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Little Brown Jug
Old-time and Bluegrass Waltz by Joseph Eastburn Winner, 1837-1918 (aka "Eastburn"); Widely known
ARTIST: From Lomax;
CATEGORY: Fiddle and Instrumental Tunes; DATE: 1869;
RECORDING INFO: Henry Whittier (OK 40063, 1924) NYC; Ernest Thompson (Co 147-D, 1924) NYC; Uncle George Reneau (Vo 14812, 1924) NYC; Dave Macon “Muskrat Medley” (Vo 15101, 1925) NYC; Chubby Parker Gnt Uniss 1927) Richmond, Ind.; Anderson, Bob; and the Country Ramblers. Indiana Hoedown, Puritan 5003, LP (1973), cut#B.05. Goforth, Gene. Emminence Breakdown, Rounder 0388, CD (1997), cut#28. Jarrell, Tommy. Pickin' on Tommy's Porch, County 778, LP (198?), cut# 8 . Lipscomb, Mance. Texas Songster, Live, Vol. 3, Arhoolie 1026, LP (1965), cut# 4 (Heel and Toe Polka). Macon, Uncle Dave. Keep My Skillet Good and Greasy, Old Homestead OHCS-148, LP (1983), cut#B.03c.Osborne, Uncle Charlie (Charlie N.). Relics and Treasures, June Appal JA 0049, LP (1985), cut# 8. Skillet Lickers. Corn Licker Still in Georgia, Voyager VRLP 303, LP (197?), cut#B.21. Thompson, Joe; and Tommy Thompson. Black Banjo Songsters of North Carolina and Virginia, Smithsonian SF 40079, CD (1998), cut#32;
OTHER NAMES: Bring Out the Little Brown Jug ; Robinson County ; Black River ; Wild John;
SOURCES: A Fiddler’s Companion; American Ballads and Folk Songs, MacMillan, Bk (1934), p.176. Read 'Em and Weep, Arco, Sof (1959/1926), p 52 . Traditional Music in America, Folklore Associates, Bk (1940/1965), p 33b. Traditional Music in America, Folklore Associates, Bk (1940/1965), p415.
NOTES: The tune goes to a once-popular college song, but it appears to have originally been composed for the minstrel stage by one 'Eastburn', believed to be a pseudonym for Joseph E(astburn) Winner (1837-1918). He copyrighted the melody in 1869. J.E. Winner, as the name on the copyright goes, of Philadelphia, was the younger brother of the composer and publisher Septimus Winner.
Despite its stage origins, the tune quickly entered traditional repertoire and appears to have been widely disseminated. "Little Brown Jug" was cited as having commonly been played at Orange County, New York, country dances in the 1930's (Lettie Osborn, New York Folklore Quarterly), and it was known at the same time at the other end of the country by Arizona fiddler Kenner C. Kartchner, who said, "many an amateur plays this simple old song" (Shumway).
The tune was recorded for the Library of Congress by musicologist/folklorist Vance Randolph from Ozark Mountain fiddlers in the early 1940's. Mt. Airy, North Carolina, fiddler Tommy Jarrell learned the tune from his father, because the lyric "tickled" him. African-American fiddler Cuje Bertram (Ky.) recorded the tune in 1970 on a home recording made for his family. Another African-American fiddler, North Carolinian Joe Thompson, played the tune in FCGD tuning. It was recorded on a 78 RPM by Kanawha County, West Virginia fiddler Clark Kessinger (1896-1975).
Here are the lyrics to “Little Brown Jug” from Lomax:
Me and my wife live all alone
In a little log hut we call our own;
She loves gin and I love rum,
And don't we have a lot of fun!
Chorus: Ha, ha, ha, you and me,
Little brown jug, don't I love thee!
Ha, ha, ha, you and me,
Little brown jug, don't I love thee!
When I go toiling on the farm
I take the little jug under my arm;
Place it under a shady tree,
Little brown jug,'tis you and me.
'Tis you that makes me friends and foes,
'Tis you that makes me wear old clothes;
But, seeing you're so near my nose,
Tip her up and down she goes.
If all the folks in Adam's race
Were gathered together in one place,
Then I'd let them go without a tear
Before I'd part from you, my dear.
If I'd a cow that gave such milk,
I'd dress her in the finest silk;
Feed her up on oats and hay,
And milk her twenty times a day.
I bought a cow from Farmer Jones,
And she was nothing but skin and bones;
I fed her up as fine as silk,
She jumped the fence and strained her milk.
And when I die don't bury me at all,
Just pickle my bones in alcohol;
Put a bottle o' booze at my head and feet
And then I know that I will keep.
The rose is red, my nose is too,
The violets blue and so are you;
And yet, I guess, before I stop,
We'd better take another drop.
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