BRUSHY FORK OF JOHN'S CREEK. Old-time, Breakdown. A Mixolydian. AEAE. ABB'CC. In the repertoire's of fiddlers Hiram Stamper and John Sayler. See also the related tunes "Long Fork of Buckhorn" and "Old Christmas Morning." The tune was in the repertoire of West Virginia fiddler Burl Hammons. Gerry Milnes suggests the title may relate to John's Creek in West Virginia's Big Sandy Valley, at the mouth of which one branch of the Hammonds family settled in 1791 (members of the family spell their last name differently). Source for notated version: Stuart Duncan [Phillips]. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), 1994; pg. 39. County CO-CD-2729, Art Stamper - "Goodbye Girls I'm Going to Boston" (2000). Yodel-Ay-Hee 05, The Wildcats - "On Our Knees" (1992).
COME YE OWER FRAE FRANCE. AKA and see "The Keys of the Cellar," "The Marchioness of Tweed-dale's Delight." English, Old Hornpipe (3/2 time). G Dorian. Standard. One part. Note: The song is a satire of the Hanoverian King George I ("Geordie Whelps"), who became King of England and Scotland in the 18th century. George transplanted to England an assortment of mistresses and characters, the fromer being impoverished gentlewomen from Germany, providing Jacobite songwriters with a broad target and much ribald glee. Several of these imported characters come in for derision: Madame Kilmansegge, Countess of Platen, is referred to as "The Sow" in many Jacobite songs, while the King's favorite mistress, the lean and haggard Madame Schulemburg (afterwards named Duchess of Kendall) was given the name of "The Goose". She is the
"goosie" in "Come Ye Ower Frae France," while the "blade" is one Count Koningsmark. John, Earl of Mar, was nicknamed "Bobbing John," an interesting character in Scottish history. Mar (1675-1732) was a disaffected Tory minister who had served as one of the Scots commissioners during the Union negotiations (to unite the kingdoms of Scotland and England), however, once it was passed he came to understand it was a terrible mistake. To remedy this he raised the Jacobite standard at Braemar in 1715 on behalf of James, the Old Pretender and became one of the leaders of the rebellion. Opposed by the The Duke of Argyll with 35,000 government troops, Mar and his clansmen fought at Sheriffmuir near Stirling in November, 1715. Although at first it appeared that the 'Highland Charge' would carry the day, the Hanoverian professionals wavered but held and eventually gained the upper hand, driving the Highlanders back into the mountains. By February, 1716, the rebellion was quelled and Mar sailed with James for France and permanent exile.
***
CAM YE O'ER FRAE FRANCE
***
Cam ye o'er frae France?
Cam ye down by Lunnon? (Lunnon = London)
Saw ye Geordie Whelps
And his bonny woman?
Were ye at the place
Ca'd the Kittle Housie? (Kittle Housie = Cat House or Brothel)
Saw ye Geordie's grace
Riding on a goosie?
***
Geordie he's a man
There is little doubt o't;
He's done a' he can
Wha can do without it?
Down there came a blade
Linkin' like my lordie; (Linkin' = tripping along)
He wad drive a trade
At the loom o' Geordie.
***
Though the claith were bad, (claith = cloth)
Blythly may we niffer; (niffer = haggle)
Gin we get a wab, (wab = length of cloth)
It makes little differ.
We hae tint our plaid, (tint = lost)
Bannet, belt and swordie,
Ha's and mailins braid -- (ha's and mailins = houses and farmlands)
But we hae a Geordie!
***
Jocky's gane to France,
And Montgomery's lady;
There they'll learn to dance:
Madame, are ye ready?
They'll be back belyue (belyue = quickly)
Belted, brisk and lordly;
Brawly may they thrive (brawly = well)
To dance a jig wi' Geordie!
***
Hey for Sandy Don!
Hey for Cockolorum!
Hey for Bobbing John,
And his Highland Quorum!
Mony a sword and lance
Swings at Highland hurdie; (hurdie = buttock)
How they'll skip and dance
O'er the bum o' Geordie!
***
Loesberg (Traditional Folksongs and Ballads of Scotland, Vol. 1), No. 1. COOK 038, Ewan MacColl - "Black and White." HR 102, Tannahill Weavers - "The Old Woman's Dance." Ossian OSS 103, Ewan MacColl - "The Jacobite Rebellions." Shanachie 79045, Steeleye Span - "Parcel of Rogues." Dick Gaughan - "No More Forever."
T:Come Ye Ower Frae France
L:1/4
M:3/2
K:G Dorian
BG GD G2|BG GB A/B/c/A/|BG G>D G2|{cB}AF FA A/B/c/A/|
Gg g>^f g2|Gg ga b/a/g|Gg a/g/f/e/ f2|{d}cA FA d/c/B/A/:|
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:|
LARRY O'GAFF [1] (Lamrais Ua Gabaig). AKA and see "Bundle and Go," "Daniel O'Connell," "Hob or Nob," "Making Babies by Steam," "O'Gaff's Jig." Irish (originally), American, Canadian; Double Jig. Ireland, County Sligo. USA; New England, Maine, New York, Pa. Canada, Prince Edward Island. A Major (Bronner): D Major (Bayard, Flaherty, Stanford/Petrie): G Major (Allan, Bayard, Brody, Cole, Kerr, Perlman, Phillips, Sweet, Tolman): F Major (Hardings). Standard. AB (Bayard, Bronner, Stanford/Petrie): AAB (Kerr): AABB (Allan, Cole, Hardings, Perlman, Phillips, Roche, Sweet, Tolman): AABB' (Flaherty, O'Neill). The "Larry O'Gaff" title for the tune comes from a nonsensical stage-Irish song whose words are only rarely reported (they can be found in a folk version in Creighton's "Songs and Ballads from Nova Scotia"), and it appears the melody normally was used as an instrumental piece. It is usually associated with Northeastern players in the United States. The older title was probably "Hob or Nob" posits Bayard (1981), which was the title of an old British dance. Bronner (1987) suggests notes that suggests a connection with "The Campbells Are Coming" and "Miss McLeod's Reel," which his source (central N.Y. fiddler Les Weir) also called "Hob or Knob". He thinks that the popularity of "Larry O'Gaff" may come from its ability to replace the aforementioned tunes at country dances. In fact, by 1858 it was reported not as a jig but as a country dance in Howe's Ball-Room Hand Book. David Taylor (1992) remarks at the similarity of the piece with the Irish jig "Daniel O'Connell," and says that the two tunes, though commonly played in different keys, are often confused. He further notes "Bundle and Go," which is listed as an alternate title for "Larry O'Gaff" by Roche, is and alternate title (though an unusual one) for his "Daniel O'Connell." "O'Gaff" 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). The title appears in the repertoire list of Maine native Mellie Dunham, an elderly fiddler who was Henry Ford's champion dance musician in the mid-1920's. Words to the 'A' part of the tune begin:
***
It was early on Monday, I mean late on a Sunday,
We went to the wedding of Darvey McGraw.
***
The tune is also the vehicle for the song "Humours of Whiskey."
Sources for notated versions: Grant Rogers (Delaware County, New York, 1976) [Bronner]; Hiram Horner (fifer from Westmoreland and Fayette Counties, Pa., 1963), Amasiah Thomas (Jefferson County, Pa., 1952), Mary Ann Rogers (elderly fiddler from Greene County, Pa., 1930's), Samuel Losch (Juniata County, Pa., 1930's), Lorin Simmons (fiddler from Prince Edward Island, 1930's) [Bayard]; accordion player Joe Fallon (b. 1935, Collooney, County Sligo) [Flaherty]; Jehile Kirkhuff (Pa.) [Phillips]; Joseph Doucette (b. 1910, DeBlois Road, West Prince County, Prince Edward Island) [Perlman]; set dance music recorded at Na Píobairí Uilleann in the 1980's [Taylor]. Adam, 1928; No. 55. Allan's Irish Fiddler, No. 26, pg. 7. American Veteran Fifer, 1927; No. 7. Bayard (Dance to the Fiddle), 1981; No. 558A-D, pgs. 497-498 and Appendix No. 34. Brody (Fiddler's Fakebook), 1983; pg. 164. Bronner (Old Time Music Makers of New York State), 1987; No. 35, pg. 132. Cazden (Dances from Woodland), 1945; pg. 22. Cazden (Folk Songs of the Catskills), 1955; pg. 30. Cole (1001 Fiddle Tunes), 1940; pg. 59. DeVille, 1905; No. 51. Flaherty (Trip to Sligo), 1990; pg. 98. Greenleaf, No. 186 (1st part of a quadrille). Hardings All-Round Collection, 1905; No. 105, pg. 33. Jarman (Old Time Fiddlin' Tunes), 1951; No. or pg. 17. Kerr (Merry Melodies), Vol. 1; No. 10, pg. 36. Miller & Perron (New England Fiddlers Repertoire), 1983; No. 32. O'Neill (1850), 1903/1979; No. 869, pg. 161. O'Neill (1001 Gems), 1907/1986; No. 128,pg. 36. Perlman (The Fiddle Music of Prince Edward Island), 1996; pg. 127. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), Vol. 2, 1995; pg. 370. Stanford/Petrie (Complete Collection), 1905; No. 373, pg. 94. Sweet (Fifer's Delight), 1965/1981; pg. 32. Taylor (Music for the Sets: Yellow Book), 1995; pg. 4. Tolman (Nelson Music Collection), 1969; pg. 4. White's Excelsior Collection, 1907; pg. 74. Audat 477-9048, Graham Townsend - "Down Home Fiddlin.'" Century 36464, Albert Cyr- "Old Time Fiddling," 1969. Edison 50653 (78 RPM), John H. Kimmel (accordianist from N.Y.C.), 1920 (appears as third tune of "Haste to the Wedding Jigs"). F&W Records 4, "The Canterbury Country Orchestra Meets the F&W String Band." Folk Legacy FSA-27, Sandy Paton (1965). Folkways FA 2381, "The Hammered Dulcimer as played by Chet Parker" (1966). Fretless 122, Roma McMillan- "Old Time Fiddling 1976." Gennett 6101 (78 RPM), Uncle Steve Hubbard and His Boys, c. 1928. John Edwards Memorial Foundation JEMF-105, Camile Dubois - "New England Traditional Fiddling" (1978). Smithsonian Folkways SFW CD 40126, Two Fiddles - "Choose Your Partners!: Contra Dance & Square Dance Music of New Hampshire" (1999).
X:1
T:Larry O'Gaff
L:1/8
M:6/8
K:G
g2G BAG|ded dBG|cec BdB|ABc def|g2G BAG|ded dBG|cec BdB|AGA G3:|
|:d2g gfg|gfg afd|d2a aga|aga b2a|gba gfe|dge dBG|cec BdB|AGA G3:|
X:2
T:Larry O'Gaff
T:Making Babies by Steam
M:6/8
L:1/8
C:Traditional
S:Andy McGann
R:Jig
K:D
c | dDD FED | AdB AFD | G3 F2E | DFA B2c |
dDD FED | AdB AFD | GBG FAF | ECA, D2 :||
F | ABc d3 | dcd ecA | Bcd egf | ede f2e |
dfe dcB | AdB AFD GBG FAF | ECA, D2 :||
OLD TIME WEDDING REEL [1]. AKA and see "Cape Breton Wedding Reel," "John of Badenyon," "MacIssac's Reel." Canadian, Reel. Canada, Cape Breton. A Aeolian. Standard. AB (Perlman): AABB (Dunlay). Dunlay & Reich (1986) and Dunlay & Greenberg (1996) record that, as a result of the classic recording by Dan J. Campbell and Angus Allan Gillis, the "Old Time Wedding Reels" have become a standard medley in Cape Breton and were often played for dancing at wedding celebrations. The Cape Breton tune is a variant of the G Dorian strathspey "John of Badenyon," found in Scottish collections, and the editors think it may be related to "Tha Duthrachd Mo Chridhe Dhuit (You Have My Heart's Love) in MacDonald's Gesto Collection (originally taken from Alexander Campbell's publication Albyn's Anthology (1816-18}). Sources for notated versions: Dan J. Campbell and Angus Allan Gillis (Cape Breton) [Dunlay and Greenberg]; Peter Chaisson, Sr. (B. 1929, Bear River, North-East Kings County, Prince Edward Island) [Perlman]. Dunlay & Greenberg (Traditional Celtic Violin Music of Cape Breton), 1996; pg. 44. Dunlay and Reich (Traditional Celtic Fiddle Music of Cape Breton), 1986; pg. 42. Perlman (The Fiddle Music of Prince Edward Island), 1996; pg. 95 (appears as "Cape Breton Wedding Reel"). DAB4-1985, Donald Angus Beaton "(appears as "Old Time Wedding Reel"). JC 126, John Campbell- "Cape Breton on the Floor" (1981). Celtic 011 (78 RPM) CX011, CX 1, "Dan J. Campbell and Angus Allan Gillis" (1930's). Celtic SCX 58, Elmer Briand (Appears as "John of Badenyon Strathspey). IMS-WRC1-618, Hector MacKenzie - "Highland Village Ceilidh" (appears as 2nd reel in "Square Set"). MacIssac LP-13, Walter MacIssac (Newfoundland)- "Musical Memories of Codroy Valley" (appears as "MacIssac's Reel"). Marimac 6501, Gus Longaphie (P.E.I.) - "The Old Time Fiddlers of P.E.I" (1993. Appears as "Cape Breton Wedding Reel"). Padledoo Music PAD105, Jerry Holland & Alasdair Fraser - "Scottish Fiddle Rally, Concert Highlights 1985-1995" (1996). Rounder C-7013, Joe Cormier - "Old Time Wedding Reels" (1992).
T:Old Time Wedding Reel #1
T:See ref. John Badenyon Strathspey Skye Collection
R:Reel
A:Cape Breton
S:Sandy MacIntyre
N:From the playing of Sandy MacIntyre
Z:Transcribed Nov 20 1998 by Wil Macaulay
M:C
L:1/8
K:Amin
B | AGEG AGEG | cdcA G2Gc | A/A/A cd edce | cAcd e2eg |
abag egdB | cAGE c2cd | edcA GEcE | D/D/D EG A3 :|
|:g | ageg agea | gedB g2gb | agea gbed | cAcd e2eg |
abag egdB | cAGE c2cd | edcA GEcE | D/D/D EG A3 :|
SANDY BOYS. Old-Time, Breakdown and Song. USA; West Virginia. A Mixolydian. AEAE. ABAB'A'BAB. This has been identified as a tune from Pocahontas County, West Virginia, fiddler Edden Hammons. The original, however, appears to be in the American minstrel show repertoire, for a similar version (though different in the 'B' part from Hammonds' tune) can be found in Phil Rice's Correct Method for the Banjo (1857), a period tutor, and also appears an 1844 minstrel songbook (reproduced by Harvard Theatre College Collection, Cambridge, Mass.). Gerry Milnes has found ribald words accompanying the tune in West Virginia. The modern "revival" or "festival" version may have stemmed from a mislearning of Hammon's tune by Bob Herring. See also Missouri fiddler Gene Goforth's related "The Quail is a Pretty Bird." Sources for notated versions: Burl Hammonds (Pocahontas County, West Virginia) [Krassen]; The Hurricane Ridge Runners (Armin Barnett, Mark Graham, Jerry Gallaher & Paul Kotapish) [Songer]. Krassen (Masters of Old Time Fiddling), 1983; pg. 78-79. Songer (Portland Collection), 1997; pg. 173. Marimac 9038, Dan Gellert & Brad Leftwich - "A Moment in Time." Marimac 9054, The Ill-Mo Boys - "Fine as Frog Hair" (1995). Marimac 9040, The Heartbeats - "Living in Black and White" (1990).
SANDY IS MY ONLY LOVE (Alastair m' annsachd). Scottish, Slow Air (3/4 time). F Major. Standard. AAB. "This is one of the editor's family stock, as sung by the original compiler, to which it is so difficult to attach incident; but the melody is often fine where the individuals may be obscure, a circumstance which, for the most part, simplifies both the style and the sentiments" (Fraser). Fraser (The Airs and Melodies Peculiar to the Highlands of Scotland and the Isles), 1874; No. 133, pg. 53.
T:Sandy is my only Love
T:Alastair m' annsachd
L:1/8
M:3/4
S:Fraser Collection
K:F
F>G|A4 f>A|G2 [A,2F2] d>e|f2 d2 d>c|c2 Az A>B|[A4c4] e/d/c/B/|c2 Fz a>g|
f2 A<f c>B|(A2 D)z:|
f>g|a4 b/a/g/f/|g2f2c2|d3f dc|[A6c6]|c2d2f2|g4 f>g|a3g f>c|d4 f>g|a2 bagf|
g2 agfe|f2 dfe>c|A4 f>e|d4 c>B|A4 GF|F2a2g2|(g2f2)||
TRAMPER DOWN. Canadian, Reel. Canada, Cape Breton. A Major. AEAE or Standard. AA'BB'. Dunlay & Greenberg report that Buddy MacMaster thinks this reel may have been composed by Sandy MacLean. Sources for notated versions: Kinnon Beaton (Mabou Coal Mines, Cape Breton) and Buddy MacMaster [Dunlay & Greenberg]. Dunlay & Greenberg (Traditional Celtic Violin Music from Cape Breton), 1996; pg. 133. ACC-4968, Kinnon Beaton - "A Sprig of Ivy" (1989. Appears as "Traditional Reel"). ACC4-9270, Howie MacDonald - "Live and Lively" (appears as "Angus Allen Gillis Reel"). ACC-49398, Brenda Stubbert - "House Sessions" (1992). CEI 8001, Winnie Chafe - "Echoes" (1988. Appears as "Traditional Reel"). Rounder C-7013, Joe Cormier and Edmond Boudreau - "Old Time Wedding Reels" (1992. Appears as unlisted 2nd tune in "Annie is My Darling" medley). Overton 1829-I-LM 88, Dwayne Cote - "Introduction" (1992. Appears as "Traditional Reel").