boston in 1863 and attributed to an itinerant musician or stage comedian named Mose Case, although Cazden (et al, 1982) reports it had been previously published in Buffalo, N.Y., by Blodgett & Bradford in 1858.
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The music itself was in print in 1847, Rosenberg states, and both the tune and the accompanying skit are presumed by him to have been in oral circulation at the time. Bayard (1981) thinks the whole melody may be an "American amalgam," as he was unable to locate a recognizable version in British Isles traditions. The second strain became a "floater," according to him, and appears in otherwise unrelated tunes, and he speculates a portion of the first part may itself have been a 'floater' that became attached to the tune. In Francis O'Neill's Waifs and Strays of Gaelic Melody (1922), No. 255, "Arkansas Traveller" is regarded as having a 'presumable' Irish history and three tunes are given which are proffered as in part ancestral to the American melody.
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In Maine the piece was used for the dance "Green Mountain Volunteers" by the Singing Smiths (South Parsonfield, Me.), though the traditional tune for that dance was "Green Mountain Boys." It was one of the 'tune catagories' for an 1899 fiddle contest at Gallatin, Tenn.; i.e. the fiddler who played the best rendition of "Arkansas Traveller" won a prize (C. Wolfe, The Devil's Box, Vol. 14, No. 4, 12/1/80). Arthur Tanner (Ga.) remembers his father (Gid Tanner of Sillet Lickers fame) and uncle (Arthur Hugh Tanner) playing it "from the stage (in the 1920's/30's) and setting around the house...It would tear the audience up" (Rosenberg). The piece was found in the repertory of most traditional fiddlers in Union and Snyder counties, Pa. (Guntharp), while Cazden (et al, 1982) found the melody and humerous text well known throughout the Catskill Mountain (New York) region (he recorded a version from that locale in 1949). Cauthen (1990) notes in a very complete statewide survey that it was variously recorded as having been played throughout Alabama: in the northeast part of the state (in reports of the 1926-31 De Kalb County Annual Convention), the northwest (mentioned in a 1925 Univ. of Ala. master's thesis), southwest (recorded in a newspaper account of a contest in Grove Hill, May, 1929, and recalled by Alfred Benners in his 1923 book Slavery and Its Results as having been played by slave fiddler Jim Pritchett in Marengo County), southeast (listed by Robert Park in his book Sketch of the 12th Alabama Infantry as played by Ben Smith, a Georgian in the regiment in the Civil War; and recorded as having been played at a fiddlers' convention in July 1926 at the Pike County Fairgrounds), and finally the central part of the state (played at a contest in Verbena in 1921, as recorded by the Union Banner).
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In another Deep South state, Mississippi, it was recorded in the field from the playing of old-time fiddlers Stephen B. Tucker, John Hatcher and W.E. Claunch (Mississippi Department of Archives and History). The tune was listed for sale on cylanders in a 1901 Columbia catalogue, and in the same format the next year by Edison (Standard Cylander 8202, played by Len Spencer, Oct. 1902 {The tune was re-released as "Return of the Arkansas Traveller" in 1910 by the same company [Standard Cylander 10356]}). Edison also released a version played by Joseph Samuels in Nov. 1919 contained in the "Devil's Dream Medley" (1st tune). Texas fiddler Eck Robertson's (a duet with fiddler and Confederate veteran Henry Gilliland) recording of the piece (backed by "Turkey in the Straw") was the third best-selling record of 1923. The piece was "very popular" at Southwest dances around turn of the century, according to Arizona fiddler Kenner C. Kartchner. It was cited as having commonly been played for dances in Orange County, New York, in the 1930's (Lettie Osborn, New York Folklore Quarterly), and appears in Vance Randolph's list of traditional Ozark Mountain tunes he recorded for the Library of Congress in the early 1940's. Finally, it was recorded as having been in the repertory of Maine fiddler Mellie Dunham, Henry Ford's national champion old-time fiddler, and regularly played by him in the 1920's. During the 78 RPM era an old recording of "Arkansas Traveller" was released in Québec under the title "Reel des Voyagers."
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Sources for notated versions: Frank George (W.Va.) [Krassen]; James Marr (Mo., 1948) [Bayard]; eleven Pa. sources [Bayard]; Gordon Tanner (Dacula, Gwinnett County, Ga.) [Rosenberg]. Bayard (Dance to the Fiddle), 1981; No. 20 (appendix), pg. 580; No. 74, pg. 49 (an odd variation); and No. 316, pgs. 267-271. Brody (Fiddler's Fakebook), 1983; pg. 25- 26 (3 versions- 1 Bluegrass). Burchenal (American Country Dances, Vol. 1), 1917; pg. 58. Cazden (Dances from Woodland), 1945; pg. 25. Cole (1001 Fiddle Tunes), 1940; pg. 4. Ford (Traditional Music in America), 1940; pg. 46. Jarman, Old-Time Fiddlin' Tunes. Johnson (The Kitchen Musician: Occasional Collection of Old-Timey Fiddle Tunes for Hammer Dulcimer, Fiddle, etc.), No. 2, 1988; pg. 1. Kerr (Merry Melodies), Vol. 1; No. 5, pg. 22. Krassen (Appalachian Fiddle), 1973; pg. 44 (includes 'A' part variation). Linscott (Folk Songs from Old New England), 1939 - "The Country Dance," pg. 83. Phillips (Fiddlecase Tunebook), 1989; pg. 3. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), 1994; pg. 17. Rosenberg, 198-; pg. 106. Ruth (Pioneer Western Folk Tunes), 1948; No. 30, pg. 12. Shaw (Cowboy Dances), 1943; pg. 390. Sweet (Fifer's Delight), 1964; pg. 53. American Heritage 516, Jana Greif- "I Love Fiddlin.'" Atlantic Records LP1350, Hobart Smith - "American Folk Songs for Children." Brunswick 225 (78 RPM), The Tennessee Ramblers. CCF2, Cape Cod Fiddlers - "Concert Collection II" (1999). Columbia 15019-D (78 RPM), Gid Tanner & Riley Pucket. County 514, Earl Johnson and His Clodhoppers- "Hell Broke Loose in Georgia" (orig. rec. 1927). County 517, Eck Robertson and Henry Gilliland- "Texas Farewell." County 723, Cockerham, Jarrell, and Jenkins- "Back Home in the Blue Ridge." County 775, Kenny Baker- "Farmyard Swing." Edison 51381 (78 RPM), Jasper Bisbee {appears as 1st tune of "Girl I Left Behind Me" medley}. Flying Fish 102, New Lost City Ramblers - "20 Years/Concert Performances" (1978). Folkways FA2337, Clark Kessinger- "Live at Union Grove." Folkways FA2371, Roger Sprung- "Ragtime Bluegrass 2." Folkways FTS 31089. Heritage 060, Art Galbraith - "Music of the Ozarks" (Brandywine 1984). Kicking Mule 203, Art Rosenbaum- "The Art of the Mountain Banjo." Missouri State Old Time Fiddlers' Association, Cyril Stinnett - "Plain Old Time Fiddling." Missouri State Old Time Fiddlers' Association, Kelly Jones (b. 1947) - "Authentic Old-Time Fiddle Tunes." Old Homestead OHCS-145, the Skillet Lickers --"A Day at the Country Fair" ("The Original Arkansas Traveller"). Paramount 3015 (78 RPM) {the same as Brunswick 8052}, 1927, and Edison 52294 (78 RPM), 1928, John Baltzell (Mt. Vernon, Ohio) {Baltzell was taught to play fiddle in part by minstrel Dan Emmett, d. 1904, who was born in and returned to [1888] the same town}. Rebel 1552, Buck Ryan- "Draggin' the Bow." Rebel 1515, Curly Ray Cline- "My Little Home in West Virginia." Rounder 0100, Byron Berline- "Dad's Favorites." Rounder 0117, "Blaine Sprouse". Sonyatone 201, Eck Robertson (Texas) and Henry Gilliland (Ok.) - "Master Fiddler." Supertone 9172 (78 RPM), Doc Roberts. Tennvale 003, Pete Parish- "Clawhammer Banjo." Victor 18956 (78 RPM), Eck Robertson (Texas) {1922}. Victor 21635 (78 RPM), Jilson Setters (AKA Blind Bill Day, from Rowan Cty. Ky.), 1928. Voyager 301, Byron Berline- "Fiddle Jam Session." Voyager 304, Bill Long and Bill Mitchell- "More Fiddle Jam Sessions." Recorded by Franklin County, Va. fiddler J.W. "Peg" Thatcher in 1939 for Library of Congress, and by Clayton McMichen (Ga.) and Dan Hornsby in 1928. In repertoire of Uncle Jimmy Thompson (Texas/Tenn.) {1848-1931}, Uncle Bunt Stevens (Tenn.), Fiddlin' Cowan Powers (Russell County, S.W. Va.) {1877-1952?}.
REEL DES VOYAGEURS, LE (The Traveler's Reel). AKA - "Reel Du Voyageur." French-Canadian, Reel. A Major. AEAE. AA'B. A 'crooked' tune. Omer Marcoux's "Labrador" may be a similar tune. One unrelated "Reel des Voyageurs" released in Québec in the 78 RPM era is simply a version of "Arkansas Traveller." Source for notated version: fiddler André Alain (Portneuf, Québec) [Remon & Bouchard]. Remon & Bouchard (25 Crooked Tunes, Vol. 1: Québec Fiddle Tunes), 1996; No. 4. Folkways FG 3531, Jean Carignan (Montreal, Canada) - "Old Time Fiddle Tunes played by Jean Carignan" (1968). Green Linnett GLCD 3042, La Bottine Souriante - "Chic & Swell" (1988. Learned from André Alain). Green Linnet GLCD 3127, Sharon Shannon - "The Best of Sharon Shannon: Spellbound" (1999. Appears as second tune of "Woodchoppers" medley, learned from La Bottine Souriante).
TURKEY IN THE STRAW. AKA and see "Old Zip Coon," "Natchez Under the Hill," "The Old Bog Hole." Old-Time, Breakdown: Irish, English, Canadian; Reel or Hornpipe. USA, Widely known and has even entered English country dance tradition. Canada, Prince Edward Island (where Ken Perlman says it is a very popular tune). G Major (Bayard, Brody, Linscott, O'Neill, Perlman, Phillips, Raven, Ruth, Shaw, Sweet): C Major (Ford): D Major (Bayard, Moylan). Standard. AB (Bayard, Shaw): AABB (most versions).
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An overwhelmingly popular tune in American fiddle tradition. Bayard (1981) suggests that a Scottish tune called "The (Bonny) Black Eagle" (also called "The Way to Edinburgh" by Oswald) resembles "Turkey in the Straw" in in both parts. Besides Samuel Bayard, Alan Jabbour, Winston Wilkinson, George Pullen Jackson and others think that a tune with an even stronger resemblance in the first part to the first part of Turkey is "The Rose Tree" (Maureen ni Cullenaun). Their apparent conclusion is that the Turkey tune is a composite of two older Scottish tunes, the 'A' part of "The Rose Tree" and the 'B' part of "The (Bonny) Black Eagle." There are other speculations: Nathan ("Dan Emmett," pg. 168) gives an Irish reel which seems to bear close resemblance to the 'A' part of Turkey, while Dreamer (in the Oxford Book of Carols, pg. 252) gives a "little known Scottish melody" with a second section equivlent to that of Turkey (Bayard wonders if this particular strain has long been a floater). According to Linscott (1939) the tune is based on the old song "My Grandmother Loved on Yonder Little Green." Michael Cooney lists a number of fiddle tunes to which "Turkey in the Straw" is supposed to have been related, including "Glasgow Hornpipe" (Irish), "Haymaker's Dance" (English), "The Post Office" (Irish), "Lady Shaftsbury's Reel" (Scottish), "Rose Tree in Full Bearing" (Irish), "Old Mother Oxford" (a morris dance tune known in England and Scotland), and "Kinnegad Slashers" (Irish). Captain Francis O'Neill, in Waifs and Strays of Gaelic Melody suggested the latter was the original source of "Turkey," although most reviewers dismiss this as an incidental resemblance only based on some similarities in the first part.
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Whatever its origins, it was "undoubtedly in American folk tradition before the 19th century," says Bronner (1987), and that popular theater and minstrel groups during the 19th century helped consolidate and spread its popularity (it was often called "Old Zip Coon" in minstrel tradition). Fuld reports the title "Turkey in de Straw" appeared in 1861 attached to the tune through new song lyrics, copyrighted by one Dan Bryant, the melody labled only an "old melody."
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Mention of the tune in playlists, periodicals and literature abound. "Turkey" was cited as having commonly been played for Orange County, New York, country dances in the 1930's (Lettie Osborn, New York Folklore Quarterly); Bronner (1987) agrees that it was commonly played in New York state for dances in the early 20th century. It was in the repertory of Buffalo Valley, Pa., region dance fiddlers Harry Daddario and Ralph Sauers. It was one of the tunes listed by the Clarke County Democrat of May 9, 1929, that was predicted would "be rendered in the most approved fashion" at an upcoming contest in Grove Hill, Alabama (Cathen, 1990). "Turkey" was played at a fiddlers' contest in Verbena in 1921 according to the Union Banner of October 27, 1921, and was one of the melodies listed as an example of an "acceptable old-time number for a fiddlers' convention in Fayette, Alabama (Northwest Alabamian, September 4, 1930) {Cauthen, 1990}. Cauthen (1990) further cites a 1925 University of Alabama master's thesis by S.M. Taylor entitled "A Preliminary Survey of Folk-Lore in Alabama" in which the tune is listed, and found it mentioned by Lamar County, Alabama, fiddler D. Dix Hollis in the Opelika Daily News of April 17, 1926, as one of "the good old tunes of long ago." The title appears in a list of the repertoire of Maine fiddler Mellie Dunham (the elderly Dunham was Henry Ford's champion fiddler in the late 1920's). Catskill Mountain region fiddler Harry Robinson (Lackawack, New York) was recorded in the field in 1944 by Benjamin A. Botkin (AFS 7759) playing an unaccompanied version of "Turkey in the Straw." The tune was recorded for the Library of Congress by musicologist/folklorist Vance Randolph, from the playing of Ozark Mountain fiddlers in the early 1940's, while Texas fiddler Eck Robertson's (with Henry Gilliland) recording of the piece (backed with "Arkansas Traveller") was the third best-selling country music record of 1923. It was in the repertoire of Virginia's Fiddlin' Cowan Powers and Family in the 1920's. Paul Gifford remarks that, around the Sault Ste. Marie area of northern Michigan and Ontario, "Turkey in the Straw" is played in the tradition in the key of B Flat Major.
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The tune was popular enough that even Irish-American bands recorded it: O'Leary's Irish Minstrels, from Boston, recorded it in 1928, and that same year the Flanagan Brothers recorded a medley in New York featuring "Turkey" along with "Chicken Reel" and "Arkansas Traveller." O'Neill printed a version of "Turkey" which was recorded in more modern times by the Irish band De Dannan (on "Song for Ireland"). Scottish band-leader Jimmy Shands recorded "Turkey" in a 1939 medley as with "Chicken Reel." "Turkey" was recorded and played by Sliabh Luachra (Rushy Mountain region, County Kerry/Cork) fiddler Denis Murphy and accordion player Johnny O'Leary, who learned it from influential fiddler Padraig O'Keeffe, although where he learned the tune is unknown.
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Lyrics set to the tune usually go something like the following:
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As I went down the new-cut road,
I met Miss Possum and I met Mr. Toad.
And every time the toad would sing,
The possum cut the pigeon-wing.
Chorus:
Turkey in the straw, haw! haw! haw!
Turkey in the hay, hey! hey! hey!
The bull-frog danced with his mother-in-law,
And they played 'em up a tune called turkey in the straw. (Ford)
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African-American collector Thomas Talley, in his work Negro Folk Rhymes (1922, reprinted in 1991 edited by Charles Wolfe), printed an unusual version called "A Day's Happiness." Wolfe notes that while there were dozens of recordings of the tune by early country musicians there were very few by blacks. Talley's song goes:
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I went out to milk an' I didn' know how,
I milked dat goat instid o' dat cow;
While a Nigger a-settin' wid a gapin' jaw,
Kept winkin' his eye at a tucky in de straw.
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I went out de gate an' I went down de road,
An' I met Miss 'Possum an' I met Mistah Toad;
An' ev'y time Miss 'Possum 'ould sing,
Mistah Toad 'ould cut dat Pigeon's Wing.
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I went in a whoop, as I went down de road;
I had a bawky team an' a heavy load.
I cracked my whip, an' ole Beck sprung,
An' she busted out my wagin tongue.
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Dat night dere 'us a-gittin' up, shores you're born,
De louse go to supper, an' de flea blow de horn.
Dat raccoon paced, an' dat 'possum trot;
Dat old goose laid, an' de gander not.
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Sources for notated versions: Edson Cole (Freedom, N.H.) [Linscott]; Les Weir and Ken Kane, 1976 (Central New York State), Charley Hughes, 1973 (Central New York State), and John McDermott, 1926 (Central New York State) [Bronner]; eight southwestern Pa. fiddlers [Bayard]; Thadelo Sullivan via accordion player Johnny O'Leary (Sliabh Luachra region of the Cork-Kerry border) [Moylan]; Johnny Morrissey (1913-1994, Vernon River, Queens County, Prince Edward Island) [Perlman].
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Adam, 1928; No. 22. Bayard (Dance to the Fiddle), 1981; No 320A-H, pgs. 276-279. Brody (Fiddler's Fakebook), 1983; pg. 280. Bronner (Old Time Music Makers of New York State), 1987; No 3, pgs. 21-22, No. 31, pg. 121, No. 39, pg. 145. Cazden, 1955; pg. 26. DeVille, 1905; No. 78 & 97. Ford (Traditional Music in America), 1940; pg. 59. Howe (Diamond School for the Violin), 1861; pg. 44. Howe (School for the Violin), 1851; pg. 43. Kerr (Merry Melodies), Vol. 1, pg. 23. Linscott (Folk Songs of Old New England), 1939; pg. 84-85. Messer (Way Down East), 1948; No. 52. Moylan (Johnny O'Leary), 1994; No. 247, pg. 142. O'Malley, 1919; pgs. 13 & 40. O'Neill (Krassen), 1976; pg. 155. O'Neill (1850), 1903/1979; No. 1520, pg. 281. O'Neill (1001 Gems), 1907/1986; No. 739, pg. 129. Perlman (The Fiddle Music of Prince Edward Island), 1996; pg. 65. Phillips (Fiddlecase Tunebook), 1989; pg. 43. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), 1994; pg. 246. Raven (English Country Dance Tunes), 1984; pg. 166. Robbins, 1933; No. 26 & No. 158. Roche Collection, 1982, Vol. 3; No. 215, pg. 81 (Irish march version). Ruth (Pioneer Western Folk Tunes), 1948; No. 18, pg. 8. Shaw (Cowboy Dances), 1943; pg. 389. Sweet (Fifer's Delight), 1965/1981; pg. 79. Thede (The Fiddle Book), 1967; pg. 113. White's Excelsior Collection, 1907; pgs. 33 & 73. White's Unique Collection, 1896; No. 173. CCF2, Cape Cod Fiddlers - "Concert Collection II" (1999). Conqueror 7741 (78 RPM), Doc Roberts. Edison 51278 (RPM), Jasper Bisbee (Michegan), 1923 (appears as last tune in "Girl I Left Behind Me" Medley). Flying Fish 102, New Lost City Ramblers - "20 Years/Concert Performances" (1978). Folkways FA 2337, Clark Kessinger- "Live at Union Grove." Folkways FA 2381, "The Hammered Dulcimer as played by Chet Parker" (1966). Front Hall, Fennigs All Star String Band - "Fennigmania" (1981). Gennett (78 RPM), The Tweedy Brothers (1924. W.Va. string band). MCA-116 {formerly Decca DL7-4896}, Bill Monroe- "Bluegrass Time." Missouri State Old Time Fiddlers' Association, Cyril Stinnett - "Plain Old Time Fiddling." Paramount 3015 (78 RPM), John Baltzell (Mt. Vernon, Ohio), 1927. Paramount 33153 (78 RPM), Dr. D. Dix Hollis (Alabama, 1861-1927), 1924. Rounder 0117, "Blaine Sprouse." Sonyatone 201, Eck Robertson- "Master Fiddler." Victor 19149 (78 RPM), Eck Robertson (West Texas), 1922.
T:Turkeys in the Straw
L:1/8
M:C|
R:Reel
S:O'Neill - 1001 Gems (739)
K:G
BA|G E2 F EDB,C|DEDB, DEGA|BABc dBGA|B A2G AcBA|G E2 F EDB,C|
DEDB, DEGA|B d2 e dBGA|BGAF G2||GA|B d2 e dBGA|Bdde dcBA|
Bdef gfed|BA (3Bcd e2 ef|gfge dged|BdAG E2 GA|BdAG EDB,D|E G2 A G2||