CARNIE'S CANTER. Scottish, Reel. F Major. Standard. One part (Hunter): AB (Skye): AABB (Perlman). Composed by J. Scott Skinner (1842-1927). Source for notated version: Kenny Chaisson (b. c. 1947, Bear River, North-East Kings County, Prince Edward Island; now resident of Rollo Bay) [Perlman]. Hunter (The Fiddle Music of Scotland), 1988; No. 260. MacDonald (The Skye Collection), 1887; pg. 142. Perlman (The Fiddle Music of Prince Edward Island), 1996; pg. 117. Skinner (Miller O'Hirn).
T:Carnie's Canter
R:Reel
C:J. Scott Skinner
S:Charlie Menzies
O:Scotland
M:4/4
K:F
B|\ A>c c/c/c dc =Bc|Ac =Bc fc _BA|\B>d d/d/d ed ^cd|Bd ^cd ed =cB|\A>c c/c/c dc =Bc|Ac =Bc fc _BA|\{Bc}BA Bd g^f ga|ba gf ed cB||\A>f f/f/f cf Af|af ef cf Af|\B>g g/g/g dg Bg|ba gf ed cB|\a>f f/f/f cf Af|af ef cf Af|\bg af ge fd|cB AG F3||
CABIN HUNTER, THE (An Biadánaí). Irish, Reel. County Clare. E Minor. Standard. AB. See also "Mearacan an Tailliura," "Seomra in Uachtar." The 'A' part is similar to that of Charlie Lennon's "The Road to Cashel," though the 'B' parts differ. Breathnach (1963) thought this might have been a composite tune, with the first part derived from 'The Tailor's Thimble' (CRE I, 125) and that the turn [second part] from the second part of "The Upper Room" (CRE I, 130). It has been pointed out that the 'B' part of "Cabin Hunter" is also similar to the turn of "Pigeon on the Gate." Sources for notated versions: Éamonn de Stabaltún (Ireland) [Breathnach/CRE I]; John Kelly [Breathnach, CRE III]. Breathnach (CRE I), 1963; No. 190. Breathnach (CRE III), 1985; No. 143 (appears as "Gan ainm/No title"). Miller & Perron (Irish Traditional Fiddle Music), 1977; Vol. 1, No. 18. Green Linnet 1052, Kevin Burke - "Up Close."
T:An Biadánaí
T:The Cabin Hunter
B:Breathnach, CRE I, no. 190
S:Ned Stapleton, flute
Z:Transcribed by Paul de Grae
R:reel
M:4/4
L:1/8
K:Edor
EF|(3GFE FE ~E3 F|GE ~E2 dAFD|(3GFE FD ~E3 F|DFAF DFAF|
(3GFE FE ~E3 F|GE ~E2 dAFD|(3GFE FD ~E3 F|DFAF DFAF||
Beed efed|Bdef {a}gfed|Beec dedB|AF ~F2 DFAF|
Beed efed|Bdef g2 fg|eg ~g2 efge|dcdB ADFA||
CHARLIE HUNTER'S JIG. AKA - "Charlie Stuart's Jig." Canadian, Jig. D Major. Standard. AAB (Phillips): AABB (Carlin, Hinds). Not the "Charlie Stewart" in O'Neill. The composition is credited to piano accordion player Bobby MacLeod of Tobermory, Mull. The title probably refers to the late Charlie Hunter of Oban, a radio operator on the MacBrayne steamers which ply the west-coast routes of Scotland." Source for notated version: Graham Townsend (Canada) [Hinds]; Pete Sutherland (Vt.) [Phillips]. Carlin, 1977; pg. 31. Hinds/Hebert (Grumbling Old Woman), 1981; pg. 22. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), Vol. 2, 1995; pg. 362. Atlantica Music 02 77657 50222 26, Richard Wood - "Atlantic Fiddles" (1994). Fretless Records FR200, Yankee Ingenuity - "Kitchen Junket" (1977). Rounder 7004, Joe Cormier - "The Dances Down Home" (1977). Shanachie 79068, Boys of the Lough - "Sweet Rural Shade."
T:Charlie Hunter
C:Bobby MacLeod
S:Bobby MacLeod's Selection of Country Dance Tunes
Z:Transcribed by Nigel Gatherer
M:6/8
L:1/8
A|DFA GBd|Adf a2g|fed Bcd|ecA GFE|
DFA GBd|Adf a2g|fef gec|1edd d2:|2edd d|]
fg|afd d2c|BGG G2F|E^GB e2d|cAA Aag|
fdA FDF|GBd g2g|fef gec|1edd d:|2edd d2|]
CHARLIE STUART'S JIG. See "Charlie Hunter's Jig."
COCK O' THE NORTH [1]. AKA and see "Auntie Mary" {Irish}, "Joan's Placket (Is Torn)" {English}, "Jumping John/Joan," "We Must All Wait Till My Lady Comes Hone." Scottish, English, Canadian; Jig, 6/8 March, and Morris Dance Tune. Canada; Cape Breton, Prince Edward Island. A Major (Hunter, Johnson, Kennedy, Miller & Perron, Perlman, Raven): G Major (Bayard, Bullen, Kerr, Sweet, Wade). Standard. AB (Bullen): AAB (Bayard, Hunter): AABB (Johnson, Kennedy, Miller & Perron, Raven, Sweet, Wade): AA'BB' (Kerr, Perlman). The 'Cock o' the North' was an honorary title of the (fifth and last) Duke of Gordon, who held sway over the northern part of the Scottish Highlands (from a note in a monograph on William Mashall printed in his 1845 Collection). Chappell alleges the earliest reference to the tune (under the title "Joan's Placket") is in an entry in Pepys' diary for June 1667. Bayard (1981) and Kidson (1915) both trace the tune to the 17th century, where they find the titles for this tune were "Jumping John/Joan" and "Joan's Placket (Is Torn)." It was published by Oswald (Vol. 10) c. 1758, by Feuillet in Recueil de Contredanses (1706) in Paris, and by Playford in the 1674 and 1686 editions (and all subsequent editions) of his Dancing Master, each time under the title "Jumping Joan." In fact, a Shetland reel version of the tune from the island of Whalsay collected in modern times still goes by the name "Jumping John" (Cooke, 1986).
***
The dance and ballad air was assumed into martial repertory, and it has been recorded that the melody helped win Gordon Highlander Piper George Findlater the Victoria Cross in 1897. It seems that while leading the charge storming Dargai Heights with other pipers, he was shot through both legs; "undaunted, he propped himself against a boulder, and continued to play" the stirring air to encourage the successful action (Winstock, 1970; pg. 212). Kidson (1915) relates another military story of its earlier use in the seige of Lucknow during the Indian Mutiny of 1857. The British were initially hard pressed and were for some time beseiged in various locations in the city by native Indians. Signals had been regularly sent between the forces defending parts of the beseiged town, and those under attack in the Residency quarters. A drummer boy named Ross, after the signalling was over, climbed to the high dome from which signals were sent and despite harrassing fire from the Sepoys he sounded "Cock o' the North" in defiance, rallying the English with his bravery (though being a drummer, exactly how he 'sounded' the tune remains a mystery, ed.)
***
In England, Andrew Bullen (Country Dance and Song, May 1987, Vol. 17, pg. 11). suggests there is some evidence to think that "Cock of the North" was the tune traditionally used in the famous horn dance of Abbots Bromley, Staffordshire (currently performed in most Christmas Revels pagents). "This standard version," he states, "taken from Pruw Boswell's 'Morris Dancing of the Lancashire Plain', is used in the Wigan St. John's Dance." Wade records that the tune is still used for a single step dance in the North-West Morris tradition.
***
Perlman (1996) notes that this tune was remembered by many Prince Edward Island fiddlers as the very first tune they tried to play.
***
Miscellaneous notes: The tune was used by the Scots poet Robert Burns for his song "Her Daddie Forbad and Her Minnie Forbad." In America, it was given to Bayard that there was an obscene New England song to the tune called "Chase Me, Charlie," but he did not hear it. It has been asserted that a trumpet version of the tune was played at the execution of Mary Queen of Scots in 1587, but this cannot be substantiated and it is not credited. It is not, as has been proposed by Johnson-Stenhouse, the progenitor of "Lillibulero." Sara Lee Johnson (1986-87) says the tune is often heard at the Old Michegan Fiddler's Association gatherings. Sources for notated versions: Hiram Horner (fifer from Fayette and Westmoreland Counties, Pa., 1960) [Bayard]; Elliot Wright (b. 1925, Flat River, Queens County, Prince Edward Island; now resident of North River) [Perlman]. Bayard (Dance to the Fiddle), 1981; No. 580, pg. 513. Bullen, Country Dance and Song, May 1987, Vol. 17, pg. 11. Hunter (Fiddle Music of Scotland), 1988; No. 299. Jarman (Old Time Fiddlin' Tunes); No. or pg. 19. Jarman, 1951; pg. 66. Johnson (The Kitchen Musician's No. 7: Michigan Tunes), Vol. 7, 1986-87; pg. 6. Kennedy (Fiddlers Tune Book), Vol. 2, 1954; pg. 36. Kerr (Merry Melodies), Vol. 2; No. 311, pg. 34. McDonald (Gesto), 1895; pg. 135. Miller & Perron (New England Fiddler's Repertoire), 1983; No. 43. Page, Heritage Dances of Early America; No. or pg. 41. Perlman (The Fiddle Music of Prince Edward Island), 1996; pg. 141. Raven (English Country Dance Tunes), 1984; pg. 105. Ross, 1934, Army Manuel of Bagpipe Tunes; Book 1, pg. 10. Sweet (Fifer's Delight), 1964/1981; pg. 21. Wade (Mally's North West Morris Book), 1988; pg. 14.-
T:Cock o' the North
L:1/8
M:6/8
K:A
cdc cBA|cde f2e|cdc cBA|B3 e2d|cdc cBA|Ace B=GB|A3 A3:|
|:a2e f2e|a2e f2e|cdc cBA|BcB B2e|a2e f2e|a2e f2e|cAc B=GB|A3 A3:|
COTTEN-EYED JOE [1]. See "Citaco." Old-Time, Breakdown. USA, widely known, but may have originally been a Texas tune. A Major (most versions): G Major (Ford, Kaufman): D Major (Zenith String Band). Standard, AEAE, ADAE, GDAD (Thede, John Dykes). AABB (Perlman): AABBA: AA'BB' (Kaufman). Charles Wolfe has called this tune "a Texas dance-hall anthem" but it has had such widespread currency in the United States that the tune is really a pastiche of melodies using interchangable phrases, the most recognizable of which usually is associated with the verses:
***
Where did you come from, where will you go?
Where did you come from Cotten-Eyed Joe.
***
Marion Thede believes 'cotten-eyed' may refer to a person with very light blue eyes, while Alan Lomax suggests it was used to describe a man whose eyes were milky white from Trachoma. Charles Wolfe (1991) writes that African-American collector Thomas Talley, in his manuscript of stories, Negro Traditions, relateed a story entitled "Cotton-Eyed Joe, or the Origin of the Weeping Willow." The story includes a stanza from the song, "but more importantly details a bizarre tale of a well-known pre-Civil War plantation musician, Cotton Eyed Joe, who plays a fiddle made from the coffin of his dead son."
***
The tune was a favorite of John Dykes (Magic City Trio {Eastern Tenn.}) and it was in the repertoire of Arizona fiddler Kenner C. Kartchner (in the key of G Major) who said a fellow fiddler named Youngblood brought it to the territory from Mississippi around 1890. It was one of the tunes played at the turn of the century by Etowah County, Alabama, fiddler George Cole, according to Mattie Cole Stanfield in her book Sourwood Tonic and Sassafras Tea (1963), and was mentioned in accounts of the DelKalb County Annual (Fiddlers) Convention, 1926-31. The title appears in a list of traditional Ozark Mountain fiddle tunes compiled by musicologist/folklorist Vance Randolph, published in 1954. Some verisons are similar to Lowe Stokes (N.Ga.) popular "Citaco." Ken Perlman (1996), who collected the tune on Prince Edward Island, believes Canadian versions probably derived from the playing of radio and TV Maritime fiddler Don Messer (the 'B' part is played with a strong Acadian flavor). See also Bayard's (1981) note to a related tune "The Horse Called Rover" (No. 10, pgs. 20-21).
***
Where'd you come from, where'd you go?
Where'd you come from Cotten-Eyed Joe.
I'd-a been married a long time ago,
If it hadn't a-been for Cotten-Eyed Joe.
***
Cornstalk fiddle and shoestring bow,
Come down gals on Cotten Eyed Joe.
Wanna go to meeting and wouldn't let me go,
Had to stay home with Cotten Eyed Joe.
***
Come a little rain and come a little snow,
The house fell down on Cotten Eyed Joe. (Thede)
***
Hold my fiddle and hold my bow,
'Till I knock the devil out of cotton-eyed Joe. (Ford)
***
I'll make me a fiddle and make me a bow,
And I'll learn to play like Cotten-eyed Joe.
I tun'd up my fiddle, I went to a dance,
I tried to make some music, but I couldn't get a chance.
***
You hold my fiddle and you hold my bow,
Till I whip old Satan out of Cotten-eyed Joe.
I've make lot of fiddles and made lot of bows,
But I never learned to fiddle like Cotten-eyed Joe. (Thomas & Leeder).
***
Thomas Talley gives the following in Negro Folk Rhymes:
***
Hol' my fiddle an' hol' my bow,
Whilst I knocks ole Cotton Eyed Joe.
***
I'd a been dead some seben years ago,
If I hadn' a danced dat Cotton Eyed Joe.
***
Oh, it makes dem ladies love me so,
W'en I comes 'roun' pickin' ole Cotton Eyed Joe.
***
Yes, I'd a been married some forty years ago,
If I hadn' stay's home wid Cotton Eyed Joe.
***
I hain't seed ole Joe, sonce way las' Fall;
Dey say he's been sol' down to Guinea Gall.
***
Sources for notated versions: Highwoods String Band (New York) [Brody]; John Hendricks (Bates, Arkansas) [Thede]; Tommy Magness [Phillips/1994]; Steve Hawkins (Rowan County, Kentucky, 1911) [Thomas & Leeder]; Louise Arsenault (b. 1956, Wellington, East Prince County, Prince Edward Island) [Perlman]. Brody (Fiddler's Fakebook), 1983; pg. 74. R.P. Christeson (Old Time Fiddlers Repertory, Vol. 1), 1973; pg. 20. Ford (Traditional Music in America), 1940; pg. 60. Frets Magazine, "Byron Berline: The Fiddle," September 1981; pg. 64. Kaufman (Beginning Old Time Fiddle), 1977; pg. 50. Perlman (The Fiddle Music of Prince Edward Island), 1996; pg. 86. Phillips (Fiddlecase Tunebook), 1989; pg. 12. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), 1994; pgs. 56 & 57 (two versions). Thede (The Fiddle Book), 1967; pg. 26-27. Thomas & Leeder (The Singin' Gatherin'), 1939; pg. 60. Bay 209, "The Gypsy Gyppo String Band" (1977. Learned from Paul Ermine of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan). Bay 727, "Kenny Hall and the Sweets Mill String Band." Briar 0798, Earl Collins- "That's Earl." Caney Mountain Records CEP 213 (privately issued extended play LP), Lonnie Robertson (Mo.), c. 1965-66. Cassette C-7625, Wilson Douglas - "Back Porch Symphony." County 506, The Skillet Lickers- "Old Time Tunes, 1927-1931." County 518, Pope's Arkansas Mountaineers- "Echoes of the Ozarks, Vol. 1." County 520, Carter Brothers and Son- "Echoes of the Ozarks, Vol. 3." County 528, Carter Bros. & Son - "Mississippi Breakdown, Traditional Fiddle Music of Mississippi, Vol. 1." County 544, Fiddlin' John Carson- "Georgia Fiddle Bands, Vol. 2." County 756, Tommy Jarrell- "Sail Away Ladies" (1976. Learned after 1925 from a friend, Charlie Lowe, a clawhammer banjoist who heard the tune broadcast on Nashville radio). Fretless 201, Gerry Robichaud--"Maritime Dance Party." Gusto 104, Tommy Jackson- "30 Fiddler's Greatest Hits." Heritage XXIV, Dave Holt - "Music of North Carolina" (Brandywine, 1978). Heritage XXXIII, Zenith String Band (Conn.) - "Visits" (1981. Learned from the Carter Brothers via Vermont/Ohio fiddler Pete Sutherland). June Appal JA 028, Wry Straw - "From Earth to Heaven" (1978. Version learned from Creed Power {Dungannon, VA} and Byard Ray {Shelton Laurel, N.C.}). Mercury SRW 16261, Tommy Jackson- "Instrumentals Country Style." Marimac 9000, Dan Gellert & Shoofly - "Forked Deer" (1986. Version learned from Carter Bros. & Son recording). Marimac 9009, Doris Kimble & Dave Spilkia - "Old Time Friends" (1987). Old Homestead OHCS191, "Dykes Magic City Trio" (Eastern Tenn.) {originally recorded in 1927 on a Brunswick 78}. Rounder 0074, Highwoods String Band- "No. 3 Special" (1977). Rounder 0047, Wilson Douglas- "The Right Hand Fork of Rush's Creek" (1975). Rounder 0193, Rodney Miller - "Airplang" (1985). Rounder CD0262, Mike Seeger - "Fresh Oldtime String Band Music" (1988. With the Ithica, N.Y., group Agents of Terra). Stoneway 143, Ernie Hunter- "All About Fiddling." Tennvale 004, Bruce Molsky- "An Anthology."
T:Cotton Eyed Joe
L:1/8
M:2/4
S:Howdy Forrester, learned from his Uncle Bob; originally transcribed by John Hartford
K:G
A/|B/d/d d>d|f/d/e/f/ d>d|B/A/G/B/ A/G/E/G/|B/A/B D>:|
|:E/|D/E/G/B/ A/G/E/F/|G/A/B/d/ cd/c/|B/A/G/B/ A/G/E/G/|B/A/B D>:|
FORKED DEER, (THE). AKA - "Forked Buck," "Forky Deer," "Forked-Horn Deer," "Forked Deer Hornpipe," "Long-Horned Deer." AKA and see "Deer Walk," "Bragg's Retreat," "Van Buren." Old-Time, Breakdown. USA, Widley known. D Major. Standard or ADAE. AABB (most versions): AA'BB (Phillips) {Many older versions have several more parts than the two that are commonly played in modern times. Clay County, W.Va., fiddler Wilson Douglas, heir to an older tradition, plays the tune in three parts, as did his mentor French Carpenter. Roscoe Parish of Coal Creek, Va., also had a third part. Blind northeastern Kentucky fiddler Ed Hayley played a five part version, as did Charlie Bowman and Kentuckian J.W. Day}. John Johnson, an itinerant man originally from West Virginia who had artistic talent in several areas, had a version that had six parts, played ABACCDEFDEF (son of a jailer, he was said to have "fiddled his way in and out of most jails from West Virginia to Abiline"). Johnson (1916-1996) visited Kanawha County, West Virginia, fiddler Clark Kessinger (1896-1975) just a week before he died, an encounter from which he remembered:
***
I went and played the fiddle for him, played The Forked Deer.
Clark said, "That's not The Forked Deer." "Well," I said, "I
don't know whether it's The Forked Deer or not, but I learned
it from a record Arthur Smith made when I was a kid, and I
know the tune's way older than I am." And Clark said, "That
ain't The Forked Deer." But you see, I play six parts of The
Forked Deer and he just played two. So I suppose that's the
reason why he said that wasn't The Forked Deer. I learned that
whole tune just like Arthur Smith played it. I've heard lots of
other fiddlers put just two parts to it. (Michael Kline, Mountains of Music, John Lilly ed. 1999).
***
R.P. Christeson (1973) notes that the tune bears considerable resemblance to a Scottish tune named "Rachel Rae," which can be found in some of the older Scottish tune collections (and which in America was printed in such collections as White's Solo Banjoist, Boston, 1896). He notes that some fiddlers play the first part of this tune differently than the Missouri version he gives, and use a portion of "The Forked Deer" as published in George Willig's or George P. Knauff's Virginia Reels (Vol. 1, No. 4, Baltimore, c. 1839)--which appears to be the first time the "Forked Deer" tune appears in print. It has been suggested (by William Byrne) that the title "Forked Deer" is a corruption of 'Fauquier Deer', referring to the name of a county in northern Virginia. Others believe it may have derived from association with the Forked Deer River in Tennessee. Apparently, it was asserted in a fictionalized traveller's account (published in the late 1880's by Dr. H.W. Taylor) entitled "The Cadence and Decadence of the Hoosier Fiddler" that the title referred to a Deer river and its tributaries (i.e. 'the forks of the Deer'). John Hartford and Pat Sky have speculated the original title may have been "Forked Air," meaning a crooked melody. Indeed, Paul Tyler reports the "Forked Air" title was used in a 1950 notebook in which A. Hamblen noted down tunes played by his grandfather and brought to Brown County, Indiana, from Virginia in 1857. The tune, as "Forkadair," appears in W. Morris's Oldtime Viloin Melodies: Book No. 1, and the "Forkedair Jig" is a title Gerry Milnes (1999) says was used in a minstrel-era version.
***
Miles Krassen (1973) remarks the tune is very popular through most of the southern Appalachians, though it was not played for the most part by Galax, Va., style bands. Tommy Jarrell, quintessential Round Peak (near Mt.Airy, N.C./Galax, Va.) fiddler learned the tune in Carroll County, southwestern Virginia, where he listened to his father-in-law, Charlie Barnett Lowe play it on the banjo with local fiddlers Fred Hawkes and John Rector. It is one of the tunes mentioned in the humorous dialect story "The Knob Dance," published in 1845, set in eastern Tenn. (C. Wolfe), and was also known before the Civil War in Alabama, having been recalled by Alfred Benners in Slavery and Its Results as played by slave fiddler Jim Pritchett of Marengo County. The tune was mentioned by William Byrne who described a chance encounter with West Virginia fiddler 'Old Sol' Nelson during a fishing trip on the Elk River. The year was around 1880, and Sol, whom Byrne said was famous for his playing "throughout the Elk Valley from Clay Courthouse to Sutton as...the Fiddler of the Wilderness," had brought out his fiddle after supper to entertain (Milnes, 1999). Charles Wolfe (1982) remarks it was popular with Kentucky fiddlers, especially in eastern Kentucky (a remark probably based on recordings of regional fiddlers Ed Hayley and J.W. Day). It was one of the few sides cut in the first recorded session of American fiddle music in June, 1922, for Victor--a duet between Texas fiddler Eck Robertson and Henry Gilliland (though unissued). The tune was recorded for the Library of Congress by musicologist/folklorist Vance Randolph in the early 1940's from the playing of Ozark Mountain fiddlers. Alternate titles "Forked-Horn Deer" and "Forked Deer Hornpipe" appear in a list he compiled of traditional Ozark Mountain fiddle tunes.
***
Ira Ford's (1940) rather preposterous story of the origins of the title is as follows: "The old dance tune, 'Forked Deer', is easily traceable to the days of powder horns, bullet molds and coonskin caps. Like many other very old tunes of American fiddle lore, it had its origin on the isolated frontier and this one has been traced to the first settlers along the Big Sandy River, the border line of Virginia and Kentucky. In the family which preserved this tune, the story, handed down through several generations, credits the authorship to a relative, a noted fiddler of pioneer days. This kinsman was also a famous hunter. There was a spirit of friendly rivalry in the hunt, much the same as there were championships in other lines of activities, and he had established a reputation as a champion deer hunter by always bringing in a forked deer. The forked deer, or two-point buck, was considered prime venison. As a token of admiration for the hunter as well as the fiddler, his friends set the following words to this popular dance tune which comes down to us as 'Forked Deer'.
***
There's the doe tracks and fawn tracks up and down the creek
The signs all tell us that the roamers are near,
With the old flint-lock rifle Pappy's gone to watch the lick,
With powder in the pan for to shoot the forked deer.
***
Sources for notated versions: J.P. Fraley (Ky.) and The Highwoods String Band (N.Y.) [Brody]: Will Hinds (Haskell County, Oklahoma) [Thede]: George Helton (Dixon, Missouri) [Christeson]; Frank George and John Rector (W.Va., Va.) [Krassen]; Charlie Bowman (Ga.?) [Phillips/1989]. Brody (Fiddler's Fakebook), 1983; pg. 110. R.P. Christeson (Old Time Fiddlers Repertory, Vol. 1), 1973; pg. 64. Ford (Traditional Music in America), 1940; pg. 45 (the first part is similar to some versions of "Grey Eagle"). Frets Magazine, Vol. 3, No. 7, July 1981. Johnson (The Kitchen Musician: Occasional Collection of Old-Timey Fiddle Tunes for Hammer Dulcimer, Fiddle, etc.), No. 2, 1982/1988; pg. 5. Krassen (Appalachian Fiddle), 1973; pg. 43 (includes one 'B' part variation). Phillips (Fiddlecase Tunebook: Old Time), 1989; pg. 20. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), Vol. 1, 1994; pg. 91. Thede (The Fiddle Book), 1967; pg. 135. Songer (Portland Collection), 1997; pg. 80. Cassette C-7625, Wilson Douglas - "Back Porch Symphony." Columbia 15387 (78 RPM), Charlie Bowman (1929). Condor 977-1489, "Graham & Eleanor Townsend Live At Barre, Vermont." County 202, "Eck Robertson: Famous Cowboy Fiddler." County 527, Charlie Bowman (East Tennessee) and His Brothers- "Old-Time Fiddle Classics, Vol. 2." County 707, Major Franklin- "Texas Fiddle Favorites." County 756, Tommy Jarrell- "Sail Away Ladies" (1976. Learned from Fred Hawks, though Tommy's father Ben Jarrell also played it). Flying Fish FF-009, Red Clay Ramblers - "Stolen Love" (1975). Flying Fish FF-055, Red Clay Ramblers - "Merchant's Lunch" (1977). Front Hall FHR-021, John McCutcheon - "Barefoot Boy with Boots On" (1981. "Inspired by" J.P. Fraley and Tommy Hunter). June Appal 007, Tommy Hunter- "Deep in Tradition" (1976. Learned from his grandfather, James W. Hunter of Madison County, N.C.). Kanawha 301, French Carpenter (W.Va.). Library of Congress (2742-A-3), 1939, by H.L. Maxey (Franklin County, Va.) {as "Forky Deer"}. Marimac 9000, Dan Gellert & Shoofly - "Forked Deer" (1986. Ed Haley's version, "without the 5th part"). Missouri State Old Time Fiddlers' Association, Cyrill Stinnett (1912-1986) - "Plain Old Time Fiddling." Morning Star 45003, Taylor's Kentucky Boys - "Wink the Other Eye: Old Time Fiddle Band Music from Kentucky, Vol. 1" (1980. Originally recorded in 1927 for Gennett). Ok 45496 (78 RPM), The Fox Chasers. Rounder 0037, J.P. and Annadeene Fraley- "Wild Rose of the Mountain." Rounder 0045, Highwoods String Band- "Dance All Night." Rounder 1010, Ed Haley- "Parkersburg Landing" (1976). Rounder 0047, Wilson Douglas- "The Right Hand Fork of Rush's Creek" (1975. Learned from French Carpenter, the tune appears as "Forked Buck"). Rounder 0058, John Rector (western Va.) - "Old Originals, Vol. II" (1978). Rounder 0194, John W. Summers - "Indiana Fiddler." Vetco 506, Fiddlin' Van Kidwell- "Midnight Ride." Vetco 102 (reissue), Jilson Setters (under the name Blind Bill Day). Victor 21407 (78 RPM), Jilson Setters (Blind Bill Day, b. 1860 Rowan Cty., Ky.), 1928. Voyager 340, Jim Herd - "Old Time Ozark Fiddling." Also recorded by Frank George and John Summers, French Carpenter and Uncle Am Stuart (b. 1856, Morristown, Tenn.){for Vocalation in 1924 under the title "Forki Deer"}.
T:Forked Deer
L:1/8
M:C|
K:D
|:(3ABc|defg a2fa|g2gb agfe|defg a2fa|gfed cABc|defg a2fa|g2gb agfe|
dAFD GBAG|FDEF D3:|
|:(A|A2)A2c4|ABAF E2 EF|A2AB c2cA|BAFE FD3|A2A2c4|ABAF E2FE|
D2ED FDGD|FDEF D3:|
FORKS OF SANDY [1]. AKA and see "Three Forks of Sandy," "Three Forks of Big Sandy," "Roll 'em Up Sandy." Old-Time, Breakdown. USA; western North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky. G Major. Standard. AABB. The title refers to the Big Sandy River on the West Virginia/Kentucky border, the (3) forks being the Big Sandy River, Levisa Fork and Tug Fork. Oscar Wright maintained the song was popularized in his area of West Virginia (Mercer County) by North Carolina banjo player and band leader Charlie Poole and his fiddler Posey Rorer when they played the area in 1916, 17 or 18. He claimed to have learned it directly from Rorer. West Virginia fiddler Clark Kessinger (1896-1975), who probably learned the tune as a boy in the Kanawha Valley, recorded the melody in 1930 for Brunswick Records (as "Three Forks of Sandy") {Wolfe, Mountains of Music, John Lilly ed. 1999}. Sources for notated versions: Charlie Poole (N.C.) [Brody]; Clark Kessinger (W.Va.) [Phillips]. Brody (Fiddler's Fakebook), 1983; pg. 111. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), Vol. 1, 1994; pg. 241. Columbia 15106-D (78 RPM), 1926, Charlie Poole and the North Carolina Ramblers. County 747, Clark Kessinger- "Sweet Bunch of Daisies" (appears as "Three Forks of Sandy"). Flying Cloud FC-023, Kirk Sutphin - "Fiddlin' Around." Historical HLP-8005, Charlie Poole and the North Carolina Ramblers - "1926-1930: A Young Boy Left His Home One Day" (1975). June Appal 007, Thomas Hunter- "Deep in Traditon" (1976. Appears as "Three Forks of Big Sandy." Learned from Manco Sneed of Cherokee, N.C.). Rounder 0089, Oscar and Eugene Wright- "Old-Time Fiddle & Guitar Music From West Virginia." Rounder 0392, John Hartford - "Wild Hog in the Red Brush (and a Bunch of Others You Might Not Have Heard" (1996).
GREY EAGLE [1]. AKA and see "Gray Eagle." AKA - "Grey Eagle Hornpipe." Old-Time, Bluegrass, Texas Style; Breakdown, Hornpipe. USA; Alabama, Mississippi, southwestern Va., southwestern Pa., western N.C., eastern Tenn., Kentucky, Missouri, Indiana, Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona. A Major (most versions): G Major (Bayard, W.E. Claunch): C Major (uncommon, but known in the western N.C./ eastern Tenn. area in this key). Standard. AB (Bayard): AABB (Brody, Krassen, Phillips): AA'BB (Shumway): AABBCC (Christeson): AA'BB'CC'D (Frets Magazine). "One of the standard square dance tunes in the key of A Major" (Krassen, 1973), and, in fact it is one of the more commonly played fiddle tunes at mid-western fiddle contests. Several writers have noted the similarity between "Grey Eagle" and the Scottish tune "Miller of Drone," with the "Grey Eagle" melody probably derivative. There are many different sets of this tune collected from folk sources in almost all parts of the South and West; in addition it has made its way into numerous commercial collections, among the first of which is George H. Coes' Album of Music (Boston, 1876). It was one of the older tunes in fiddle repertory in Patrick County, southwest Va., before such tunes were supplanted by tunes more conducive to the fiddle/clawhammer banjo combination -- the tune may also have been called "Ducks on the Pond" (??) (Tom Carter & Blanton Owen, 1976). Bayard (1981) is surprised at the tenacity of the title in the face of so many disperate versions./ Popular with Kentucky fiddlers, remarks Charles Wolfe (1982), who first suggested it was possibly named for the famous Kentucky race horse of 1839. John Hartford ("The Devil's Box") found that the "Grey Eagle" title for the melody known as "The Miller of Drone" became attached to the tune in America following this famous late 1830's race between horses known as "Grey Eagle" and "Wagner." In the repertoire (C Major version) of legendary fiddler J. Dedrick Harris, a Tenn. born fiddler who played regularly with Bob Taylor when the latter ran for Governor of the state in the late 1800's. Harris moved to western N.C. in the 1920's and influenced a generation of fiddlers there, including Osey Helton, Manco Sneed, Bill Hensley, and Marcus Martin./ In the Deep South the melody was in the repertory of Alabama fiddler D. Dix Hollis (1861-1927), who considered it one of "the good old tunes of long ago" (as quoted in the "Opelika Daily News" of April 17, 1926) {Cauthen, 1990}, and was recorded for the Library of Congress in 1939 by Guntown, Mississippi, fiddler W.E. Claunch. It was also one of the tunes listed in the Troy Herald of July 6th, 1926, as having been played at a fiddlers' convention held at the Pike County, Alabama, fairgrounds. / Part of the tune the same as "Ostinelli's Reel" (Cole)./ Arizona fiddler (and Mormon) Kenner C. Kartchner maintained the tune was played by Mormon fiddlers crossing the plains. Sources for notated versions: Kenny Baker [Brody]; Floyd Smith (Cole County, Missouri) [Christeson]; Charlie Higgins (Galax, Va.) [Krassen]; Kenner C. Kartchner (Arizona) [Shumway]; William Shape (elderly fiddler from Greene County, Pa., 1930's) [Bayard]; Byron Berline learned the tune from his father who had it from his friend Frank Mitchell (Enid, Oklahoma) [Frets Magazine]; Jeff Goehring with the Red Mules (Ohio) [Phillips]; Howard Forrester, Robert Rutland & Herman Johnson [Phillips/1995]. Bayard (Dance to the Fiddle), 1981; No. 103, pg. 60. Brody (Fiddler's Fakebook), 1983; pg. 127. Christeson (Old Time Fiddlers Repertory, Vol. 1), 1973; pg. 12. Ford, 1940; pg. 86. Frets Magazine, "Byron Berline: The Fiddle," February 1981; pg. 52. Krassen (Appalachian Fiddle), 1973; pg. 73. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), Vol. 1, 1994; pg. 106 (breakdown versions). Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), Vol. 2, 1995; pg. 197 (hornpipe version). Shumway, 1990; pg. 268. Christeson says the tune also appears in Harding's All-Around Collection of Jigs and Reels (1905, New York) and in 1935 in 100 WLS Barn Dance Favorites (Chicago). Briar 0798, Earl Collins- "That's Earl." County 202, "Eck Robertson: Famous Cowboy Fiddler." County 703, Bartow Riley- "Texas Hoedown." County 705, Sonny Miller- "Virginia Breakdown." County 722, Joe Greene- "Joe Greene's Fiddle Album." County 744, Kenny Baker- "Dry and Dusty." Gennett Records (78 RPM), Taylor's Kentucky Boys (1927. Featuring the only black hoedown fiddler to recorde commerically, Jim Booker). Global Village C-302, Chicken Chokers - "New York City's 1st Annual String Band Contest - 1984." June Appal 007, Thomas Hunter- "Deep in Tradition" (1976. Learned from his grandfather, fiddler James W. Hunter of Madison County, N.C.). MGM E4035, Howdy Forrester - "Fancy Fiddlin' Country Style." Missouri Old Time Fiddlers Association 002, Taylor McBaine (b. 1911) - "Boone County Fiddler." Missouri State Old Time Fiddlers' Association, Dwight Lamb (b. 1934) - "Old Ladies Pickin' Chickens." Morning Star 45003, Taylor's Kentucky Boys - "Wink the Other Eye: Old-Time Fiddle Band Music from Kentucky" (1980. Originally recorded in 1927). Rounder 0068, Mark O'Conner- "Pickin' in the Wind." Rounder 0099, Dan Crary - "Lady's Fancy." Rounder 0100, Byron Berline- "Dad's Favorites." Rounder 0194, John W. Summers - "Indiana Fiddler" (1984). Rounder 0213, The Chicken Chokers - "Chokers and Flies" (1985) Rounder 0215, James Bryan - "The First of May" (1985). Vocalation 14839 (78 RPM), Uncle Am Stuart, 1924, (b. 1856, Morristown, Tenn.). Voyager 309, Benny & Jerry Thomasson - "The Weiser Reunion" (1993). Voyager VRCD 344, Howard Marshall & John Williams - "Fiddling Missouri" (1999). In the repertoire of Western N.C. fiddler Osey Helton (C Major version).
T:Grey Eagle
Z:Nigel Gatherer
M:4/4
L:1/8
K:A
cB|A2 FA ECA,C|EFAc BABc|A2 FA ECA,C|EF (3ABc e2 (3cec|
A2 FA ECA,C|EFAc (3BcB Ac|eAce dcBG|EGBd (3cec:|]
AF|ecAe cAeA|fdAd fgaf|edce cecA|EGBc dBGB|
AecA ecAc|dABd faeg|abga (3faf ed|ceBc A2:|]
HILLS OF LORNE, THE. Scottish, Slow Air (4/4 time). D Major. Standard. AB. James Hunter (1979) notes: "A well-loved air by the late Charlie Hunter of Oban, a radio operator on the MacBrayne steamers which ply the west-coast routes." Hunter (Fiddle Music of Scotland), 1988; No. 17. A & M Records 79602 2000-2, Ashley MacIsaac - "Close to the Floor" (1992). Lochshore Records, Archie McAllister and Ross Kennedy - "The White Swan."
T:The Hills of Lorne
R:Slow air
N:from Richard Robinson's Tunebook
O:Scotland
M:4/4
K:D
FE|D2FG A2d2|f3e d2A2|B3d A2F2|E2GF E2FE|\
D2FG A2d2|f3e d2A2|B2gB A2c2|1 d6 FE :|2 d6 ag ||
f2ed B2cd|A3F A2ag|f2ed A2df|e6 fe|\
d2ef A2dc|B2d2 g2ag|f2ed A2c2|1 d6 ag :|2 d6 FE ||
MISS McLEOD'S/MacLEOD's REEL [1] ("Cor Ingean Ni Mic Leod" or "Cor Mhic Leoid"). AKA and "Billy Boy," "The Cake's All Dough," "Did You Ever See the Devil Uncle Joe?" "Enterprise and Boxer," "The Enterprising Boxer," "The Girl with the Handsome Face," "Green Mountain," "Hop Up Ladies," "Hop High Ladies," "Hop Light Ladies," "John Brown," "May Day," "Miss MacLeod of Ayr," "MacLeod's Reel," "McLeod's Reel," "Miss McCloud," "Misses McCloud's Reel," "Mistress McCloud's Jig," "Mr. McLaw'd." "Mrs. McLeod of Raasay's Reel," "Mrs. MacLeod Raasay," "Nigger in the Woodpile" (Pa.), "Old Mammy Knickerbocker" (Pa.), "The Virginia Reel," "Walk Jaw Bone." Irish, Scottish (originally), American, Old-Time; Reel and Breakdown. Ireland, County Donegal. G Major (most versions): A Major (Ashman, Roche, Songer): F Major (Hardings). Standard. AABB. A universal favorite in the British Isles and North America. Apparently the tune was first printed in Gow's Strathspey Reels of 1809 (pg. 36), with the note "An original Isle of Skye Reel. Communicated by Mr. McLeod."
***
It was popular as long ago as 1779 in Ireland as its playing is mentioned in an account by a foreign visitor named Berringer or Beranger of a "cake" dance (i.e. where the prize was a cake) he participated in while visiting in Connacht. O'Neill (1913) relates Beranger's observations somewhat differently and gives that it was one of six tunes played by Galway pipers in 1779 for the entertainment of the traveller. In modern times in Ireland the tune was included in a famous set of the late Donegal fiddlers, brothers Mickey and Johnny Doherty, who played it as the last tune after "Enniskillen Dragoons" and "Nora Criona" (Wise Nora), though sometimes they substituted "The Piper of Keadue" for "Miss McLeod's." The whole set was played in the rare AAAE tuning, which required playing in position (Caoimhin MacAoidh).
***
The title "Peter Street" appears in a list of tunes in his repertoire brought by Philip Goodman, the last professional and traditional piper in Farney, Louth, to the Feis Ceoil in Belfast in 1898 (Breathnach, 1997). The reel was mentioned in an account of one of the old pipers of County Louth, a man named Cassidy, as recorded by William Carleton in his Tales and Sketches of the Irish Peasantry, published in 1845. Breathnach (1997) believes the first name of this piper was Dan, and that he was blind. Carleton, born in 1794, was a dancing master who taught in the 1820's, and was engaged to teach the children of the 'dreadful' Mrs. Murphy. It seems that Carleton:
***
having spent several nights at piper Cassidy's house weighing up the local
dancers ...was impelled by vanity to show them how good a dancer he was
himself. He asked one of the handsomest girls out on the floor, and, in
accordance with the usual form, faced her towards the piper, asking her to
name the tune she wished to dance to. Receiving the customary reply, 'Sir,
your will is my pleasure,' Carleton called for the jig Polthogue. He next
danced Miss McLeod's Reel with his partner, and then called for a hornpipe,
a single dance, this is, one done without a partner. It was considered
unladylike for girls to do a hornpipe. The College Hornpipe was his choice
for this dance. (pg. 59)
***
Charlie Piggott, in his book Blooming Meadows (1998) written with Fintan Vallely, relates that accordion player Johnny O'Leary was at the deathbed of his mentor, the famed Sliabh Luachra fidder Pádraig O'Keeffe, in St. Catherine's Hospital, Tralee. O'Keeffe was lucid until the end, and engaged in witty repartee with O'Leary:
***
'You know two great reels,' he said. 'Don't ever forget them.'
'What are they?' said I.
'"Miss McCloud" and "Rolling in the Ryegrass",' he said.
'You see, "Miss McCloud" is a great reel,' he said, 'but we're playing
it wrong.'
'How do you mean it?' says I.
'I'm at it now,' he says, 'but I suppose I won't be left alive to do it-
play it backwards. And,' he says, 'you'll never in your life hear a nicer
reel.'
Whether 'tis right or not, I don't know. He was just going to do it when
he died. He said he had a sister that had the first part of it done backwards
with a concertina and, Pádriag said, 'twas double nicer than the way we're
playing it. He was a genius, you know. He was a genius.
***
The melody has had a long history in America and has proved enduringly popular with fiddlers in many regions. Cauthen (1990) notes the tune's mention in the "Marion Standard" of April 30, 1909, which reported its having been played at a housewarming in Perry County, Alabama, in 1827. Bronner collected the tune from central New York fidders, who also knew it under the title "Virginia Reel" and, from one source, the "interchangable title" of "Campbells are Coming," a jig. Some confusion in his sources seems to stem from the interchangability of many triple and duple meter tunes under the "Virginia Reel" moniker, but Bronner states that versions of "Miss McLeod" in 12/8 time were "not uncommon" in his collecting experience. Samuel Bayard (1981) also wondered if "Miss McLeod" was a reworking of some set of the 6/8 time "The Campbells Are Coming," a family which includes (among others) "The Burnt Old Man" and "Hob or/and Nob." O'Neill (1913) has no doubts and states unequivocably that the 'McLeod' and 'Campbell' tunes either had a common origin or that the former was derived from the latter (or its Irish equivalent, "An Seanduine"). 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 mid-1920's) and it was cited as having commonly been played for Orange County, New York, country dances in the 1930's (Lettie Osborn, New York Folklore Quarterly). Arizona fiddler Kenner C. Kartchner remembered the tune being played in the Flagstaff-Williams (Ariz.) area in 1903 (Shumway). The title (as "MacLeod's Reel") appears in a list of traditional Ozark Mountain fiddle tunes compiled by musicologist/folklorist Vance Randolph, published in 1954. A rendering of the tune under the title "Mistress McCloud's Jig" was recorded by him for the Library of Congress from fiddlers in that region in the early 1940's. Bayard (1981) noted that the tune was usually played in the British Isles with with the parts ending on the second of the scale, resulting in an "endless" or "circular" tune, while fiddlers in the Americas usually ended on the tonic. Also in the repertoire of Uncle Jimmy Thompson (Texas, Tennessee) as "McLeod's Reel."
***
Novelist and fiddler Thomas Hardy, of Devonshire, England, knew the tune and worked it into his novel The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886):
***
Farfrae was footing a quaint little dance with Elizabeth-Jane--an old
country thing, the only one she knew, and though he considerately toned
down his movements to suit her demurer gait, the pattern of the shining
little nails in the soles of his boots became familiar to the eyes of every
bystander. The tune had enticed her into it; being a tune of a busy,
vaulting, leaping sort--some low notes on the silver string of each fiddle,
then a skipping on the small, like running up and down ladders--'Miss
McLeod of Ayr' was its name, so Mr. Farfrae had said, and that it was
very popular in his own country [Scotland].
***
Words are sometimes set to the tune, especially in American variants. These words were collected in Scotland:
***
Macaphee turn yer cattle roon loch o' Forum (3 times)
Here and there and everywhere the kye are in the corn.
***
Waitin' at the shielin' o Mhaire bhan mo chroi (pronounced: varie van ma cree)
Waitin' at the shielin' o faur awa' tae sea
Hame will come the bonny boats Mhaire bhan mo chroi
Hame will come the bonny boys, Mhaire bhan mo chroi.
***
A curious alternate title for "McLeod's," "The Enterprising Boxer" is a miss-hearing of the name "Enterprise and Boxer," which refers to a naval engagement between two ships of those names.
***
Sources for notated versions: Michael Coleman (Co. Sligo/New York) [DeMarco and Krassen], John McDermott, (New York State, 1926) [Bronner], 8 southwestern Pa. fiddlers [Bayard]; a c. 1837-1840 MS by Shropshire musician John Moore [Ashman]; accordion player Johnny O'Leary (Sliabh Luachra region of the Cork-Kerry border), recorded at Na Piobairi Uilleann, October, 1984 [Moylan]. Adam, No. 20. Allan's Irish Fiddler, No. 69, pg. 17. American Veteran Fifer, 1927; No. 6. Ashman (The Ironbridge Hornpipe), 1991; No. 25a, pg. 6 (appears as "Mr. Mc Law'd a Popular Dance"). Bayard (Dance to the Fiddle), 1981; No. 249A-H, pgs. 211-213. Brody (Fiddler's Fakebook), 1983; pg. 192. Bronner (Old Time Music Makers of New York State), 1987; No. 4, pg. 26 (appears as 1st tune of "Virginia Reel Medley"). Burchenal (American Country Dances, Vol. 1), 1918; pgs. 10-11 (appears as "Virginia Reel" [2]). Cazden (Dances from Woodland), 1945; pg. 24. Cazden (Folk Songs of the Catskills), pg. 29. Cole (1001 Fiddle Tunes), 1940; pg. 29 (appears as "Miss McCloud's"). DeMarco and Krassen (Trip to Sligo), 1978; pgs. 38, 52, 66. Gale, No. 30. Hardings All Round Collection, 1905; No. 183, pg. 58. Hardings Original Collection and Harding Collection, No. 36. Howe (Diamond School for the Violin), 1861; pg. 44. Howe, 1951; pg. 34. Jarman (Old Time Fiddlin' Tunes), No. or pg. 10. Kennedy (Fiddlers Tune Book), Vol. 1, 1951; No. 48, pg. 24 (appears as "May Day"). Kerr (Merry Melodies), Vol. 1; pg. 5. Miller & Perron (New England Fiddlers Repertoire), 1983; No. 109. Moylan (Johnny O'Leary), 1994; No. 143, pg. 84. O'Malley, pgs. 10 & 22. O'Neill (1915 ed.), 1987; No. 275, pg. 140. O'Neill (Krassen), 1976; pg. 134. O'Neill (1850), 1903/1979; No. 1418, pg. 263. O'Neill (1001 Gems), 1907/1986; No. 655, pg. 117. Robbins, No. 96. Roche Collection, 1982, Vol. 1; No. 148, pg. 59. Ruth (Pioneer Western Folk Tunes), 1948; No. 112, pg. 39. Smith (Scottish Minstrel), Vol. 4, pg. 50. Songer (Portland Collection), 1997; pg. 136. Surenne, pg. 11. Sweet (Fifer's Delight), 1965/1981; pg. 32. Trim (Thomas Hardy), 1990; No. 4 (appears as "Miss MacLeod of Ayr"). Tubridy (Irish Traditional Music, Vol. 1), 1999; pg. 19. White's Excelsior Collection, pg. 42. White's Unique Collection, No. 170. Biograph 6003, The Bogtrotters- "The Original Bogtrotters" (appears as "Hop Up Ladies"). Brunswick (78 RPM), John McDermott (N.Y. state), 1926 (appears as 1st tune of "Virginia Reel Medley"). CCF2, Cape Cod Fiddlers - "Concert Collection II" (1999). County 201, The Old Virginia Fiddlers- "Rare Recordings" (appears as "Hop Light Ladies"). Davis Unlimited 33015, Doc Roberts- "Classic Fiddle Tunes" (appears as "Did You Ever See the Devil, Uncle Joe"). Gael-Linn CEF 045, "Paddy Keenan" (1975. Appears as "McLeod's Reel/Cor Mhic Leoid"). Glencoe 001, Cape Breton Symphony- "Fiddle." Globestyle Irish CDORBD 085, The Kerry Fiddle Trio - "The Rushy Mountain" (1994. Reissue of Topic recordings). Green Linnet 1023, Joe Shannon and Johnny McGreevy- "The Noonday Feast." Green Linnet SIF1122, Kevin Burke - "Open House" (1992). John Edwards Memorial Foundation JEMF-105, Uncle Joe Shippee - "New England Traditional Fiddling" (1978). June Appal 007, Thomas Hunter- "Deep in Tradition." Nimbus NI 5320, Ciaran Tourish et al. - "Fiddle Sticks: Irish Traditional Music from Donegal" (1991). Rounder 0057, Frank Dalton and George Wood- "Old Originals, Vol. 1" (appears as "Hop Light Ladies"). Rounder 0058, John Patterson- "Old Originals, Vol. II" (appears as "Did You Ever See the Devil, Uncle Joe?"). Shanachie 33001, Patrick J. Touhey- "The Wheels of the World." Tennvale 001S, Bob Douglas- "Old Time Dance Tunes Fron the Sequatchie Valley" (Appears as "Hop Light Ladies"). Tennvale 003, Pete Parish- "Clawhammer Banjo." Topic 12T309, Padraig O'Keeffe, Denis Murphy & Julia Clifford - "Kerry Fiddles." Transatlantic 341, Dave Swarbrick- "Swarbrick 2." Victor 20537 (78 RPM), Mellie Dunham, 1926 (appears as 1st tune of "Medley of Reels"). Mickey Doherty - "The Gravel Walks."
T:Miss McLeod's Reel
L:1/8
M:C|
K:G
|:G2 BG dG BG|GB BA Bc BA|G2 BG dG BG|A2AG (3ABc BA|
G2BG dG BG|GB BA Bc d2|(3efg ed Bd ef|ge dB Ac BA:|
|:G2 gf ed eg|B2BA BcBA|G2 gf ed Bd|ea ag fd ef|g2 gf ef ge|
dB BA Bc d2|(3efg ed Bd ef|ge dB Ac BA:|
PADDY ON THE TURNPIKE [1]. {primarily mixolydian versions}. AKA and see "Bunch of Kemp," "Flowers of Limerick," "Half Past Four," "Jenny On the Railroad," "The Mills Are Grinding," "Old Town Reel," "Paddy on the Handcar," "Paddle on the Handlecar," "Telephone Reel." American, Old-Time, Bluegrass; Reel or Breakdown. USA; Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, North Carolina, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Nebraska. G Major or G Mixolydian: A Major (Thede) {see Wilson Douglas's recording}: B Flat Major (Howe). Standard or AEAE (W.Douglas). AABB (most versions): AA'BB (Phillips, 1994). Bayard (1981) identifies this rather common tune as a descendant of a once well-known Scottish song air known usually as "The Waukin o the Fauld." From stylitic considerations, namely the modal character (with sets appearing in more than one mode), wide diffusion, often renamed, indicate the tune has some "respectable" age--though Bayard points out it has not been traced before the early 18th century. Wilson Douglas, a fiddler from Clay County, W.Va., points out there are two versions in the old time repertory with "the West Virginia one ...different from the one they play in Kentucky and North Carolina. The one I play is the West Virginia 'Paddy on the Turnpike.' Its got a hornpipe time, if you notice, and a drone. Its played by all the old mountain fiddlers; even (eastern Ky. fiddling master) Ed Hayley played the West Virginia 'Paddy on the Pike' {ed.- it was recorded by Hayley as "Half Past Four"} It was first played by the Carpenters and the Hammonses." Rush, Ky., fiddler J.P Fraley notes that two portions of this melody are similar to the fiddle tunes "Pidgeon on the Gate" and "Bluebird(y) on the Snowbank." The title appears in a list of traditional Ozark Mountain fiddle tunes compiled by musicologist/folklorist Vance Randolph, published in 1954.
***
Missouri fiddler Bob Holt's love of traditional music derived from his family. He told Bittersweet magazine in 1981:
***
My dad and my Grandad both loved fiddle music though they neither
one could play. My Granddad kept a fiddle in his house. He lived
down the road here from where I now live, and this used to be the
main road from Ava down to the southwestern part of the county.
There were a lot of travelers on it, and a lot of times they'd stop and
stay all night. If they could fiddle, Dad said they never got any sleep
'cause Granddad would make them play all night. He always wanted
'Paddy on the Turnpike'.
***
Sources for notated versions: Charlie Higgins (Grayson County, Virginia) [Krassen]; Earl Collins (Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma) [Thede]; Bob Walters (Burt County, Nebraska) [Christeson]; Red Steely with the Red Headed Fiddlers [Phillips]; Vic Kibler via his uncle, Lewis Nichols (Hamilton County, New York) [Bohrer/Kibler]. Bohrer (Vic Kibler), 1992; No. 6, pg. 6. Brody (Fiddler's Fakebook), 1983; pg. 214. Christeson (Old Time Fiddlers Repertory, Vol. 1), 1973; No. 29, pg. 21. DeVille, No. 64. Krassen (Masters of Old Time Fiddling), 1983; pg. 42. Lowinger (Bluegrass Fiddle), 1974; pgs. 20-21. Phillips, 1989; pg. 32 (appears as "Paddy on the Handlecar"). Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), Vol. 1, 1994; pg. 179. Thede (The Fiddle Book), 1967; pg. 77. Also appears in Howe (1864). County 507, Red Steely and the Red Headed Fiddlers. County 775, Kenny Baker- "Farmyard Swing." County 722, Joe Greene- "Joe Greene's Fiddle Album." County 772, Bobby Hicks- "Texas Crapshooter." County 527, The Red Headed Fiddlers- "Old-Time Fiddle Classics, Vol. 2" (appears as "Paddy on the Handcar"). Elektra EKS 7285, The Dilards with Byron Berline- "Pickin' and Fiddlin.'" Flying Fish 70572, Frank Ferrel - "Yankee Dreams: 'Wicked Good Fiddling from New England'" (1990). Folkways FTS 31036, Roger Sprung- "Grassy Licks." June Appal 007, Thomas Hunter- "Deep in Tradition" (appears as "Paddy on the Handcar"). Living Folk LFR-104, Allan Block - "Alive and Well and Fiddling." Marimac AHS #3, Glen Smith - "Say Old Man" (1990. Appears as "Patty on the Turnpike," learned from Jim Shumach). Omac 2, Berline, Bush and O'Conner- "In Concert." Rounder 0047, Wilson Douglas- "The Right Hand Fork of Rush's Creek" (1975). Rural Records RRCF 251, Curly Fox (Ga.) {1970}. Victor 19450 (78 RPM), 1924, Fiddlin' Cowan Powers and Family. Voyager 309, Benny and Jerry Thomasson- "The Weiser Reunion: A Jam Session" (1993).
ROAD TO CASHEL. Irish, Reel. B Minor (7th). Standard. AAB. Composed by Long Island, New York, musician Charlie Lennon in the 1970's. The 'A' part is very similar to that of "The Cabin Hunter" though the 'B' parts differ in some respects. Lennon is aware of the similarity between the tunes, and indicates in his writings that they are the same tune, when he notes "'The Road to Cashel' has been recorded by the group The Boys of the Lough. It has also been recorded by Kevin Burke and Matt Molloy under the title of 'The Hunter's Cabin'." Burke himself credits Lennon with the composition of the tune on his album "Up Close." There were magnificent churches at the ancient Munster stronghold of the Rock of Cashel. Carlin (Master Collection), 1984; No. 212, pg. 125. Lennon (Musical Memories).
T:Road to Cashel, The
M:C|
L:1/8
C:Charlie Lennon
R:reel
D:Charlie Lennon: Musical Memories
Z:Lorna LaVerne
K:Edor
"Em"(FE)ED E2-~E2|(FE)(3EEE"Bm" (dE)(Bd)|
"Em"(FE)ED E2(BA)|"D"(FDd)A "Bm"(Bd)(AB)|
"Em"(FE)ED E2-~E2|(FE)(3EEE"Bm" (dE)(Bd)|
"Em"(FE)(ED) E2(BA)|"D"(FDdD) "Bm"(Bd)(Ad)|
(BAB)d (fd)(ef)|"D"(dfab) afed|"G"((3B^cd g)e "D"~f2 (fe)|
"Bm"(dB)(Ad) "Em"(BE)(FA)|"Bm"(BAB)d (fd)(ef)|"D"(df)(ab) (afe)f|
"Bm"(bf)~f2 "F#m"(afe)f|"Bm"(bf)(af) "D"(edBA):|
"Em"(FE)(ED) E4||
SOLDIER'S JOY [1] (Lutgair An Sigeadoir/t-Saigdiura). AKA and see "French Four" [3], "I Am My Mamma's Darlin' Child," "John White," "The King's Head," "The King's Hornpipe," "(I) Love Somebody," "Payday in the Army," "Rock the Cradle Lucy." Old-Time, Bluegrass, American, Canadian, English, Irish, Scottish; Breakdown, Scottish Measure, Hornpipe, Reel, Country Dance and Morris Dance Tune. D Major (almost all versions): G Major (Bacon, Bayard-Simmons). Standard or ADAE. AB (Athole, Bayard-Simmons, Shaw): AABB (most versions): ABCDE (Cooke {Ex. 54}). One of, if not the most popular fiddle tune in history, widely disseminated in North America and Europe in nearly every tradition; as Bronner (1987) perhaps understatedly remarks, it has enjoyed a "vigarous" life. There is quite a bit of speculation on just what the name 'soldier's joy' refers to. Proffered thoughts seem to gravitate toward money and drugs. In support of the latter is the 1920's vintage Georgia band the Skillet Lickers, who sang to the melody:
***
Well twenty-five cents for the morphene,
and fifteen cents for the beer.
Twenty-five cents for the old morphene
now carry me away from here.
***
Bayard (1981) dates it to "at least" the latter part of the 18th century, citing a version that has become standard in Aird's 1778 collection (Vol. 1, No. 109_) and Skillern's 1780 collection (pg. 21). John Glen (1891) and Francis Collinson (1966) maintain the first appearence in print of this tune is in Joshua Campbell's 1778 A Collection of the Newest and Best Reels and Minuets with improvements. It has been attributed to Campbell himself but Collinson notes it is hardly likely as it is a well known folk dance tune in other countries of Europe. There is also a dance by the same name which is "one of the earliest dances recorded in England, but no date of origin has been established. It is still done in Girton Village as part of a festival dance. The tune is also well known in Ireland" (Linscott, 1939). The melody was used in North-West England morris dance tradition for a polka step, and also is to be found in the Cotswold morris tradition where it appears as "The Morris Reel," collected from the village of Headington, Oxfordshire. The Scots national poet Robert Burns set some verses to the tune which were published in his Merry Muses of Caledonia. In the first song of Burns' cantata, The Jolly Beggars, by the soldier, is to the tune of "Soldier's Joy." Early versions of "Soldier's Joy" can be traced to a Scottish source as far back as 1781; variants can be found in Scandanavia, the French Alps, and Newfoundland (Linda Burman-Hall, "Southern American Folk Fiddle Styles," Ethnomusicology, Vol. 19, #1, Jan. 1975).
***
In America the melody is ubiquitous. It was cited as having commonly been played for country dances in Orange County, New York, in the 1930's (Lettie Osborn, New York Folklore Quarterly), and Bronner (1987) confirms it was a popular piece at New York square dances in the early 20th century. The title appears in a repertoire list of Norway, Maine, fiddler Mellie Dunham (the elderly Dunahm {b. 1853} was Henry Ford's champion fiddler in the late 1920's). Musicologist Charles Wolfe (1982) says it was popular with Kentucky fiddlers. 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, and, for the same institution by Herbert Halpert in 1939 from the playing of Mississippi fiddlers John Hatcher, W.E. Claunch and Stephen B. Tucker. It was also recorded by legendary Galax fiddler Emmett Lundy, and is listed as one of the tunes played at a fiddlers' convention at the Pike County Fairgrounds, Alabama (as recorded in the Troy Herald of July 6, 1926) {Cauthen, 1990}. Arizona fiddler Kenner C. Kartchner said: "Every fiddler plays this. Some not so good" (Shumway). Burchenal prints a New England contra dance of the same name with the tune. Tommy Jarrell, the influential fiddler from Mt. Airy, North Carolina, told Peter Anick in 1982 that it was a tune he learned in the early 1920's when he first began learning the fiddle, at which time it was known as "I Love Somebody" in his region. Soon after it was known in Mt. Airy as "Soldier's Joy" and, after World War II, as "Payday in the Army." Another North Carolina fiddler, African-American Joe Thompson, played the tune in CFGD tuning. Gerald Milnes (1999, pg. 12) remarks that tune origins were of significant value to West Virginia musicians who often tried to trace tunes to original sources. It was the first tune learned by Randolph County, W.Va., fiddler Woody Simmons (b. 1911). Braxton County fiddler Melvin Wine (1909-1999), says Milnes, used family lore to attribute the tune to his great-grandfather, Smithy Wine, of Civil War era. Smithy, it seems, had been detained by the Confederates in Richmond under charges of aiding Union soldiers. Although imprisoned, his captors found out he was a fiddler and made him play for a dance, and Smithy later associated the tune with this incident, calling it "Soldier's Joy." For further information see Bayard's (1944) extensive note on this tune and tune family under "The King's Head." During a Senate campaign in the 1960's the piece was played to crowds by Albert Gore Sr., the fiddling father of the Vice President during the Clinton administration (Wolfe, 1997).
***
In England, the title appears in Henry Robson's list of popular Northumbrian song and dance tunes ("The Northern Minstrel's Budget"), which he published c. 1800. The novelist Thomas Hardy, himself an accordionist and fiddler, mentions the tune in his Far From the Madding Crowd:
***
'Then,' said the fiddler, 'I'll venture to name that the right
and proper thing is 'The Soldier's Joy' - there being a
gallant soldier married into the farm - hey, my sonnies,
and gentlemen all?' So the dance begins. As to the merits
of 'The Soldier's Joy', there cannot be, and never were,
two options. It has been observed in the musical circles
of Weatherbury and its vacinity that this melody, at the
end of three-quarters of an hour of thunderous footing,
still possesses more stimulative properties for the heel
and toe than the majority of other dances at their first opening.
***
At the turn into the 20th century the melody was in the repertoire of fiddler William Tilbury (who lived at Pitch Place, midway between Churt and Thursley, Surrey), the last of a family of village fiddlers who had learned his repertoire from an uncle, Fiddler Hammond (died c. 1870), who had taught him to play and who had been the village musician before him. The author of English Folk-Song and Dance concludes that "Soldier's Joy" was enjoyed in the tradition of this southwest Surry village about 1870, and was one of a number of country dances which survived well into the second half of the 19th century (pg. 144).
***
Some of the lyrics which have been sung to the tune are:
***
Chicken in the bread tray scratchin' out dough,
Granny will your dog bite? No, child, no.
Ladies to the center and gents to the bar,
Hold on you don't go too far.
***
Grasshopper sittin on a sweet potato vine, (x3)
Along come a chicken and says she's mine.
***
I'm a-gonna get a drink, don't you wanna go? (x3)
Hold on Soldier's Joy.
***
Twenty-five cents for the malteen,
Fifteen cents for the beer;
Twenty-five cents for the malteen,
I'm gonna take me away from here.
***
Love somebody, yes I do, (x3)
Love somebody but I won't say who.
***
Refrain
Dance all night, fiddle all day,
That's a Soldier's Joy. (Kuntz)
***
In Newfoundland, it is sometimes known as "John White" and sung accompanied by the fiddle or accordion:
***
Did you see, did you see, did you see John White?
Did you see, did you see, did you see John White?
Did you see, did you see, did you see John White?
He's gone around the harbour for to stay all night.
He's gone around the harbour for to get a dozen beer.
He's gone around the harbour and he won't be coming here.
He's gone around the harbour for to get a cup of tea.
If you sees him will you tell him that I wants he?
***
Sources for notated versions: John Carson and The Skillet Lickers (North Georgia) [Kuntz]; J.S. Price (Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma) [Thede]; Ben Smith (Dixon, Missouri) [Christeson]; Willie Woodward (Bristol, N.H.) [Linscott]: Floyd Woodhull (1976), Woodhull's Old Tyme Masters (1941), Pop Weir (c. 1960) {three versions from central New York State} [Bronner]; Bobbie Jamieson (Cullivoe, Yell, Shetland) [Cooke]; George Sutherland (Bressay/Vidlin, Shetland) [Cooke]; Lorin Simmons (Prince Edward Island, Canada, 1930's), James Marr (elderly fiddler from Missouri, 1949), twenty southwestern Pa. fifers and fiddlers [Bayard]; Richard Greene with Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys [Phillips]; a c. 1837-1840 MS by Shropshire musician John Moore [Ashman]; Elliot Wright (b. 1935, Flat River, Queens County, Prince Edward Island) [Perlman]; fiddler Dawson Girdwood (Perth, Ottawa Valley, Ontario) [Begin].
Adam, 1928; No. 2. Ashman (The Ironbridge Hornpipe), 1991; No. 86b, pg. 35. Bacon (The Morris Ring), 1974; pg. 197. Bayard (Dance to the Fiddle), 1981; Appendix No. 1A-B, pgs. 571-572, and No. 332A-S, pgs. 303-310. Begin (Fiddle Music from the Ottawa Valley: Dawson Girdwood), 1985; No. 47, pg. 56. Brody (Fiddler's Fakebook), 1983; pg. 262. R.P. Bronner (Old-Time Music Makers of New York State), 1987; No. 12, pgs. 71-72 and No. 25, pg. 110. Burchenal (American Country Dances, Vol. 1), 1918; pg. 6. Carlin (English Concertina), 1977; pgs. 40-411. Cazden (Dances from Woodland), 1945; pg. 19. Christeson (Old Time Fiddlers' Repertory, Vol. 2), 1984; pg. 61. Cole (1001 Fiddle Tunes), 1940; pg. 24. Cooke (The Fiddle Tradition of the Shetland Isles), 1986; Ex. 54, pg. 112 and Ex. 55, pg. 113. DeVille, 1905; No. 76. Ford (Traditional Music in America), 1940; pg. 49. Harding Collection (1915) and Harding's Original Collection (1928), No. 20. Honeyman (Strathspey, Reel and Hornpipe Tutor), 1898; pg. 9. Howe (School for the Violin), 1851; pg. 37. Howe (Diamond School for the Violin), pg. 41. Jarman (Old Time Fiddlin' Tunes), No. or pg. 23. Kaufman (Beginning Old Time Fiddle), 1977; pg. 40. Karpeles & Schofield (A Selection of 100 English Folk Dance Airs), 1951; pg. 7. Kennedy (Fiddler's Tune Book), Vol. 1, 1951; No. 4, pg. 2. Kerr (Merry Melodies), Vol. 1; Set 1, No. 6, pg. 3. Krassen (Appalachian Fiddle), 1973; pg. 15 and 45 (latter includes a 'A' part variation by Charlie Higgins {Galax, Va}). Kuntz (Ragged but Right), 1987; pg. 295-296 (two versions). Lerwick (Kilted Fiddler), 1985; pg. 21. Linscott (Folk Songs of Old New England), 1939; pg. 110-111. Lowinger (Bluegrass Fiddle), 1974; pg. 22. McGlashan (Collection of Scots Measures), c. 1780; pg. 32. MacDonald (The Skye Collection), 1887; pg. 38. O'Neill (Krassen), 1976; pg. 183. O'Neill (1850), 1903/1979; No. 1642, pg. 305. O'Neill (1001 Gems), 1907/1986; No. 868, pg. 150. Perlman (The Fiddle Music of Prince Edward Island), 1996; pg. 71. Phillips (Fiddlecase Tunebook), 1989{A}; pg. 38. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), Vol. 1, 1994; pg. 227 (two versions). Raven (English Country Dance Tunes), 1984; pg. 166 (appears as "King's Head"). Reiner (Anthology of Fiddle Styles), 1979; pg. 37 (includes several variations). Robbins, No. 56. Roche Collection, 1982, Vol. 2; No. 216, pg. 12 (appears as a hornpipe). Ruth (Pioneer Western Folk Tunes), 1948; No. 7, pg. 4 (an alternate title is given as "King's Head"). Shaw (Cowboy Dances), 1943; pg. 383. Stewart-Robertson (The Athole Collection), 1884; pg. 150. Sweet (Fifer's Delight), 1964; No. or pg. 43. Sym, 1930; pg. 13. Thede (The Fiddle Book), 1967; pg. 118. Trim (Thomas Hardy), 1990; No. 43. Wade (Mally's North West Morris Book), 1988; pg. 17. White's Excelsior Collection, 1907; pg. 72. Bluebird 5658-B (78 RPM), Gid Tanner and His Skillet Lickers (North Ga.) {1934}. Caney Mountain Records CEP 210 (extended play LP, privately issued), Lonnie Robertson (Mo.), c. 1965-66. Columbia 191-D (78 RPM), Samantha Bumgarner {recorded as "I Am My Momma's Darlin' Child"). Columbia 15538 (78 RPM), Gid Tanner and His Skillet Lickers. County 405, "The Hillbillies." County 506, The Skillet Lickers- "Old-Time Tunes. County 514, Gid Tanner's Skillet Lickers- "Hell Broke Loo"se in Georgia" (Originally recorded in 1934). County 756, Tommy Jarrell- "Sail Away Ladies." Edison 52370 (78 RPM), 1928, John Baltzell (appears as "Soldier's Joy Hornpipe") {Baltzell was a native of Mt. Vernon, Ohio, as was minstrel Dan Emmett (d. 1904). Emmett returned to the town in 1888, poor, but later taught Baltzell to play the fiddle}. Flying Fish 102, New Lost City Ramblers - "20 Years/Concert Performances" (1978). Folk Legacy Records FSA-17, Hobart Smith - "America's Greatest Folk Instrumentalist." Folkways FA 2381, "The Hammered Dulcimer as played by Chet Parker" (1966). Folkways FA 2492, New Lost City Ramblers - "String Band Instrumentals" (1964. Learned from Hobart Smith). Fretless 132, "Ron West: Vermont Fiddler." June Appal 007, Tommy Hunter - "Deep in Tradition" (1976. Learned from his grandfather, fiddler James W. Hunter, Madison County, N.C.). Library of Congress (2738-B-2), 1939, recording by Herbert Halpert of the Houston Bald Knob String Band (Franklin County, Va.). Mississippi Department of Archives and History AH-002, Stephen B. Tucker - "Great Big Yam Potatoes: Anglo-American Fiddle Music from Mississippi" (1985). Morning Star 45003, Taylor's Kentucky Boys - "Wink the Other Eye: Old Time Fiddle Band Music from Kentucky" (1980. Originally recorded in 1927). Revonah RS-924, "The West Orrtanna String Band" (1976). Rounder 0070, The Kentucky Colonels- "1965-1967." Rounder 0073, The White Brothers- "Live in Sweden." Rounder 1003, Fiddlin' John Carson- "The Old Hen Cackled and the Rooster's Goin' to Crow." Tradition TLP 1007, Lacey Phillips - "Instrumental Music of the Southern Appalachians," 1956. United Artists 9801, "Will the Circle Be Unbroken." Voyager VRCD 344, Howard Marshall & John Williams - "Fiddling Missouri" (1999). Bob Smith's Ideal Band - "Ideal Music" (1977). "Fiddlers Three Plus Two." "The Caledonian Companion" (1975).
X:1
T:Soldiers' Joy [1]
L:1/8
M:C|
R:Country Dances
B:The Athole Collection
K:D
dB|AFDF AFDF|A2d2d2cB|AFDF AFDF|G2E2E2FG|AFDF AFDF|
A2d2d2fg|afdf gece|d2D2D2||
ag|fdfg a2gf|ecef g2ag|fdfg a2 gf|edcB A2ag|fdfg a2gf|ecef g2fg|
afdf gece|d2D2D2||
X:2
T:Soldier's Joy
L:1/8
M:C|
S:Kuntz - Ragged but Right
N:From the playing of Fiddlin' John Carson
K:D
(3dcB|A2 FF D2 FF|A2 BA d2 dB|ABAG FGFD|E2 E4 (#G|
A2) FF DEFD|A2 BA d3 (e|f2) ff efec|d2 d4 (3dcB|A2 FF D2 FF|
ABAF dBAF|ABAG FGFD|E2 E4 (^G|A2) FE DEFD|A2 BA d3e|
f2 ff efdc|d2 d4||
|:A2|d2 f2 abaf|e2 ef g2 ge|d2 df abaf|edcB A3A|
d2f2 abaf|edef g2 ge|fafd egec|d2 d4:|
WHISTLE OVER/O'ER (THE LAVE O'T). Scottish (originally), English; Rant or Strathspey. England, Northumberland. G Major (Alburger, Glen, Gow, Hall & Stafford, Kerr, Neil, Raven): E Flat Major (Emmerson). Standard. One part (Emmerson, Hunter): AAB (Kerr, Neil): AABB (Alburger, Hall & Stafford, Raven): AABCCD (Athole), AABBCCDD (Glen, Gow, McGlashan). The tune (and song, both extent in several versions) appears to be an early 18th century set of "De'il Stick the Minister," and has often been attributed to John Bruce of Dumfries (c. 1720-1785, born in Braemar), the poet Robert Burns being the first to do so. Others (e.g. Mayne) say the air was composed long before him, and Emmerson (1971) finds in all little evidence to support claims for Bruce. A colorful character, Bruce was a Jacobite, born in Braemar between 1700 and 1720, who was imprisoned in Edinburgh Castle after the rising of 1745 and the defeat of Bonnie Prince Charlie. Reportedly his skill as a fiddler helped free him and he went to Dumfries where he became acquainted with Robert Burns (who called him "an honest man, though a red wud Highlander") before passing away in 1785 (Collinson, 1966/Alburger, 1983). Flood (1906) says the tune was originally an Irish air dating back to the 17th century called "Maggie Pickens," which the Scots appropriated c. 1715-1740 and set to the song "Whistle O'er the Lave O't" (whose words were so indelicate, according to Flood, that Robert Burns had to rewrite them in 1790. The tune was a favorite march of the Irish Volunteers (1774-1784).
***
"Whistle's" first printed appearance was in 1757 in either Robert Bremner's Scots Reels (pg. 56) {as Glen, 1891, finds} or James Oswald's Caledonian Pocket Companion where it appears in rant form. Alburger searched the Blaikie Manuscript (1692), as it had been reported by James Dick to be contained there, however she could not locate it in the Wighton copy. It is one of the "missing tunes" from William Vickers' 1770 Northumbrian dance manuscript, but is contained in the 1768 Gillespie Manuscript of Perth. Today, the version that was published by James Scott Skinner (1890) is commonly associated (along with "Gin ye kiss my Wife") with the Scottish traditional dance "Sean(n) Triubhas," which is performed in tartan trousers, not kilts, though other items of Highland dress remain the same. In fact, states Emmerson (1972) "Whistle" is so intimately associated with the dance that it is now commonly known as "Seann Triubhas" (see also note for "Seann Triubhas Willighan," the original tune for the dance).
***
The song "Whistle o'er the lave o't" was written in the 17th century and contains ribald lyrics which can be found in David Herd's Ancient and Modern Scottish Songs. "One of many Scots songs with indelicate suggestions," notes Purser (1992), "'fiddling' has long been a double-entendre and whistling a way of avoiding the overexplicit." Burns' words go, in part:
***
I am a fiddler to my trade
An' a' the tunes that e'er I play'd
The sweetest still to wife or maid
Was - Whistle owre the lave o't.
***
My mother sent me to the well,
She had better gang hersell,
I got the thing I dare nae tell,
Whistle o'er the lave o't.
***
The first verse of this version first appears in the Merry Muses where it is the chorus of "Let me ryke up to dight that tear,' while the 2nd verse is from Herd's book of Scots Songs (1769), referenced above. Alburger (Scottish Fiddlers and Their Music), 1982; Ex. 87, pg. 140. Dick, No. 250. Emmerson (Rantin' Pipe and Tremblin' String), 1971; No. 36, pg. 133. Glen (The Glen Collection of Scottish Music), Vol. 1, 1891; pg. 6. Gow (Complete Repository), Part 1, 1799; pg. 12. Hall & Stafford (Charlton Memorial Tune Book), 1974; pg. 1. Hardie (Caledonian Companion), 1992; pg. 53. Henderson, Flowers of Scottish Melody, 1935. Hunter (The Fiddle Music of Scotland), 1988; No. 87. Johnson, Musical Museum, 1787. Kerr (Merry Melodies), Vol. 1; Set 16, No. 3, pg. 11. McGlashan (Collection of Strathspey Reels), c. 1780/81; pg. 31. Neil (The Scots Fiddle), 1991; No. 96, pg. 129. Raven (English Country Dance Tunes), 1984; pg. 180. Skinner, 1890 (Harp and Claymore). Stewart-Robertson (The Athole Collection), 1884; pg. 172. "James F. Dickie's Delights" (1976). "The Fiddler's Companion" (1980).
T:Whistle O'er the Lave O't
L:1/8
M:C
R:Slow Strathspey
B:The Athole Collection
K:G
G>E E<G B>A B2|d<e B>g A>G E2|G>D E<G G>AB>g|G<G B>G A2G2:|
de/f/ g>f e>d B2| d>eB>g A>G E2|de/f/ g>f e>d B<g|G<G B>G A2 G2|
de/f/ g>f e>d B2|c>aB>g A>G E2|g>be>g d>g B<b|G<G B>G A2 G2||
|:G>BA>c B>GA>c|B>GA>F G>B, A,2|G,>B,A,>C B,>D G<B|
A>Bc>B A2 G2:|
G/A/B/c/ d<g e>cB>G|c>AB>G A>G E2|BA/B/ cB/c/ de/f/ g2|
G<G B>G A2G2|G/A/B/c/ d<g e>cB>G|ce/c/ Bd/B/ A>G E2|
g>be>g d>g B<b|G<G B>G A2 G2||
WHITE COCKADE, THE [1] (An Cnota Bán). AKA and see "The Duke of Buccleugh's Tune," "The Ranting Highlander/Highlandman," "Fiddler's Morris," "A Highland Lad My Love Was Born," "The Highland Laddie," "The Lad With the White Cockade," "O, An Ye Were Dead, Guidman," "The Rose in the Garden" (a Kings County, PEI title), "White Cock Head." Scottish (originally), Irish, English, Canadian, American; Scottish Measure, Reel, March, or Country Dance. USA; New England, New Hampshire, Maine, southwestern Pa., New York, Michigan. Canada, Prince Edward Island. G Major. Standard. AB (Bayard, O'Neill/1850, Skye): AAB (Linscott): AABB (Athole, Breathnach, Brody, Carlin, Hardie, Hunter, Johnson, Kennedy, Miller & Perron, Morrison, O'Neill/1915, Raven, Shaw, Sweet, Trim). The tune in its original form is properly catagorized a Scottish Measure. One of the first printings of the air is in Playford's Apollo's Banquet of 1687 where it was called simply a "Scots tune," and another early title seems to have been "The Duke of Buccleugh's Tune." Bayard (1981) dates the tune to the latter 17th century (apparently due to the Playford publication), but admits it might be older, although Flood (1906) more decisively (though without documentation) identifies it as a popular air and song of 1615-1630. Linscott (1939) finds a relatively late printing by Herd in 1776, by which time the air was thoroughly established.
***
A cockade was a ribbon in the shape of a rosette used as a decoration on hats, and thus was a convenient vehicle to display the wearer's loyalties in much the same manner as a button or a bumper sticker nowadays. It was used especially as a uniform decoration and to mark irregular troops in the 18th century and various colors represented different loyalties. A white cockade was associated with Jacobite rebels in 1715 and again for Bonnie Prince Charlie's uprising in 1745, in both Scotland and Ireland. The Americans, with a high percentage of both Scots-Irish and Irish in their ranks who identified with the earlier rebels, adopted the white cockade as their symbol during the Revolutionary War and when France entered the war they added the black cockade of that country's troops, forming the black and white "Alliance cockade" (Johnson, Scottish Fiddle Music in the 18th Century, 1984, and others). It is popularly though the title of the tune refers to a these Jacobite symbols. Jacobite associations to it dimmed by the end of the century, allowing the tune to be absorbed (like the Highlander's kilts) and used as a march in the British army in 1812 where it appears in a military musician's manuscript book of the period (Winstock). Other military citations include it as one of two stirring tunes (along with "St. Patrick's Day in the Morning") played by pipers attached to the Irish Brigade in the service of France which helped to turn the tide of battle against the English troops in the battle of Fontenoy on May 11, 1745 (O'Neill, 1913). Flood (1906) and O'Neill (1913) state it was probably the last appearance in battle of the Irish Piob mor (war pipes or great pipes, which did survive in Scotland) of any mention.
***
The title is from a Jacobite song from the 18th century written by Muiris mac Daibhi mac Gerailt (Maurice FitzDavid FitzGerald) perhaps after, it has been variously suggested, the fashion of wearing white ribboned plumes in men's hats of the time or possibly to the white cockade which Dublin ladies wore in their hair to show their support of the House of Stewart. Breathnach (CRE II) reports that Seán Ó Dálaigh wrote a note to this song stating that it refers not, as many think, to a military cockade but rather to bouquets of ribbons worn by the young women of Munster at weddings and other such occasions early in the 17th century. This custom is referred to in a verse Ó Dálaigh attributes to the period poet Muiris Mac Gearailt:
***
A chailín donn deas an chnota bháin,
Do bhuair is mheall mé le h-iomad grá;
Tair-se liom 's ná de/an me/ chrá,
Mar do thug mé greann dod' chnota bán.
***
Oh pretty brown girl of the white cockade,
Who grieved and charmed me with abundance of love;
Come with me and don't torment me,
Because I mocked your white cockade. [translation by Paul de Grae]
***
The Scots poet Robert Burns rewrote the lyrics as "A Highland Lad my Love was
Born," but the tune itself seems to have been more popular than even his song, and it was often used as a vehicle for various songs about love, topography, and drinking (see "The Ranting Highlander," "The Highland Laddie," "Fiddler's Morris"). {As an aside, Burn's originally specified his lyric be sung to the tune of the song "O, and ye were dead, Guidman," which was written to the melody of "Watson's Scotch Measure"}. "White Cockade" was commonly played at Orange County, New York, country dances in the 1930's (Lettie Osborn, New York Folklore Quarterly). The tune is associated with a dance of the same name in New England, and one set appears in Linscott's Folk Songs of Old New England; Johnson also prints a Scottish contra dance to the tune. Burchenal (1918) gives the tune as commonly played in that region for the contra dance Camptown Hornpipe. It was listed in the repertoire of Maine fiddler Mellie Dunham (the elderly Dunham was Henry Ford's champion fiddler in the late 1920's). The title appears in Henry Robson's list of popular Northumbrian song and dance tunes ("The Northern Minstrel's Budget"), which he published c. 1800. The English novelist Thomas Hardy, himself an accordion player and fiddler, mentions the tune in scene notes to his drama The Dynasts:
***
It is a June Midnight at The Duke & Duchess of Richmond's. A band
of stringed instruments shows in the background. The room is crowded
with a brilliant assemblage of more than two hundred of the distinguished
people sojourning in the city on account of the war and other reasons, and
of local personages of State and fashion. The ball has opened with 'The
White Cockade.'
***
The author of English Folk-Song and Dance (pg. 144) found the tune in the repertoire of fiddler William Tilbury (who lived at Pitch Place, midway between Chrut and Thursley in Surrey), who, in his young days, used to play the fiddle at village dances. Tilbury learned his repertoire from an uncle, Fiddler Hammond, who died around 1870 and who was the village musician before him. The conclusion was that "The White Cockade" and similar old country dance tunes survived in tradition (at least in southwest Surrey) well into the second half of the 19th century. A jig form of the tune is known as "A Hundred Pipers and A'."
***
Sources for notated versions: Dennis McClure (Willimantic, Conn.) [Linscott]; Clyde Lloyd (fifer from Indiana County, Pa., 1952), Hiram Horner (fifer from Westmoreland and Fayette Counties, Pa., 1960), Hogg (Pa., 1948), George Strosnider (fiddler from Greene County, Pa., 1930's) [Bayard]; flute and whistle Micho Russell, 1973 (Doolin, Co. Clare) [Breathnach]; Francis MacDonald (b. 1940, Morell Rear, North-East Kings County, Prince Edward Island) [Perlman]; tin whistle player Micho Russell (Doolin, County Clare) [Breathnach]. Adam, 1928; No. 16. Aird (Selections), 1778 (1782?), Vol. 1, No. 1 (appears as "The Ranting Highlandman," a title G. Farquhar Graham thought Aird found more prudent than "The White Cockade" as sentiments from the rising of '45 were still strong). American Veteran Fifer, 1927; No. 13, pg. 7. Bayard (Dance to the Fiddle), No. 174A-D, pgs. 125-126. Blake (Ye Ancient Song and Fife), 1974; pg. 26. Breathnach (CRE II), 1976; No. 115, pg. 63. Brody (Fiddler's Fakebook), 1983; pg. 291. Burchenal (American Country Dances, Vol. 1), 1918; pg. 18 (appears as "Camptown Hornpipe"). Cahusac's Pocket Companion for the Flute, 1795?, Vol. 1, pg. 40. Carlin (Gow Collection), 1986; No. 466. Cazden, Jigs, Reels and Squares, Vol. 1, pg. 20. Creighton, 1933; No. 85, pg. 183. DeVille, 1905; No. 73. Emmerson (Rantin' Pipe and Tremblin' String), pg. 124. Ford (Traditional Music in America), 1940; pg. 109. Fraser (The Airs and Melodies Peculiar to the Highlands of Scotland and the Isles), 1816; No. 126. Gow (Vocal Melodies of Scotland), 1822; pg. 35. Gow (Complete Repository), Part 2, 1802; pg. 19. Graham, 1908; pg. 219. Hardie (Caledonian Companion), 1992; pg. 29. Harding Collection (1915) and Harding's Original Collection (1928), No. 18. Howe (School for the Violin), 1851, pg. 33. Hunter (Fiddle Music of Scotland), 1988; No. 313. Huntington, (William Litten's), 1977; pg, 17. Jarman (Old Time Fiddlin' Tunes); No. or pg. 22. JEFDSS, Vol. 1, pg. 94 (2nd half). JFSS, Vol. IV, pg. 159 (2nd half). Johnson (The Scots Musical Museum), 1787-1803, Vol. 3, No. 272 (apparently the first printing in Scotland). Johnson (Twenty-Eight Country Dances as Done at the New Boston Fair), Vol. 8, 1988; pg. 10. Joyce (Ancient Irish Music), 1873, No. 80. Joyce (Old Irish Folk Music and Song), 1909; No. 112. Keller (Giles Gibbs Jr., His Book for the Fife...1777), 1974, pg. 28. Kennedy (Fiddlers Tune Book), Vol. 1, 1951; No. 60, pg. 29. Kerr (Merry Melodies), Vol. 1; No. 2, pg. 23 & pg. 40. Linscott (Folk Songs of Old New England), 1939; pgs. 117 & 120. MacDonald (The Skye Collection), 1887; pg 170. McDonald (The Gesto Collection), 1895; pgs. 6 & 126. McDonald (Highland Vocal Airs), 1784; pg. 33 (Dance No. 5). Miller & Perron (New England Fiddler's Repertoire), 1983; No. 105. Morrison (Twenty-Four Early American Country Dances, Cotillions & Reels, for the Year 1976), 1976; pg. 41. O'Daly, 1849, Vol. 1, pg. 50. O'Malley, 1919, pg. 41. O'Neill (1915 ed.), 1987; No. 108, pg. 61 (includes variations). O'Neill (1850), 1903/1979; No. 1803, pg. 328. Perlman (The Fiddle Music of Prince Edward Island), 1996; pg. 155. Preston, 1796, pg. 127. Raven (English Country Dance Tunes), 1984; pg. 151. Ritson (Scottish Songs), Vol. II, pg. 430. Robbins, 1933, No. 82, pg. 26. Ruth (Pioneer Western Folk Tunes), 1948; No. 80, pg. 29. The Scottich Country Dance Book, 1930-57, No. 5 (tune 11). Shaw (Cowboy Dances), 1943; pg. 391. Smith (Scottish Minstrel), 1820-24, Vol. 1, pg. 21. Stewart-Robertson (The Athole Collection), 1884; pg. 147. Sweet (Fifer's Delight), 1965/1981; pg. 32. Thompson (Scottish Airs for the Voice), 1805, Vol. 4, No. 188. Tolman (Nelson Music Collection), pg. 168. Trim (Thomas Hardy), 1990; No. 6 (appears as "White Cock Head"). White's Excelsior Collection, 1907; pg. 72. Wilson (Companion to the Ballroom), 1840; pgs. 39 & 54. ALcazar Dance Series FR 204, Rodney Miller - "New England Chestnuts 2" (1981). Folkways FA 2381, "The Hammered Dulcimer as played by Chet Parker" (1966). Folkways FTS 31036, Roger Sprung- "Grassy Licks." North Star NS0038, "The Village Green: Dance Music of Old Sturbridge Village." Olympic 6151, The Scottish Festival orchestra- "Scottish Traditonal Fiddle Music" (1978). RCA 09026-60916-2, The Chieftains - "An Irish Evening" (1991). Transatlantic 337, Dave Swarbrick- "Swarbrick." Victor 20537 (78 RPM), Mellie Dunham (Me.), 1926 (appears as 2nd tune of "Medley of Reels").
T:White Cockade, The
L:1/8
M:C|
R:Country Dance
B:The Athole Collection
K:G
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|:Bc|d2B2g2B2|d2d2d3e|d2B2g2fg|a2A2A2GA|B2Bd cBAG|A2B2g3a|
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