Christmas Holiday (Pug Allen)

Christmas Holiday

Christmas Holiday

ARTIST: From L.G. 'Pug' Allen on Musical Traditions' second CD release of 2002: Far in the Mountains: Vols 1 & 2 (MTCD321-2)

CATEGORY: Fiddle and Instrumental Tunes

DATE: 1900's

RELATED TO: “Christmas Morning;” “Old Christmas Morning;” Hobart Smith's “What Did the Buzzard Say to the Crow?” (Rounder CD 1799) seems to be related.

RECORDING INFO: L.G. 'Pug' Allen on Musical Traditions' second CD release of 2002: Far in the Mountains: Vols 1 & 2 (MTCD321-2); Hobart Smith's What Did the Buzzard Say to the Crow? (Rounder CD 1799)

OTHER NAMES: Christmas Morning;

SOURCES: Mike Yeats, Far in the Mountains liner notes;

NOTES: Played on the fiddle by L.G.'Pug' Allen, the guitar by George Allen and the banjo by Paul Brown at Pug's home in Stuart's Draft, Augusta County, VA.

A number of Appalachian tunes serve a seasonal function and Christmas Holiday was only played, as its name suggests, during the Christmas period. Other related tunes are Christmas Morning played by Melvin Wine of Braxton County, WV. and Old Christmas Morning which used to be played by Clay County WV. musicians French Carpenter and Wilson Douglas. Musicians in the Galax area of Virginia also have their own tune, Breaking Up Christmas, which was traditionally only played at dances held on January 6th.

According to Pug, there were several verses sung to this tune, although he was only able to remember the lines:

LYRICS: 

Come on down to my house,
It's a Christmas holiday.