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Jaybird
Traditional Old-Time, Breakdown; American, March and Reel; English, Scottish; Country, Morris, Sword Dance Tune. New England, Pennsylvania, Missouri.
ARTIST: From various sources
CATEGORY: Fiddle and Instrumental Tunes DATE: Early 1900’s
RECORDING INFO: Boiled Buzzards. Fine Dining, Marimac 9043, Cas (1991), cut#B.02. Country Cooking. Country Cooking, Rounder 0006, LP (1971), cut#B.03a. Levenson, Dan. Light of the Moon, Buzzard 2001, CD (1997), cut# 6a. Spence, Bill. Saturday Night in the Provinces, Front Hall FHR-005, LP (1975), cut# 1a. Sutherland, Pete. Eight Miles From Town, Marimac 9031, Cas (1982), cut# 1a. Weems, Ace; and his Fat Meat Boys. It's All Gone Now, Carryon 002, LP, cut#B.02 Carryon 005, "The Renegades" (1993). Front Hall 05, Fennigs All Stars- "Saturday Night in the Provinces." Rounder 0006, Country Cooking- "Fourteen Bluegrass Instrumentals."
OTHER NAMES: "Jaybird Settin' On a Limb," "The Pennsylvania Fifers" (Pa.), "Daddy Shot a Bear" (Pa.), "The Lady's Breast Knot," "The (Bonny) Breast Knot(s)."
SOURCES: Ford- Traditional Music in America, Folklore Associates, Bk (1940/1965), p 96a (Jay Bird) : Fennigs All Stars (N.Y.) [Brody]; nine southwestern Pa. fiddlers and fifers [Bayard]; Liz Slade (Yorktown, New York) [Kuntz]; Kenny Kosek and Pete Sutherland [Phillips/1994]. Bayard (Dance to the Fiddle), 1981; No. 176A-I, pgs. 127-131. Brody (Fiddler's Fakebook), 1983; pg. 144. Kuntz, Private Collection. Phillips (Fiddlecase Tunebook), 1989; pg. 23. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes, Vol. 1), 1994; pg. 122. Sweet (Fifer's Delight), 1964/1981; pg. 52.
NOTES: D Major. Standard or ADAE. AABB (most versions): AABBAAC'C' (Phillips/1994). A "revival" favorite popularized in the late 1960's/early 70's by Art Rosenbaum, John Burke, Joel Shimberg and other young banjo players and fiddlers of the time. Art Rosenbaum learned his version from Summer's playing also, but remembers the lines Summers (who sang very little) voiced were the same as Ira Ford's, save he substituted the word 'stick' for 'rock' in the third line. The second strain of the tune is used for the music to the songs "Skip to My Lou" and "Bobby Shafto." "Walking Jaybird" is not cognate.
Jay bird, jay bird, sittin' on a limb,
He winked at me and I winked at him.
I picked up a rock and I hit his shin,
Sez he: "You'd better not do that agin." (Ira Ford)
Daddy went a-huntin;, Daddy shot a bear;
Shot him in the ass, and he never touched a hair. (Bayard)
Jaybird, Jaybird, sitting in the grass,
Jaybird, Jaybird, sitting in the grass,
Jaybird, Jaybird, sitting in the grass,
Wiggle-wiggle went his tail, poop went his ass. (Joel Shimberg)
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