|
Holly Dink/Holly Ding
Traditional Old-Time, Breakdown. Southwest Va., Western N.C.
ARTIST: Wade Ward;
CATEGORY: Fiddle and Instrumental Tunes DATE: Early 1900’s;
RECORDING INFO: County 757, Wade Ward - "Clawhammer Banjo, Vol. 3." Heritage XXXIII, Fred Cockerham & Tommy Jarrell - "Visits" (1981). Rounder 0058, Stuart Carrico - "Old Originals, Vol. 2" (1978. Appears as "Holliding Cindy"). Swing Cat CD-1610, Hart & Blech - "Kicked Up a Devil of a Row" (learned from Wade Ward, of Independence, Va.). Fuzzy Mountain String Band. Summer Oaks and Porch, Rounder 0035, LP (197?), cut# 14c; Hooven, Greg. Tribute to Fred Cockerham, Heritage (Galax) 079C, Cas (1993), cut#B.04 (Back Step); Jarrell, Tommy. Rainbow Sign, County 791, LP (198?), cut# 5 (Old Time BackStep Cindy); Jarrell, Tommy. Come and Go With Me, County 748, LP (1974), cut# 5; Jarrell, Tommy. Music of North Carolina, Heritage (Galax) 024 (XXIV), LP (1979), cut#A.03; Jarrell, Tommy. Sail Away Ladies, County 756, LP (197?), cut# 6b; Marshall, William. Appalachia, The Old Traditions, Vol. 2, Home Made Music LP-002, LP (1982), cut# 20; Seeger, Mike. Tribute to Tommy Jarrell, Heritage (Galax) 063, LP (1986), cut# 6 (Backstep Cindy); Sutphin, Kirk. Old Time Music on the Air, Vol. 1, Rounder 0331, Cas (1994), cut# 19 (Old Time BackStep Cindy); Ward, Wade. Clawhammer Banjo, Vol. 3, County 757, LP (1978), cut# 1 (Hollyding)
OTHER NAMES: "Hollading;" "Holliding;" "Holliding Cindy," "Back Step Cindy;" Virginia Cindy;
SOURCES: "Ray Alden (1981) believes it to be "one of the many dance tunes that made its way down through Virginia into the Round Peak section of North Carolina at the turn of the century." Tommy Jarrell has pointed out that this family of melodies is known as "Holly Ding" above the "Mountain" (the Blue Ridge chain separating NC and VA) and "Back Step Cindy" below the "Mountain" (Jarrell's "Old Time Step Back Cindy" is melodically related to Wade Ward's "Hollyding"). Noted to have been in the repertoire of the Wagoner Family of Sparta, N.C." (Kuntz, Fiddler's Companion, http://www.ceolas.org/tunes/fc).
NOTES: "D Major. A Galax, Va., region stand-by, usually played as a banjo piece. The title "Holly Ding" comes from a verse set to the melody which goes: Hollyding! Step back and swing. Thomas Talley (1870-), in his book Negro Folk Rhymes (originally published 1922, republished in 1991 edited by Charles Wolfe), recalls that it was known in the middle Tennessee African-American community he grew up in since slavery times. His "Holly Dink" (sic) was performed in a call and response format. Over time the words were lost, with only the response portion retained in the title of the tune. Kerry Blech points out that Talley's lyric fragments scan well to the Tommy Jarrell tune "Old Time Step Back Cindy," melodically related to the Wade Ward version." (Kuntz, Fiddler's Companion, http://www.ceolas.org/tunes/fc).
Talley: [Now, it was considered by Negroes, in the days gone by, something of an accomplishment for a leader to be able to sing "calls," for so long a time, when they bore some meaning, and still a greater accomplish-ment to sing the calls both in rhyme and with meaning. This led each individual to rhyme his calls as far as possible because leaders were invited to lead songs during an evening's entertainment, largely in accordance with their ability, and thus those desiring to lead wrere compelled to make attainment in both rhyme and meaning.
Now, the reader will notice under "Holly Dink," heading "(b)," "I sho' loves Miss Donie." This is a part of the opening line of our Negro Rhyme, "Likes and Dislikes." I would convey the thought to the reader that this whole Rhyme, and any other Negro Rhyme which would fit into a 2/4 music measure, could be, and was used by the Play Song leader in singing the calls of "Holly Dink." Thus a leader would lead such a song; and by using one whole Rhyme after another, succeed in rhyming the calls for a quarter of an hour. If his Rhymes "gave out," he used rhythmic prose calls; and since these did not need to have meaning, his store was unlimited. Just as any Rhyme which could be fitted into a 2/4 music measure would be used with "Holly Dink," so any Rhyme which could be fitted into a 4/4 measure would be used with the " 'Tain't Gwineter Rain No Mo'." Illustrations given under "(b)" and "(c)" under the last mentioned song are
—"Promises of Freedom," and "Hawk and Buzzard."
Since all Negro Songs with a few exceptions were written in 4/4 measures and 2/4 measures, and Negro rhymed "calls" were also written in the same way, the rhymed "calls" which may have originated with one song were transferred to, and used with other songs. Thus the rhymed "calls" becoming detached for use with any and all songs into which they could be fitted, gave rise to the multitude of Negro Folk Rhymes, a small fragment of which multitude is recorded in our collection. Negro Dances and Dance Rhymes were both constructed in 2/4 and 4/4 measures, and the Rhymes were propagated for that same reason. Rhymes, once detached from their original song or dance, were learned, and often repeated for mere pastime, and thus they were transmitted to others as unit compositions.
We have now seen how detached rhymed "calls" made our Negro Folk Rhymes. Next let us consider how and why whole little "poems" arose in a Play Song. One will notice in reading Negro Folk Rhymes that the larger number of them tell a little story or give some little comic description, or some little striking thought. Since all the Rhymes had to be memorized to insure their continued existence, and since Memory works largely through Association ; one readily sees that the putting of the Rhymes into a story, descriptive, or striking thought form, was the only thing that could cause their being kept alive. It was only through their being composed thus that Association was able to assist Memory in recalling them. Those carrying another form carried their death warrant.
Now let us look a little more intimately into how the Rhymes were probably composed. In collecting them, I often had the same Rhyme given to me over and over again by different individuals. Most of the Rhymes were given by different individuals in fragmentary form. In case of all the Rhymes thus received, there would always be a half stanza, or a whole stanza which all contributors' versions held in common. As examples: in "Promises of Freedom," all contributors gave the lines—
"My ole Mistiss promise me Wen she died, she'd set me free."
In "She Hugged Me and Kissed Me," the second stanza was given by all. In "Old Man Know-Ail," the first two lines of the last stanza came from all who gave the Rhyme. The writer terms these parts of the individual Rhymes, seemingly known to all.]
LYRICS from Wade Ward:
Oh now swing yo' partner Holly Dink,
I sure love Doney Holly Dink.
|