Walk Along John – Fiddle Tune a Day – Day 313

Tonight, I met Betse Ellis. She plays fiddle for The Wilders, and was opening for Finnders and Youngberg at Avogadro’s Number tonight.

I heard that she was playing there from a couple of my students, so I stopped in to say “Hi!” on my dinner break. I brought my fiddle with me because you never know when a Fiddle Tune a Day opportunity is going to present itself.

Betsy was gracious enough to join me, and we found a tune that crosses the boundaries of Texas-Style Fiddling and Ozark Fiddling. As I often do with my Fiddle Tunes, I tried to adopt some of her stylings in the tune to give it more of an Ozark flair.

Walk Along John according to Fiddler’s Companion

WALK ALONG JOHN [1]. AKA and see “Come Along John,” “Johnny Walk Along With Your Paper Collar On.” Old‑Time, Breakdown. USA; Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma. G Major. Standard tuning. AAB (Thede): AABB (Christeson, Phillips): AA’BB’ (Beisswenger & McCann). The regionally very popular “Walk Along John” appears to some to be a Mid‑West variant of “Ston(e)y Point [1],” although the resemblance seems strained at best to others. It 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 it was recorded in the 78 RPM era by Luke Highnight and His Ozark Strutters (1928) and Bob Miller and his Hinky Dinkers (1929). “Walk Along John” is one of the ‘100 essential Missouri fiddle tunes’ according to Missouri fiddler Charlie Walden, although each fiddler seems to have his own variant. A minstrel song called “Walk Along John” or “Come Along, John,” was published in 1844 (music and words attributed to J.P. Carter of the Virginia Serenaders in their published songbook, although it also states it is “an Old Sourthern Refrain”), perhaps based on an African-American ‘corn (shucking) song’ called “Shock Along John.” It begins:

***

All de way from ole Car-li-na,

For to see my old Aunt Di-nah;

Says I ole lady how’s de goose,

De Jay bird jump on the Martin’s roost.

***

Refrain:

Walk Along John, the fifer’s son,

Ain’t you glad your day’s work’s done.

***

It was popular enough to be employed in the 1844 Presidential race between Henry Clay (Kentucky) and James K. Polk (Tennessee), with each side sculpting the lyric:

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Walk along John, you can’t stay,
The people’s choice is Harry Clay     [Whig]

or

Walk along John, you can’t stay,
The people’s choice is Jimmy K.        [Democrat]

***

The music is reproduced in abc format below. According to Beisswenger & McCann (2008) this song was absorbed into play-party tradition (collected in Indiana [Wolford, 1919]), and in the Ozarks in 1942 (where it had been learned in the 1880’s), although it was not musically related to the old-time breakdown called “Walk Along John.” However, a second song that developed in tradition, called “Walk Along John with your paper collar on,” which does have a melody that is similar to the breakdown “Walk Along John [1].” It has the lyric:

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Johnny walk along with your paper collar on,

Ain’t you mighty glad your day’s work’s done.

***

Sources for notated versions: African American fiddler Bill Driver (Miller County, Missouri) [Christeson]; W.S. Collins (Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma) [Thede]; Tony Thomas and Bruce Molsky with Bob Carlin [Phillips]; Lee Stoneking (1907-1992, originally from Henry County, Missouri) [Beisswenger & McCann]. Beisswenger & McCann (Ozark Fiddle Tunes), 2008; pg. 145. R.P. Christeson (Old Time Fiddlers Repertory, vol. 1), 1973; pg. 91. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), vol. 1, 1994; pg. 251 (two versions). Thede (The Fiddle Book), 1967; pg. 135. Graphic Recording, Lee Stoneking – “Missouri Old Time Fiddlin’” (c. 1970’s). Heritage 060, Bud Hunt ‑ “Music of the Ozarks” (Brandywine, 1984). Rounder 0157, Art Galbraith (Springfield, Mo.) ‑ “Simple Pleasures.” Rounder 0197, Bob Carlin ‑ “Banging and Sawing” (1985. Learned from Tom Fuller {Okla.} via Brad Leftwich).