Growing up in Northern Colorado, Hot Rize was one of my favorite bluegrass bands. I even got to see them play at Centennial Village, in Greeley before they got famous. The best part about Hot Rize was when the intermission would come and they would come back as their Alter Egos – Red Knuckles and the Trailblazers. They dressed up in crazy clothes, with goofy sunglasses, and got to have some unserious time on the stage. Tim O’Brien was Red Knuckles, Charles Sawtell was Slade, Pete Wernick was Waldo Otto, and I don’t remember Nick Forster’s goofy name. They played funny Country and Western tunes like “Long Gone John from Bowlin’ Green, and “I Know My Baby Loves Me.”

Today, I had an AWESOME opportunity to speak at Wizard Academy’s First Friday event. The talk I gave was “Can’t Stop The Music: Why music should be used more effectively in education.” *If you are looking for someone to speak on this topic, drop me a line. After speaking, Adam Donmoyer and I got together for a little informal jamming at the Tower. This song was originally made famous by Ernest Tubb, and is a whole lot of fun to perform. I know it’s a bit of a stretch to call this a fiddle tune, but we were definitely fiddling around with it.

Here is a recording of Red Knuckles and the Trailblazers (The Alter Egos of Hot Rize)

I learned Dew Drop Hornipe from Lisa Barrett, when I stayed at their  house when I was in High School. I remember Dick telling me that it was a tune I could play as a breakdown at any fiddle contest. I haven’t played it in many contests, but I do still enjoy playing it. There is an especially cool fingering on the shift down the second time through the B Part.

I’m playing it at the Hey Cupcake Airstream food trailer on South Congress in Austin, TX. There was a guy busking in front of it when I came by. I asked him if he wanted to join me playing on youtube, and he split. I hope I didn’t scare him off.

This is all that Fiddler’s Companion Had to Say about Dew Drop Hornpipe

DEW DROP HORNPIPE. American, Hornpipe. A Major. Standard tuning. AABB. The ‘B’ part of this melody appears in the tune “Brilliancy.” There was a variety house called the Dew Drop In in New York in the Civil War years. Cole (1000 Fiddle Tunes), 1940; pg. 85. Ryan’s Mammoth Collection, 1883; pg. 119.

When I think of Saint Anne’s Reel, the first person I think of is Tony Rothrock. Tony is a great Guitarist, Mandolinist, and instrument repair guy in southwest Indiana. Tony founded the Indiana State Picking and Fiddling Championships, which I had the opportunity to run with for a few years as well. Tony really is one of the most kind-hearted people you will ever meet. Anyway, Tony really likes this tune and does a great job playing it.

I’m playing it here with the clan that hang out at Mulligan’s Pub in Fort Collins for an Irish Session every Wednesday night. Jim is playing the Bohdran. He didn’t make it into my video introduction because he showed up just as we were about to play the tune.

Saint Anne’s Reel According to the Fiddler’s Companion

ST(E). ANNE’S REEL. AKA – “St. Agathe.” AKA and see “La Reel de la Baie Ste. Anne.” Canadian (originally), American, Irish; Reel and Breakdown. Canada; Québec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Cape Breton. D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AB (Reiner & Anick, Silberberg): AABB (Begin, Brody, Cranford/Holland, Jarman, Mallinson, Martin & Hughes, Miller & Perron, O’Neill, Perlman, Sweet, Taylor): AA’BB’ (Phillips). According to Anne Lederman (in her article on “Fiddling” in theEncyclopedia of Music in Canada, 1992), tune was first recorded by Québec fiddler Joseph Allard as “Reel de Ste Anne”—which became popular in English-speaking Canada as “St. Anne’s Reel.” While this is not proof that “St. Anne’s” origins are French-Canadian (as Allard spend much of his youth in upper New England, where he played in fiddle contests, and presumably came into contact with regional musicians), it is suggestive. There are at least two bays by this name in eastern Canada, as the French alternate title above would suggest, though it is not known if those features explain the origin of the tune’s title. There is a French community called Baie Sainte Anne, on St. Anne’s Bay, near the mouth of Mirimichi Bay, New Bruswick. “St. Anne’s” was popularised by Radio and TV fiddler Don Messer (who had the title as “Sainte Agathe” in his 1948 Way Down East collection), and has been assimilated into several North American and British Isles traditions and remains a popular staple of fiddlers’ jam sessions. When asked to play a Canadian tune, for example, American fiddlers generally will play “St. Anne’s” first. It was in the repertoire of Cyril Stinnett, who epitomized the “North Missouri Hornpipe Style” of Mid-West fiddling, though it soon became a popular staple of most Missouri fiddlers. It was perhaps from listening to Canadian radio broadcasts in the hey-day of the big AM band stations, which could be heard clearly in the northern part of the state, or it may have been brought back by contest fiddlers in the 1960’s who attended the renowned contests in Weiser, Idaho, and in Canada. Perlman (1996) similarly states the tune entered Prince Edward Island tradition from radio broadcasts from Québec, but that it has elaborated (especially in western PEI) over the years to suit the rhythms of the local step-dancing. Irish musicians have frequently recorded the melody as well. The earliest printing of “St. Anne’s” appears to be in the Jarman collections of the 1930’s and 1940’s, where arrangement is credited to John Burt with a copyright date of 1937. Mark Wilson says its popularity in the United States dates from the 1950’s after it was recorded by Nashville fiddlers such as Tommy Jackson. The tune has some affinity to older reels, including two printed by O’Neill in his Waifs & Strays of Gaelic Melody, “The Factory Lass” (249) and “The Home Made Reel” (250). There is a similarity in the first part to “The Skylark [1],” composed by James Morrison.

I will be working with the extraordinary dulcimer player Steve Eulberg to put on a Celtic Music workshop on March 10th at Boomer Music in Fort Collins:

Steve Eulberg will provide instruction for playing Celtic Music on both kinds of dulcimers, mandolin and guitar. $20 per workshop in Advance/$25 at the door. See below for all day price.

Vi Wickam will provide Beginning & Intermediate Instruction on Fiddle in the afternoon.

Register Online Now

When: Saturday, March 10th workshops.

Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day!

8:45 Registration and to Set up and Tune Up

9-10:15 am                    Mandolin

10:30-11:45 am            Mountain Dulcimer

12:30-1:45 pm              Hammered Dulcimer        & Beginning Fiddle (by Vi Wickam)

 2-3:15 pm                     Guitar         & Intermediate/Advanced Fiddle (by Vi Wickam)

 3:30-4:30 pm                followed by a Free Ceilidh (Jam Session)

$20 per workshop in advance/ $25 at the door.

Please choose which workshop(s) you wish to register for above.

Best savings!  Come for the whole day for $65 in advance / $85 at the door

Register Online Now

Boomer Music Company

3761 S. Mason Street

Fort Collins, CO 80525

http://www.boomermusiccompany.com/

JamPlay.com guitar instructor
By Steve Eulberg, Master of Music Education

DulcimerCrossing.com dulcimer instructor

and

& Vi Wickam (Fiddle)

Festival Waltz is a beautiful waltz that I have long enjoyed playing, and have played at many fiddle contests. My happiest memory of this tune was playing it at the High Plains fiddle contest when I was fourteen or so along with Sally Johnson and Beaumont Rag. It was the first time I won first place at a fiddle contest, and boy it sure felt good.

Festival Waltz according to the Fiddler’s Companion

FESTIVAL WALTZ. Bluegrass, Waltz. USA, Missouri. A Major. Standard tuning. AA (Brody): ABB’ (Matthiesen). Composed (copyrighted 1972) by Kenny Baker, longtime fiddler for Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys. It has become a popular “contest” waltz, prone to embellishment. Source for notated version: Bo Bradham (Charlottesville, VA) [Matthiesen]. Brody (Fiddler’s Fakebook), 1983; pg. 103‑104. Matthiesen (Waltz Book II), 1995; pgs. 18-19. American Heritage 516, Jana Greif‑ “I Love Fiddlin.’”  County 736, Kenny Baker‑ “Kenny Baker Country.” County 2705, Kenny Baker – “Master Fiddler.” Missouri State Old Time Fiddlers’ Association, Lyman Enloe (b. 1906, Mo.).  Rounder 0046, Mark O’Conner‑ “National Junior Fiddle Champion.” Ruthie Dornfeld – “American Cafe Orchestra.” Pete Jung & Bo Bradham- “Moving Clouds.”

Cuckoo’s Nest is one of those tunes that is commonly heard among fiddler’s of many different traditions. Truly, it may be one of the first “crossover tunes”. I don’t know if it’s ever been played with Indian Tabla (drums), before this recording, but I wouldn’t be surprised.

When I got an email from my fiddle friend, Sandra Wong, saying that she and Ty Burhoe (an awesomely cool Tabla player who lives in Boulder, and spends much of his time traveling the globe performing) would be playing a house concert in Fort Collins, I couldn’t miss it. They are super talented and super nice, and I really had a blast playing my fiddle tune a day with them. CAVEAT: There is a thumb in the video, and the video got cut off midway (when we were still getting warmed up), so you won’t get to hear the coolest stuff we did, but such is technology, and I apologize. We will do better on the video next time.

The Cuckoo’s Nest according to the Fiddler’s Companion

*** WARNING: Content may not be suitable for children ***

CUCKOO’S NEST [14] (Nead na Cuaiche” or “Nead an Cuaic”). See “Cuckoo Hornpipe.” AKA and see “All Around,” “Captain Moss’s,” “Come Ashore,” “Come Ashore, Jolly Tar, with Your Trousers/Trowsers On,” “Coo Coo’s Nest,” “Cuckold’s Nest,” “I do confess thou(gh) art sae fair,” “Jacky Tar” (Hornpipe), “The Mower,” “The Mountain Top [3],” “An Spealadoir” (The Mower), “The Trousers On,” “The Yellow Heifer [1].” British Isles, Old-Time, Bluegrass; Hornpipe, Reel, Breakdown. D Major (Barnes, Brody, Carlin {setting #1}, Kerr, Moylan, Phillips/1995 {setting #1}, Silberberg): D Dorian (Roche, 1st setting): G Major (Harding, Harker/Rafferty, Merryweather & Seattle, Mulvihill, O’Neill/Krassen & 1001, Phillips/1995 {setting #2}, Roche {setting 2}: E Aeolian (O’Neill/Krassen -1st setting): A Dorian (Phillips): A Major (Carlin/setting #2, O’Malley). Standard tuning. AB (Begin, Silberberg): AABB (Brody, Harding, Kerr, Moylan, Phillips, Roche, O’Neill, Phillips and Carlin {1st settings}): AABC (Mulvihill): AABBCC (Barnes, Kennedy, Merryweather & Seattle, O’Neill/Krassen, 1001 & 1915, Roche, and Carlin {2nd settings}): AA’BBCC’ (Harker/Rafferty): AA’BB’CC’ (O’Malley).

***

An extremely popular English melody known throughout the British Isles and British North America whose title, the ‘cuckoo’s nest,’ commonly referred to female pubic hair and accompanying anatomy. It dates to at least the early 18th century. James Aird’s printing in his Selection of Scotch, English, Irish and Foreign Airs, vol. 1 (1782, pg. 66) includes an interesting fourth strain, not found in other sources. Matt Seattle (1987, 1994) believes the tune to originally have been a Scots Measure in D Minor with the title “Come Ashore Jolly Tar (with) Your Trousers On,” but notes that many versions of this tune exist, with quite substantial variation between them, in major and minor keys (he remarks that the Northumbrian William Vicker’s late 18th century setting is evidently minor, despite the key signature). The title appears in numerous 18th and 19th century dance collections, and made Henry Robson’s list of popular Northumbrian song and dance tunes, which he published c. 1800. In Jacobite Relics (1819) James Hogg prints a song to the melody, commenting: “It must have been a great favourite in the last age, for about the time when I first began to know one tune from another, all the old people that could sing at all, could sing “The cuckoo is a bonny bird.”  He prints the following words to the tune:

***

The cuckoo’s a bonny bird when he comes home,

The cuckoo’s a bonny bird when he comes home;

He’ll fley away the wild birds that hank about the throne,

My bonny cuckoo when he comes home.

***

Poet John Clare (1793-1864) is highly regarded for his body of work inspired by the English countryside and rural life of the early 18^th century. He was born in the village of Helpston, Northamptonshire, the son of an agricultural laborer and singer of local reputation, and became a fiddler and collector of songs and tunes of southern England.  He recalled, ”Both my parents was illiterate to the last degree. [My father] was likewise fond of Ballads, & I have heard him make a boast of it over his horn of ale with his merry companions, that he could sing or recite above a hundred; he had a tolerable good voice, & was often calld upon to sing at those convivials of bacchanalian merry makings.” Clare collected:

***

Now some likes a girl that is pretty in the face,
And others likes a girl that is slender in the waist
But give me the girl with a wriggle and twist
That is pleasant and good-tempered with a cuckoo’s nest.

***

The Cuckoo’s Nest is also the name of a Scottish country dance, which, though increasingly rare, was danced in parts of the country (e.g. West Berwickshire) through the 19th century.

***

The 18th century Munster poet Eoghan Rua O Suilleabhain used the tune for his poem “An Spealadoir.” Doolin, north County Clare tin whistle player Micho Russell also associated the tune with a ‘spailpin,’ or wandering harvest laborer (he called the tune “The Man that cuts the hay with the Scythe”). Bayard (1944) and Breathnach (1985) both cite the collector Father Henebry (A Handbook of Irish Music, pgs. 170-1) who was convinced that the third part of the Irish versions was modern (i.e. in his time, c. 1900), and “was tastelessly added to the original two parts or the air.” Breathnach (1985) also notes that many songs were written to the air, and gives a verse from Seán Ó Dálaigh’s collection of a rural love ballad popular in Munster:

***

Tá páircín bheag agamsa

de bhán, mhín, réidh;

Gan claí, gan fál, gan falla léi,

ach a haghaidh ar an saol;

Spealodóir do ghlacfainnse,

Ar task na d’réir an acara,

Bé acu sud do b’fhearr leis,

nó páigh in aghaidh an lae.

(Literal translation by Paul de Grae:)

I have a small little field

white, smooth, ready;

without fence, without hedge, without wall,

but its face to the world:

I’d take a mower

on a task or by the acre,

whichever he’d prefer,

or paid by the day.

***

Breathnach thinks the “An Spealdoir” (by which it is commonly known in Ireland) title stems from this verse.

***

In America, the melody was included in New Windsor, Connecticut, musician Giles Gibbs’ MS collection of 1777, Henry Beck’s flute manuscript of 1785 (pg. 56), and Clement Weeks’ collection of dances made in 1783. It was even preserved in a chime clock of the period manufactured by New Windsor, Connecticut, clockmaker Daniel Burnap. The tune remains a popular staple at New England contra dances to this day. In other American traditions, the title appears in a list of traditional Ozark Mountain fiddle tunes compiled by musicologist/folklorist Vance Randolph, published in 1954. Similarly, in modern times in the United States the tune has been assumed into Texas fiddling tradition, probably derived from Canadian or Midwestern sources (Guthrie Meade & Mark Wilson).

***

Morpeth Rant is one of those tunes that I have heard a number of times, but never had tried to play it until a couple of days ago when I was playing through Cole’s 1000 fiddle tunes, and recognizing the title (Morpeth’s Hornpipe), I gave it a go, and it was fun so I learned it. Tonight, when I was preparing, I looked for other recordings of it, and it seems that the common key for it today is D rather than Bb, and the B part is slightly different than (and IMHO not quite as cool as) the version I learned. Being a fan of flat keys, and having just been asked by Linda Relph to play some more Flat-Key Hornpipes, I thought it would be a good choice for today.

Morpeth Rant According to the Fiddler’s Companion

MORPETH RANT [1]. AKA- “Morepeth Rant.” AKA and see “Morpeth’s Hornpipe,” Ivy Leaf Hornpipe,” “Jim Clark’s Hornpipe,” “Clark’s Hornpipe [1],” “The New Sailor’s Hornpipe,” “Prince of Wales’ Hornpipe,” “Princess of Wales’ Hornpipe,” “Shield’s Hornpipe,” “West’s Hornpipe,” “Wood’s Hornpipe.” English (originally), Scottish, Irish, New England; Reel. England; North‑West and Northumberland. D Major (Barnes, Brody, Hall & Stafford, Karpeles, Kennedy, Miller & Perron, O’Neill, Phillips, Raven, Sweet): G Major (Knowles): B Flat Major (Phillips/1995). Standard tuning. ABB’ (Hardie): AABB (most versions): AA’BB’ (Phillips/1994). The composition is often attributed to William Shields (1748-1829), a popular 18^th century musician and composer originally from Swalwell, near Gateshead, Northumberland. However, as Barry Callaghan (2007) and others have pointed out, Shields often appropriated traditional or folk melodies, and “Morpeth Rant” may not be original to him. The town of Morpeth is in Northumberland, a market center on the River Wansbeck serving the surrounding rural areas and the villages of the Northumbrian coalfield (Graham Dixon). It evolved around a Norman fortress called Morpeth Castle, one of several guarding the east coast routes to Scotland. A special dance specifically to this tune has been performed for over almost two centuries, and the dance itself is called the Morpeth Rant. Like many such dances numerous tunes could be used as the vehicle for the steps. One version is also used as a morris dance tune. 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. “Older versions of the tune are generally in B Flat, sometimes G, and have a wider range in the ‘B’ part than the version usually played nowadays” (Seattle)—see note for “Morpeth Rant [2]” for more on these.  Callaghan notes that the Kerr publication (c. 1880’s) of the tune (generically titled “Hornpipe”) includes the ‘new’ version of the ‘B’ part, and it is perhaps from this source that the version most often heard today came from. This version, explains Callaghan, was picked up in the EFDSS’s Community Dance Manual No. 1 in 1949, and cemented with subsequent recordings, such as the by Jack Armstrong in 1950.

Today, I was in the mood for something a little bit fast and a little bit old timey. I played a little of the basic melody before fiddling around with it.

This song takes me back to sitting in the Lunch Room (Warm Up Room for the National Old Time Fiddle Contest) at the Weiser, ID High School. Often when you were sitting there, you would find yourself in the middle of a Jam Session by LEGENDS. At this moment, Dick Barrett and Texas Shorty were fiddling, and they started playing Soldier’s Joy. They played it for about 5 minutes, and really played the heck out of it, really sweet stuff. Shorty leaned over to me after all that great playing and said, “Do you remember what that song’s called?”

The  truth be told, I have those moments all the time, where I know the melody to a tune, I know I have played it before, and I have no trouble playing it, but I can’t remember for the life of me what it’s name is. In this case, I can, and I hope you enjoy Soldier’s Joy.

Soldier’s Joy according to Wikipedia

“Soldier’s Joy” is a fiddle tune, classified as a reel or country dance. It is popular in the American fiddle canon, in which it is touted as “an American classic” but traces its origin to Scottish fiddling traditions.  and Irish fiddle traditions. It has been played in Scotland for over 200 years, and Robert Burns used it for the first song of his cantata ‘The Jolly Beggars’. According to documentation at the United States Library of Congress, it is “one of the oldest and most widely distributed tunes” and is rated in the top ten most-played Old Time Fiddle tune. According to the Illinois Humanities Center, the tune dates as early as the 1760s. In spite of its upbeat tempo and catchy melody, the term “soldier’s joy” has a much darker meaning than is portrayed by the tune. This term eventually came to refer to the combination of whiskey, beer, and morphine used by Civil War soldiers.

Like many pure tunes with ancient pedigree, the melody of Soldier’s Joy has been used as a basis for construction of songs, which, unlike pure tunes, have lyrics. Robert Burns wrote lyrics for the tune in which a dismembered, homeless veteran sarcastically recounts his delight with battle.Melody as basis for song

Civil War era and post-bellum cultural references

According to the Illinois Humanities Council (IHC), the tune came to represent substance abuse during the Civil War. This is corroborated in concurring secondary sources.

Gimme some of that Soldier’s Joy, you know what I mean

I don’t want to hurt no more my leg is turnin’ green

The IHIC version is as follows:
Twenty-five cents for whiskey, twenty-five cents for beer

Twenty-five cents for morphine, get me out of here.

Chorus: I’m my momma’s pride and joy

I’m my momma’s pride and joy

I’m my momma’s pride and joy

Sing you a song called the soldier’s joy.

Country

Twenty five cents for whiskey, 25 cents for beer

Twenty five cents for morphine get me out of here

cho: I’m my momma’s pride and joy (3X)

Sing you a song called the soldier’s joy

Grasshopper sitting on a sweet potato vine (3X)

Along come a chicken and he’s say your mine.

I’m gonna get you there don’t you want to go (3X)

All for the soldier’s joy

Chicken in a bread pan scratching that dough

Granny does your dog bite no child no…

All for the soldier’s joy

Soldier’s Joy according to the Fiddler’s Companion

SOLDIER’S JOY [1] (Lutgair An Sigeadoir/t-Saigdiura). AKA and see “French Four” [2], “I Am My Mamma’s Darlin’ Child,” “John White,” “The King’s Head,” “The King’s Hornpipe [1],” “(I) Love Somebody [1],” “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 (Edden Hammons) tunings. 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 “vigorous” 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 morphine,

and fifteen cents for the beer.

Twenty-five cents for the old morphine

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 James Aird’s 1778 collection (vol. 1, No. 109) and Skillern’s 1780 collection (pg. 21). London publishers Longman and Broderip included it in their Entire New and Compleat Instructions for the Fife in 1785. Kate Van Winkler Keller (1992) says that the hornpipe “Soldier’s Joy” appeared with a song in London in about 1760. John Glen (1891) and Francis Collinson (1966) maintain the first appearance 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. 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 Scandinavia, the French Alps, and Newfoundland (Linda Burman‑Hall, “Southern American Folk Fiddle Styles,” Ethnomusicology, vol. 19, #1, Jan. 1975). Jean-Paul Carton identifies a version of “Soldier’s Joy” in the tablature manuscript of French fiddler Pierre Martin, dating from around 1880. He says: “I find (Martin’s) version of Soldier’s Joy—simply referred to as Été [a type of dance], tab #132—surprisingly close to some of the American versions, including the bowing, which is indicated in the tab.” [Reference: Claude Ribouillault, Violon du Poitou, Répertoire de danses en tablatures (Cahier de Pierre Martin, vers 1880), UPCP-Métive, Les Cahiers du CERDO No. 1, CPCP-Métive: 2003].

***

Swedish folklorist Jonas Liljestrom writes to say that Danish folk dance researcher Per Sørensen has traced the history of “Soldier’s Joy” in Denmark and Scandinavia, and has written that it can be found in the third volume of Rutherford’s Compleat Collection of two hundred of the most Celebrated Country Dances, Both Old and New, published in Scotland circa 1756. Sørensen’s article includes a transcription of the Rutherford version, nearly identical to the usual melody, and indicates the “Soldier’s Joy” title was used by Rutherford and that it was published with dance directions. Liljestrom cites: Sørensen, Per: “Dansens og musikkens rødder 42: Hornfiffen fra Randers 2.del” (“The Roots of the dance and music part 42: The Randers Hornpipe part 2″), (Published in “Hjemstavnsliv” issue nr. 11, 1999. The magazine is issued by “Landsforeningen Danske Folkedansere” ["National Association of Danish Folk Dancers"] in association with Danske Folkedanseres Spillemandskreds  ["Danish Folkdancers' Association of Fiddlers"].)

***

In America the melody is ubiquitous. Early printings of the melody are in Benjamin and Joseph Carr’s Evening Amusement (Philadelphia, 1796), Joshua Cushing’s Fifer’s Companion (Salem, Mass., 1804) and Daniel Steele’s New and Compleat Preceptor for the Flute (Albany, 1815). 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. Fiddler and outdoorsman Leizime Brusoe (Rhinelander, Wisconsin), born in Canada around 1870, recorded it on 78 RPM under the title “French Four,” which was actually the name of the dance he usually played it for. “Soldier’s Joy” is one of ‘100 essential Missouri tunes’ listed by Missouri fiddler Charlie Walden. 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). Howe (c. 1867) and Burchenal (1918) print a New England contra dances 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.

***

I am my mama’s darling child (x3)

And I don’t care for you.

***

Refrain

Dance all night, fiddle all day,

That’s a Soldier’s Joy.  (Kuntz)

***

The Holy Modal Rounders sang:

***

Bold General Washington and old Rochambeau

Buggering the hessians while the fire light’s aglow

Spending all their money, drinking all their pay

They’re never going to end the war this a way.

***

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?

***

When I first learned Black and White Rag, it was off of the 4 World Champion Fiddlers album that featured Jim “Texas Shorty” Chancellor, Mark O’Connor, Terry Morris, and Benny Thomas. Terry was the one that played Black and White, and I still think love the endings he put on the A Part (2 of the endings I play on this tune were more or less copied from his version.) I played this tune quite a bit in my contest rounds back when I was still in high school, and it usually served me well. I knew that it was a piano tune originally, but up until today I was under the impression that it was a Scott Joplin tune.

I have learned lots of cool things already doing the fiddle tune a day about the history of these tunes, and it turns out the Black and White Rag was written by George Botsford and made famous by a lady by the name of Winifred Atwell. And, at some point it became one of the most popular rags played by contest fiddlers.

The History of Black and White Rag according to Wikipedia

Black and White Rag is a 1908 ragtime composition by George Botsford.

The first known recording of this piece was by Albert Benzler, recorded on Lakeside/U.S.Everlasting Cylinder #380 in June 1911. This recording is somewhat rare (Lakeside/U.S.Everlasting cylinders, though molded celluloid on a wax/fiber core, were made in small batches), and significant. Edison featured the Black & White Rag on one of his Early Diamond Disc Records (50116)from 1913 played by a Brass Orchestra.

One of the best known versions of this piece of music was recorded in 1952 by pianist Winifred Atwell, and helped her to establish an international profile. Originally the B-side of another composition, Cross Hands Boogie, Black and White Rag was championed by the popular disc jockey Jack Jackson, and started a craze for Atwell’s honky-tonk style of playing. The recording became a million selling gold record, and in the UK was later used as the theme tune for the long-running BBC2 television snooker tournament, Pot Black.

Black and White Rag was also later arranged for use as the music in the original 1985 BBC Computer game, Repton, and some of its sequels.

The tune has also become a fiddle standard with recordings by musicians such as Johnny Gimble and Bennie Thomasson.

Dates: August 5-12, 2012
Location:  Snow Mountain Ranch near Winter Park, Colorado

Click to learn about the World Class Artists

Founded by Mark Luther, Director, and his kids, Christopher and Cosima, in 1999, Rocky Mountain Fiddle Camp is entering its 14th year in 2012

Set in the beautiful Colorado Rockies outside of Denver at Snow Mountain Ranch near Winter Park, Colorado, Rocky Mountain Fiddle Camp is staffed with world class musicians who are highly-regarded for their superb playing as well as excellent teaching.

Old and young, beginners through professionals, everyone with an interest in music or dancing enjoys the camp and finds plenty of fun and learning opportunities!

Spend some time in the Rocky Mountains with new friends, old songs, good food and great people!

In addition to classes during the day, there are evening contra & square dances, jam sessions, concerts, camper talent night, campfire, and opportunities to hike and swim.

For details about travel and housing accommodations, please check out the Frequently Asked Questions page.

More Information at http://www.rmfiddle.com