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Big Eyed Rabbit
Traditional Old-Time, Breakdown- Alabama, Mississippi, western North Carolina.
ARTIST: From J.E. Mainer
Listen: J.E. Mainer- Big Eyed Rabbit
Listen: Tommy Jarrell and Fred Cockerman- Big-Eyed Rabbit
Listen: Samantha Bumgardener and Eva Davis- Big Eyed Rabbit
Listen: Andy Cahan (Banjo with vocal) Big Eyed Rabbit
Listen: Sammy Walker (fiddle solo) 1976 Big Eyed Rabbit; KY
YOUTUBE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vgGYSIPC9M James Leva & Purgatory Mountain
CATEGORY: Fiddle and Instrumental Tunes
DATE: 1800’s- "Big Eyed Rabbit" by Harry Bennett circa 1874. Recorded by Samantha Bumgardner in 1924.
RECORDING INFO: Big Eye Rabbit I [Me IV-E 25]
Us - Big Eyed Rabbit
Big Eyed Rabbit [Me IV-E 25]
Rt - Buck Eyed Rabbit ; Old Buzzard
Uf - I Don't Love ('a) Nobody
Richardson, Ethel Park / American Mountain Songs, Greenberg, Bk (1927/1955), p100 (Big Eye Rabbit)
Creed, Kyle; and Fred Cockerham. Clawhammer Banjo, County 701/CD 2716, LP (2002/1966), trk# 19 [1964/10]
Davis, Eva; & Samantha Bumgartner. Banjo Pickin' Girl, Rounder 1029, LP (1978), trk# A.01 [1924/04/23ca]
Jarrell, Tommy. Joke on the Puppy, Heritage (Galax) 044, LP (1992), trk# 10
Ledford String Band. Ledford String Band, Rounder 0008, LP (1972), trk# B.01
Mainer, Wade. Old Time Banjo Tunes, Old Homestead OHS 90168, LP (1984), trk# A.05
Plank Road String Band. Plank Road String Band, Carryon, LP (1976), trk# B.05
Powell, Dirk. If I Go Ten Thousand Miles, Rounder 0384, CD (1996), trk# 9 (Brown Eyed Rabbit)
Reid, Bruce. Silberberg, Gene (ed.) / Complete Fiddle Tunes I Either Did or Did Not., Silberberg, Fol (2005), p 12
Sutphin, Kirk. Old Roots and New Branches, County CD 2711, CD (1994), trk# 8
RECORDING INFO: Big Eyed Rabbit II [Me II-Y 60c]
Stripling Brothers. Lost Child, County 401C, Cas (1971), trk# B.05 [1929/08/19]
Big Eyed Rabbit #2
Slaughter, Matokie; and the Back Creek Buddies. Saro, Marimac 9028, Cas (1990), trk# 8
Slaughter, Matokie. Clawhammer Banjo. Vol 2 [More Clawhammer Banjo], County 717/CD 2717, LP (2003/1969), trk# 3
Slaughter, Matokie. Banjo Newsletter, BNL, Ser (1973-), 1983/06,p27
More Recordings- Kuntz: Recorded by Quitman, Mississippi, fiddler Charles Long in 1939 in the field for the Library of Congress. Carryon Records 005, "The Renegades" (1993). County 401, "The Stripling Brothers." County CO-CD-2711, Kirk Sutphin - "Old Roots and New Branches" (1994). Mountain 310, Tommy Jarrell - "Joke on the Puppy" (1976. Learned brom his father.). Vocalation 5412 (78 RPM), Stripling Brothers (Ala., played in C Major) {1929}. Cockerham, Fred; and Kyle Creed. Clawhammer Banjo, County 701, LP (1965), cut# 15. Davis, Eva; & Samantha Bumgartner. Banjo Pickin' Girl, Rounder 1029, LP (1978), cut# 1. Jarrell, Tommy. Joke on the Puppy, Heritage (Galax) 044, LP (1992), cut# 10. Ledford String Band. Ledford String Band, Rounder 0008, LP (1972), cut# 10. Mainer, Wade. Old Time Banjo Tunes, Old Homestead OHS-90168, LP (1984), cut#A.05. Plank Road String Band. Plank Road String Band, Carryon, LP (1976), cut#B.05. Powell, Dirk. If I Go Ten Thousand Miles, Rounder 0384, CD (1996), cut# 9 (Brown Eyed Rabbit)
OTHER NAMES: Bug Eyed Rabbit; Buck-Eyed Rabbits;
RELATED TO: I Don't Love ('a) Nobody (Big Eyed Rabbit III)
SOURCES: Liz Slade (Yorktown, New York) [Kuntz]. Kuntz, Private Collection. Spandaro (10 Cents a Dance), 1980; pg. 38; Kuntz, Fiddler's Companion, http://www.ceolas.org/tunes/fc).
NOTES: Andrew Kuntz (see his notes below) and Folk Index both give two listings as the title has different melodies- one melody Kuntz says is similar to "Brown's Dream."
Let's call this Big Eyed Rabbit- II and this melody includes "Little Rabbit" by Crockett's Kentucky Mountaineers. It also includes Tommy Jarrell's influential version titled, "Big-Eyed Rabbit." The other related titles include "Roosian Rabbit" or "Hoosier Rabbit."
The tune and lyrics of Big Eyed Rabbit II are closely identified with Tommy Jarrell. Most versions cover his tune and lyrics. Tommy Jarrell sang "Rockin' in a weary land" as a chorus, which comes from different gospel sources. There's another similar tune called "Rockin' in a Weary Land" which may be based on Jarrell's "Big Eyed Rabbit".
The other influential tune/song titled "Big Eyed Rabbit" was first recorded by Samantha Bumgardner in 1924. Let's call this- Big Eyed Rabbit I. This version, according to Meade, is derived from the minstrel song, "Big Eyed Rabbit" by Harry Bennett circa 1874. Big Eyed Rabbit I includes Al Hopkin's (Clarlie Bowman's) "Buck-Eyed Rabbits" and J.E. Mainer's "Gettin' There Rabbit." Also included is Quitman, Mississippi, fiddler Charles Long's version in 1939 in the field for the Library of Congress and Doc Robert's "Old Buzzard."
Another version "Big Eyed Rabbit III" was made by the Stripling Brothers in 1929. It's an instrumental version of "I Don't Love Nobody." Details by Kuntz below.
Kuntz notes: A Major. AEAE (e.g. Tommy Jarrell) or Standard. ABB (irregular 'A' part). The tune, as recorded in the 1920’s by the Alabama old-time duo the Stripling Brothers, shows up in some remarkable places. The Striplings’ record was reissued (as were several American old-time sides) in Québec, albeit with a new title in French. In the case of “Big-Eyed Rabbit,” the tune was renamed “Le reel de la Malbaie.” The melody was also picked up in Ireland where it was rendered as a barn dance, where, for example the famous fiddler Sean Maguire recorded it as the first tune of his “Canadian Barndance” (a Canadian Barn Dance is a type of progressive couples dance popular in Ireland and Scotland—many 2/4 tunes have been the vehicle for the dance). Sources for notated versions: Liz Slade (Yorktown, New York) [Kuntz]; Bruce Reid [Silberberg]. Kuntz, Private Collection. Silberberg (Tunes I Learned at Tractor Tavern), 2002; pg. 8. Spandaro (10 Cents a Dance), 1980; pg. 38. Carryon Records 005, "The Renegades" (1993). County 401, "The Stripling Brothers." County CO-CD-2711, Kirk Sutphin - "Old Roots and New Branches" (1994). Mountain 310, Tommy Jarrell ‑ "Joke on the Puppy" (1976. Learned brom his father.). Vocalion 5412 (78 RPM), Stripling Brothers (Ala., played in C Major) {1929}. (Kuntz, Fiddler's Companion, http://www.ceolas.org/tunes/fc
BIG-EYED RABBIT- J. E. Mainer
[Fiddle]
Big-eyed rabbit you're runnin' mighty fast;
Yes my Lord I'm a-kickin' up the grass.
[Fiddle]
Big-eyed rabbit you'd better run,
I'll shoot the *coney down with an old shotgun.
[Fiddle]
*a coney is an old English term for a rabbit—Coney Island=Rabbit Island
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