Folktunes.org - banjo

Mole in the Ground - Lonesome Tofu Expressway

Forrest Oliphant — Wed, 14 Jun 2006 11:21:32 -0400

MP3 url: [link]

Source webpage: [link]

Lyrics:

Wish I was a mole in the ground,
Wish I was a mole in the ground,
If I's a mole in the ground, I'd root that mountain down,
Wish I was a mole in the ground.

Wish I was a lizard in the spring,
Wish I was a lizard in the spring,
If I's a lizard in the spring, I'd hear my darlin' sing,
Wish I was a lizard in the spring.

Wish I was a frog in the fall,
Wish I was a frog in the fall,
If I's a frog in the fall, I'd hear my darlin' call,
Wish I was a frog in the fall.

Honey where you been so long,
Honey where you been so long,
I been out on the bend, with the rough and rowdy men.
Honey where you been so long.

Wish I was a mole in the ground,
Wish I was a mole in the ground,
If I's a mole in the ground, I'd root that mountain down,
Wish I was a mole in the ground.

Honey where you been so long,
Honey where you been so long,
I been out on the bend, with the rough and rowdy men.
Honey where you been so long.

Notes:

The Lonesome Tofu Expressway Rambling Stringband--Lonesome Tofu Expressway for short, Tofex for shorter--crowded around the mic at Tom Watson's place in Kuzumaki, Iwate, Japan one cool May night in 2004 and came up with this. All for fun, of course.

The band members include Daniel Conway on the guitar, Elizabeth Gordon on the fiddle, and Forrest Oliphant on the banjo and harmonica. All of them sing vocals.

Cripple Creek - Lonesome Tofu Expressway

Forrest Oliphant — Wed, 14 Jun 2006 11:20:14 -0400

MP3 url: [link]

Source webpage: [link]

Lyrics:

I got a gal at the head of the creek,
Goin' up to see her the middle of the week,
Kiss her on the mouth just as sweet as any wine,
She wraps herself around me like a sweet potato vine.

Goin' up to Cripple Creek, goin' on a whirl,
Goin' up to Cripple Creek to see my girl,
Goin' up to Cripple Creek, goin' on a run,
Goin' up to Cripple Creek to have a little fun.

Girls up on Cripple Creek, 'bout half grown,
Jump on a boy like a dog on a bone,
Roll my britches up to my knee,
I'll wade Cripple Creek when I please.

Goin' up to Cripple Creek, goin' on a whirl,
Goin' up to Cripple Creek to see my girl,
Goin' up to Cripple Creek, goin' on a run,
Goin' up to Cripple Creek to have a little fun.

Policeman (at FanBelt's Jam)

Forrest Oliphant — Thu, 18 May 2006 14:24:27 -0400

MP3 url: [link]

Source webpage: [link]

Lyrics:

Police come, I didn’t want to go this morning (2x)
Police come, I didn’t want to go
Shot him in the head with my 44 this morning

Two little children lying in the bed, this morning (2x)
Two little children lying in the bed
One rolled over to the other and said, it’s morning

Bullfrog jumped from bank to bank, this morning (2x)
Bullfrog jumped from bank to bank
Skinned his whole back from shank to shank, this morning

I know something I ain’t gonna tell is morning (2x)
I know something I ain’t gonna tell
I want to go to heaven in a coconut shell this morning

Great big fellow laying on a log this morning (2x)
Great big fellow laying on a log
Finger on the trigger and his eye on a hog, this morning

Down went the trigger and bang went the gun this morning (2x)
Down went the trigger and bang went the gun
Wish I had a wagon to haul him home this morning

Old Dan Tucker (at FanBelt's Jam)

Forrest Oliphant — Thu, 18 May 2006 14:24:24 -0400

MP3 url: [link]

Source webpage: [link]

Lyrics:

CHORUS:
Hey, get out of the way for Old Dan Tucker
Too late to get his supper,
Supper's over and dinner's cookin'
Old Dan Tucker just standin' there lookin'

I went to town the other night
to hear a noise and see a fight,
All the folks was running around
said Old Dan Tucker's a-coming to town.

CHORUS

Well Old Dan Tucker he come to town
He was ridin' a billy goat, leadin' a hound,
Well the hound dog barked and the billy goat jumped,
They throwed Dan Tucker right straddle a stump.

CHORUS

Well Old Dan Tucker he come home drunk
He jumped at the fire and he kicked out a chunk
Got a live coal down in his shoe
And holy gosh mighty how the ashes flew

CHORUS

Old Dan Tucker was fine old man
He washed his face in a frying pan
He combed his hair with a wagon wheel
And died with a toothache in his heel

CHORUS

John Brown's Dream (at FanBelt's Jam)

Forrest Oliphant — Thu, 18 May 2006 14:24:23 -0400

MP3 url: [link]

Source webpage: [link]

Whitesburg (at FanBelt's Jam)

Forrest Oliphant — Wed, 12 Apr 2006 13:46:37 -0400

MP3 url: [link]

Source webpage: [link]

Notes:

I have encoded and uploaded a jam session from Halloween of last year. There are lots of great modal tunes, some hooting and hollering, and general fun. It will take some time to add each track to folktunes.org, so if you want to see the tracklist and listen now go to the archive.org Halloween at FanBelt's 2005 page. Recorded by Vernon Tilley and edited by Rob VanVeld.

Viola Lee Blues by Cannon's Jug Stompers

Forrest Oliphant — Thu, 2 Mar 2006 10:34:42 -0500

MP3 url: [link]

Source webpage: [link]

Lyrics:

The judge decreed it, clerk he wrote it,
The clerk he wrote it down indeed-eh,
The judge decreed it, the clerk he wrote it down,
If you miss jail sentence, you'll be Nashville bound.

Some got six months, some got one solid,
Some got one solid, year indeed lord,
Some got six months, some got one solid year,
But me and my buddy, oh got lifetime here.

Fix my supper, mama, let me go to,
Let me go to bed, indeed lord,
Fix my supper, let me go to bed,
I've been drinking white lightning, and it just gone to my head.

Notes:

Recorded on September 20, 1928 presumably in Memphis. The lineup is the same as on "Minglewood Blues," only Noah Lewis sings. The line "ain't got a jail sentence, you must be Nashville bound," refers to the common practice in the South at that time of sometimes not sentencing black men who were arrested for certain crimes. Rather, they would often be sent to places where they had to work very hard, which was often worse than a jail sentence.

Minglewood Blues by Cannon's Jug Stompers

Forrest Oliphant — Thu, 2 Mar 2006 10:34:39 -0500

MP3 url: [link]

Source webpage: [link]

Lyrics:

Don't you never let one woman rule your mind
Don't you never let one woman rule your mind
Said she keep you worried, troubled all the time

Don't you think your fairer was li'l and cute like mine
Don't you wish your fairer was li'l and cute like mine
She's a mar- She's a married woman,
But she comes to see me all the time

Don't you never let one woman rule your mind
Don't you never let one woman rule your mind
Said she keep you worried, troubled all the time

Well I got a letter mama and you ought to hear it read
Well I got a letter Lord and you ought to hear it read
If you comin' back baby now be on your way

Notes:

There is an interesting breakdown of the history of this song in the folk tradtion at the Roots of the Greatful Dead page.

Recorded on January 30, 1928 in Memphis, Tennessee. This recording features Gus Cannon on banjo and jug (Cannon created a contraption to hang the jug from his band so he could blow and pick banjo at the same time), Ashley Thompson on vocals and guitar and Noah Lewis on the harp. Minglewood was a lumber camp in Ashley, Tennessee, which was popular amongst musicians in the Mississippi Delta as a "hot spot." This tune became a popular staple of the Grateful Dead. Along with the Memphis Jug Band, Cannon's Jug Stompers was one of the great jug bands of the twenties.

The Dying Soldier by Buell Kazee

Forrest Oliphant — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 01:59:08 -0500

MP3 url: [link]

Source webpage: [link]

Lyrics:

Oh brother Green, oh come to me,
For I am shot and bleeding,
Now I must die, no more to see,
My wife and my dear children.

The southern () has layed me low,
On this cold ground to suffer,
Stay brother stay and lay me away,
And write my wife a letter.

Tell her that I'm prepared to die,
And want to meet her in heaven,
Since I believed in Jesus Christ,
My sins are all forgiven.

My little ones, I love them well,
Oh could I once more see them,
That I might bid them a long farewell,
But we will meet in heaven.

Oh brother I am dying now,
Oh see I die so easy,
Oh surely death has lost it's sting,
Because I love my Jesus.

Go tell my wife she must not grieve,
Oh kiss my dear little children,
For they will call for me in vain,
When I am gone to heaven.

Notes:

This amazingly haunting piece grabs the listener by the heart and dares them not to shed a tear for the dying brother and soldier, who is so content in death because he loves "his Jesus."

Recorded on January 18, 1928 in New York City.

Whiskey Before Breakfast by Lonesome Tofu Expressway

Forrest Oliphant — Thu, 23 Feb 2006 22:21:28 -0500

MP3 url: [link]

Source webpage: [link]

Greenback Dollar by Weems String Band

Forrest Oliphant — Wed, 15 Feb 2006 13:06:07 -0500

MP3 url: [link]

Source webpage: [link]

Lyrics:

Over the hill and down in the holler,
All I want is a greenback dollar,
Over the hill and down in the holler,
All I want is a greenback dollar...

Fourteen Days In Georgia by Blue Ridge Highballers

Forrest Oliphant — Tue, 7 Feb 2006 10:37:34 -0500

MP3 url: [link]

Source webpage: [link]

Notes:

Traditional "Mountain Dance Music" tune, recorded March 23, 1926 by the Blue Ridge Highballers ("led by Charley La Prade, fiddler").

Original 78rpm disk (Columbia 15081-D) digitized by old78collector

Flop-Eared Mule by Blue Ridge Highballers

Forrest Oliphant — Tue, 7 Feb 2006 10:30:49 -0500

MP3 url: [link]

Source webpage: [link]

Notes:

Traditional "Mountain Dance Music" tune, recorded March 23, 1926 by the Blue Ridge Highballers ("led by Charley La Prade, fiddler").

Original 78rpm disk (Columbia 15081-D) digitized by old78collector

The House Carpenter - Clarence Ashley

Forrest Oliphant — Tue, 31 Jan 2006 09:12:40 -0500

MP3 url: [link]

Source webpage: [link]

Lyrics:

We'll met we'll met said an old true love
We'll met we'll met said he
I'm just returning from the salt salt sea and it's all for the love of thee

Climb in climb in my old true love
And have a seat with me
It's been three-fourths of a long long year since together we have been

Well I can't come in or I can't sit down
For I haven't but a moment's time
They say you're married to a house carpenter and your heart will never be mine

Now it's I coulda married a king's daughter here
I'm sure she'da married me
But I've forsaken her crowns of gold and it's all for the love of thee

Now will you forsaken your house carpenter
And go along with me
I'll take you where the grass grows green on the banks of the deep blue sea

She picked up here little ()
And kisses gave him three
Says stay right here my little darling babe and keep your pappa company

Well they hadn't been on ship but about two weeks
I'm sure it wasn't three
Well his true love began to weep and mourn and () most bitterly

Says are you a-weepin' for my silver or my gold
Says are you weeping for my store
Are you weeping for that house carpenter whose face you'll never see any more

No it's I'm not a-weepin' for your silver or your gold
Or neither for your store
I am weeping for my darling little babe whose face I'll never see any more

Well they hadn't been on ship but about three weeks
I'm sure it wasn't four
'Til they sprung a leak in the bottom of the ship and they sunk for to rise no more

Notes:

Recorded on April 14, 1930 in Atlanta, Georgia. This ballad was collected by Child as "The Daemon Lover" (Child No. 243), of which there are several variants. Harry Smith noted that the original version in the British Isles had a "supernatural theme" which didn't make it to North America.

Dark Holler - Clarence Ashley

Forrest Oliphant — Tue, 31 Jan 2006 08:40:32 -0500

MP3 url: [link]

Source webpage: [link]

Lyrics:

I was born in old Viginia
South Carolina I did go
There I courted a pretty little woman
But her age I did not know

Well her hair was brown and curly
Her cheeks were rosy red
On her dress she wore white lilies
Oh the cares that I have ()

When I'm asleep I'm dreaming about you
When I wake I have no rest
Ever' moment seems like an hour
Oh the pain () my breast

I'd rather be in some dark holler
Where the sun don't ever shine
For you to be some other man's darling
When you ain't no longer mine

Pappa says I must not marry
Momma saya it'll never do
But little girl if you are willing
I will run away with you

For I'd rather be in some dark holler
Where the sun don't ever shine
For you to be some other man's darling
When you ain't no longer mine

When I'm asleep I'm dreaming about you
When I wake I have no rest
Ever' moment seems like an hour
Oh the pain () my breast

Notes:

Recorded on October 23, 1929 in Johnson City, Tennessee. This tune has become a bluegrass standard under this name, as well as "Dark Holler Blues" and "East Virginia Blues." It shares the same melody as "Greenback Dollar," and performers often mix the lyrics of the two in ever differing versions.

Coo Coo Bird - Clarence Ashley

Forrest Oliphant — Tue, 31 Jan 2006 08:32:52 -0500

MP3 url: [link]

Source webpage: [link]

Lyrics:

Gonna build me a log cabin
on a mountian so high
So I can see Willie
as he goes on by

Um hmm hmm...

Oh the coo-coo is a pretty bird
She wobbles when she flies
She never hollers coo-coo
'Til the fourth day of July

I've played cards in England
I've played cards in Spain
I'll bet you ten dollars
I'll beat you next game

Jack of diamonds, Jack of diamonds
I've known you from old
Now you've robbed my poor pockets
Of my silver and my gold

Um hmm hmm...

I've played cards in England
I've played cards in Spain
I'll bet you ten dollars
I beat you this game

Oh the coo-coo is a pretty bird
She wobbles when she flies
She never hollers coo-coo
'Til the fourth day of July

Notes:

Recorded on October 23, 1929 in Johnson City, Tennessee. Greil Marcus describes this tunes as a "folk-lyric" tune "made up of verbal fragments that had no direct or logical relationship to each other." Ashley's banjo is tuned to G-modal, also referred to as Sawmill tuning. Some folklorists note that the cuckoo is an ancient symbol for the coming of summer.

Little Billy Wilson by Chinkapin Hunters

Forrest Oliphant — Tue, 31 Jan 2006 00:17:45 -0500

MP3 url: [link]

Source webpage: [link]

The Worried Blues by Samantha Bumgarner

Forrest Oliphant — Mon, 30 Jan 2006 23:44:30 -0500

MP3 url: [link]

Source webpage: [link]

Lyrics:

Got the worried blues,
Oh, got the worried blues,
Got the worried blues...

Notes:

Recorded on April 23, 1924 in New York City. This tune is from her first recording session, which made her the first recorded female country performer. "The Worried Blues" is a variant of "Going Down The Road Feeling Bad."

Shout Lou dance calling by Samantha Bumgarner

Forrest Oliphant — Mon, 30 Jan 2006 23:33:04 -0500

MP3 url: [link]

Source webpage: [link]

Lyrics:

...
Right hand to your partner,
...
Swing your opposite,
Swing your own,
Swing your parter 'til...

Notes:

An early banjo with calls version of a traditional Appalachian breakdown more often known as "Shout Lula", recorded April 1924. From 78rpm.

Old Joe Clark by Lonesome Tofu Expressway

Forrest Oliphant — Sun, 27 Nov 2005 12:50:25 -0500

MP3 url: [link]

Source webpage: [link]

Cripple Creek banjo instructional by Forrest Oliphant

Forrest Oliphant — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 16:13:07 -0500

MP3 url: [link]

Source webpage: [link]

Notes:

Martha Owen taught me this tune in the Summer of 2000 at the John C. Campbell Folk School. It was the first song I ever learned on banjo.