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Back Up and Push
Bluegrass; Breakdown. USA, widely known.
ARTIST: McLain Family
CATEGORY: Fiddle and Instrumental Tunes
DATE: Early 1900’s; My Creole Belles by Lampe 1900; Rubber Dolly late 1800’s
Sheet Music: PDF
Listen To: McLain Family
Listen to: Creole Belles by Lampe (Sousa Marching Band) Last Strain is the melody
Listen To: Skillet Lickers (instrumental excerpt)
RECORDING INFO: Douglas, Bob; and the Foggy Mountain Boys. Sequatchie Valley,
Tennessee Folklore Soc. TFS-109, LP (1986), trk# B.01a [1951]
Fireside String Band. Square Dance Tunes for a Yankee Caller, F & W FW-6, LP
(1976), trk# 13
Flatt & Scruggs & the Foggy Mountain Boys. Live Broadcast Bluegrass Bonanza.
Martha White Biscuit Time..., Sandy Hook 104, LP (198?), trk# 11
Francis, John. Still Fiddlin', Francis No. 4, LP (1982), trk# A.07
Friendly City Ramblers. 37th Old-Time Fiddler's Convention, Folkways FA 2434,
LP (1962), trk# 19
Monroe, Bill; and his Bluegrass Boys. Father of Bluegrass, Camden ACL-7059,
LP (1977), trk# 12 [1941?]
Morgan, Tom. Bluegrass with Friends and Family, Folkways FTS 31072, LP (1983),
trk# A.06 [1963/05/18]
Reno, Don; and Bill Harrell. Profile - Don Reno, Wango 113, LP (1975), trk# B.04
Ryan, Buck. Draggin' the Bow, Rebel SLP 1552, LP (1976), trk# 7
Skillet Lickers. Corn Licker Still in Georgia, Voyager VRLP 303, LP (197?),
trk# B.18 [1930/12/08]
Thomas, Tony. Old Style Texas and Oklahoma Fiddling, Takoma A-1013, LP (195?),
trk# 7
RELATED TO: “Rubber Doll/Dolly (Rag);” “My Creole Belle/Belles;” "My Bucket's Got a Hole In It"
OTHER NAMES: Rubber Doll/Dolly (Rag) My Creole Belle/Belles
SOURCES: Kenny Baker [Brody]; Curley Ray Cline [Phillips]. Brody (Fiddler's Fakebook), 1983; pg. 31. Matteson, Richard (American Fiddle Tunes) Lowinger (Bluegrass Fiddle), 1974; pg. 62. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), Vol. 1, 1994; pg. 18. Baker, Kenny. Brody, David (ed.) / Fiddler's Fakebook, Oak, Sof (1983), p 31; Brody, David (ed.) / Guitar Pickers Fakebook, Oak, Sof (1984), p 23; Reiner (Anthology of Fiddle Styles), 1977; pg. 41. Cutler, Marty. Brody, David (ed.) / Banjo Picker's Fakebook, Oak, Fol (1985), p 23; Engstrom, Floyd. Silberberg, Gene (ed.) / Complete Fiddle Tunes I Either Did or Did Not.., Silberberg, Fol (2005), p 6; Lowinger, Gene. Lowinger, Gene / Bluegrass Fiddle, Oak, fol (1974), p41; Taylor, Hollis. Fiddler Magazine, Fiddler Mag., Ser, 6/4, p35(1999); County 770, Kenny Baker- "Frost on the Pumpkin." RCA Camden CAL-719, Bill Monroe- "The Father of Bluegrass Music." Magg 3901, Marion Sumner and Jesse McReynolds- "Old Friends." Rounder 7002, Graham Townsend- "Le Violin/ The Fiddle." Rebel 1552, Buck Ryan- "Draggin' the Bow." CMH 9006, Benny Martin - "The Fiddle Collection." Condor 977-1489, "Graham & Eleanor Townsend Live at Barre, Vermont." Fretless 101, "The Campbell Family--Champion Fiddlers." Fretless 103, "Clem Myers: Northeast Regional Old Time Fiddle Champion 1967 & 1970." F&W Records 6, The Fireside String Band- "Square Dance Tunes For a Yankee Caller." Bluebird 5562B (78 RPM), Skillet Lickers (Ga.) {1934}. Brody, David (ed.) / Guitar Pickers Fakebook, Oak, Sof (1984), p 23; Baker, Kenny. Brody, David (ed.) / Fiddler's Fakebook, Oak, Sof (1983), trk# p 31; Cutler, Marty. Brody, David (ed.) / Banjo Picker's Fakebook, Oak, Fol (1985), p 23; Douglas, Bob; and the Foggy Mountain Boys. Sequatchie Valley, Tennessee Folklore Soc. TFS-109, LP (1986), trk# B.01a [1951]; Engstrom, Floyd. Silberberg, Gene (ed.) / Complete Fiddle Tunes I Either Did or Did Not.., Silberberg, Fol (2005), p 6; Fireside String Band. Square Dance Tunes for a Yankee Caller, F & W FW-6, LP (1976), trk# 13; Flatt & Scruggs & the Foggy Mountain Boys. Live Broadcast Bluegrass Bonanza. Martha White Biscuit Time..., Sandy Hook 104, LP (198?), trk# 11; Francis, John. Still Fiddlin', Francis No. 4, LP (1982), trk# A.07; Friendly City Ramblers. 37th Old-Time Fiddler's Convention, Folkways FA 2434, LP (1962), trk# 19; Lowinger, Gene. Lowinger, Gene / Bluegrass Fiddle, Oak, fol (1974), p41; Monroe, Bill; and his Bluegrass Boys. Father of Bluegrass, Camden ACL-7059, LP (1977), trk# 12 [1941?]; Morgan, Tom. Bluegrass with Friends and Family, Folkways FTS 31072, LP (1983), trk# A.06 [1963/05/18]; Reno, Don; and Bill Harrell. Profile - Don Reno, Wango 113, LP (1975), trk# B.04 ; Ryan, Buck. Draggin' the Bow, Rebel SLP 1552, LP (1976), trk# 7 Skillet Lickers. Corn Licker Still in Georgia, Voyager VRLP 303, LP (197?), trk# B.18 [1930/12/08] Taylor, Hollis. Fiddler Magazine, Fiddler Mag., Ser, 6/4, p35(1999); Thomas, Tony. Old Style Texas and Oklahoma Fiddling, Takoma A-1013, LP (195?), trk# 7
NOTES: Back Up Push and Rubber Dolly evolved from the melody of Jens Bodewalt Lampe’s piano rag with song lyrics, “My Creole Belles,” which was published in Detroit, Michigan by Whitney-Warner in 1900. It was the melody to the second strain by J. B. Lampe (1869-1929) that became popular during the early 1900’s. "My Creole Belle" by Mississippi John Hurt is a reworking of Lampe’s melody and lyrics.
Back Up and Push is usually a country music fiddle tune. The lyrics from the original are:
ORIGINAL LRYICS by J.B. Lampe:
I love her well,
Around my heart she cast a spell
When stars do shine
I call her mine
My dusky baby, my Creole Belle.
From Ceolas: C Major. Standard. One part (Lowinger): AABB (Brody): AA'BB (Phillips): AA'BB' (Reiner). Gid Tanner and the Skillet Lickers' 1934 version of the piece (backed with "Down Yonder") became the third best-selling country music record for that year. Gid's son, 17 year old Gordon Tanner, played uncredited fiddle lead at the session, according to Tony Russell. The “Rubber Dolly” title appears in a list of traditional Ozark Mountain fiddle tunes compiled by musicologist/folklorist Vance Randolph, published in 1954.
Bronner also says the tune has a similarity to an older British Isles melody called "Lord Alexander's Reel/Hornpipe," though he must have consulted other versions of the melody for his sources' version is somewhat obscure. According to Bronner (1987), "Rubber Dolly" was first collected as a Anglo-American children's game with the following words or variants (which may have come from a music-hall song of the 1890's):
My Mommy told me, she's going to buy a rubber dolly,
If I was good, So don't you till her I kissed a feller/soldier
Or she won't buy me a rubber dolly.
Lyrics to: Back Up and Push
Listen To: McLain Family
Did you ever wonder about the riddle
What kind of spirit lives in the fiddle
Is that old Satan, right here a waitin’
Or is it tuned with the Angel Band.
Back up and push, Back up and push,
Back off from sin, let glory in.
You can’t go wrong, singing this song,
Back up and push away.
If you let the Devil play on your senses,
Prepare to suffer the consequences.
The fullest measure of worldly pleasure,
Can only send you into the roaring fire.
Back up and push, Back up and push,
Back off from sin, let glory in.
You can’t go wrong, singing this song,
Back up and push away.
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