Tunes and Tales;
Ballads and Balderdash; Poetry and Potpourri; Hymns and
Hogwash
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Track
Number, Title, Length, Instrumentation, and Information
1) Cumberland Gap - 2:36
- mouthbow, vocal & MIDI bass drum - This version has
four pre-Civil War verses plus three verses that describe
events during "The War of Yankee Aggression." |
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2)
Ard Holler - 4:35 - When I am asked, "How did
you get started in old-time music?" this is my standard
reply (with my tongue firmly planted in my cheek). |
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3)
Cluck Old Hen - 1:57 - fretless mountain banjo &
vocal - Most folks play this in a "modal" tuning.
I learned to play it from Johnny Osborne, Uncle Charlie's son,
who played it tuned standard and didn't know why anyone would
go to the trouble to retune to play it. |
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4)
Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye - 3:40 - mountain dulcimer,
vocal, tin whistle & MIDI drums - These original Irish verses
go back to the 1700's. It has been lightened up and watered
down a good bit over time and evolved into today's much lighter
"When Johnny Comes Marching Home." |
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5)
The Arkansas Traveler - 2:48 - fiddle, fretted Model
"A" banjo & vocals - Most people have never heard
this tune in its original context as a minstrel show comedy
sketch about a lost traveler (Todd Meade) and a not so helpful
farmer (yours truly). The concept was rediscovered and used
in the weekly cornfield sketch on the TV show "Hee Haw"
in the 1970's. Literally dozens of jokes have appeared in this
routine over the years. These are my favorites. |
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6)
Shoot That Turkey Buzzard - 1:45 - gourd dulcimer
& vocal - Uncle Charlie Osborne (1890 - 1991) played this
song on his fiddle and sang it at the same time. |
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7)
The Preacher and the Bear - 3:53 - guitar & vocal
- This story song was popular around the turn of the 20th century
and was preserved for posterity when it was recorded in the
1920's on super CDs (78 rpm records). |
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8)
The Pig Poem - 0:37 - I came by this old "lesson
in life" through a seriously Southern friend and old-time
banjo master, Leroy Troy. It goes back to times when folks didn't
keep their critters penned up all the time. |
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9)
Mama Maude's Waltz - 3:47 - mountain dulcimer &
MIDI accompaniment - A tune I wrote that went a long time without
a title until the passing of a very special lady, Maude Mize. |
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10)
Wagon Yard - 2:19 - fretted Model "A" banjo
& vocal - The only place I've ever heard this song is on
a recording by West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd (but I don't
get out much). The late nineteenth century language takes us
back to a much simpler time. |
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11)
Farther On - 3:24 - fiddle, mountain dulcimer &
vocal - A mostly obscure old hymn I took a liking to after hearing
Uncle Charlie Osborne sing it while he played it on his fiddle.
I always wanted to know if there were more verses, and after
years of looking, finally found it in print in a very well-used
shape-note hymnal. The words were just as Charlie sang them
with one additional verse. The message was good then and it
is still good now. |
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12)
The Rose of Alabama - 3:44 - gourd banjar & vocal
- A minstrel song from the mid-nineteenth century, this song
tells the story of the trials and tribulations of a slave romance.
There are some other period "Rose" tunes as well,
e.g., "The Yellow Rose of Texas," which have absolutely
nothing to do with flowers! |
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13)
Pretty Polly - 3:32 - fretless mountain banjo &
vocal - The first Anglo music to be heard in the southern mountains
was imported from the British Isles. This murder ballad is no
exception. These songs were sung as cautions to young ladies.
Unfortunately, they still apply. |
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14)
The Shindig Story - 6:59 - fiddle, mountain dulcimer
& vocal - A tale I concocted combining some old-time situations
and an assortment of the never-ending cornucopia of Appalachian
dance tunes - Old Joe Clark, Old Dan Tucker, Sugar Hill, Little
Brown Jug, Down The Road, Cripple Creek, Golden Slippers, Sally
Ann, Cindy, Soldier's Joy, and Home Sweet Home. |
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15)
The Groundhog Song - 2:59 - gourd banjar & vocal
- A wealth of information on the acquisition, applications,
preparation, and consumption of my favorite rodent. Call it
a woodchuck, whistle pig, or groundhog-after supper the wrapper
still makes the world's best banjar head. |
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16)
When the Saints Go Marching In - 2:49 - fretted Model
"A" banjo & vocal - From days gone by, a rip snortin'
hymn sung with joy and anticipation of "that great day."
The verses vary greatly from one old hymnal to another. These
are from Uncle Charlie Osborne. Sadly, "Saints" has
just about become extinct in modern-day hymnals. |
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17)
Deck The Halls - A Christmas Poem - 3:41 - spoken,
with MIDI accompaniment - My adaptation of an old Christmas
carol whose original lyrics totally failed to mention the reason
folks were celebrating this holy day (holiday) in the first
place. The words may not be old, but the message God sent to
earth on that first Christmas is timeless. |
