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The Whiskey Seller/Little Brown Jug
Old-time and Bluegrass Waltz by Joseph Eastburn Winner, 1837-1918 (aka "Eastburn"); Widely known
ARTIST: From Ozark Folksongs, Randolph; Collected from Clint Maxwell, Joplin, MO 1922; A temperance song to the tune of Little Brown Jug. Randolph traced it back to late 1880’s;
CATEGORY: Fiddle and Instrumental Tunes; DATE: 1880’s;
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 “The Whiskey Seller” from Ozark Folksongs, Randolph:
Of all the crimes that ever has been,
Sellin' whiskey is the greatest sin;
Caused more sorrow, grief, an' woe
Than anything else that I know-
The old distiller an' the whiskey seller
Has ruined many a clever feller;
Caused more sorrow, grief, an' woe
Than anything else that I know.
You rob the rich man of his store
An' cause him to beg from door to door
You cause his wife an' children to mourn
Because they have no home of their own.
You rob the strong man of his stren'th,
An' throw him in the mud full len'th,
Leave him there for to curse an' roll,
An' don't care nothin' for the pore man's soul.
You rob the statesman of his brains,
An' fiil his head with achin' pains;
He's often in the gullies found
A-feelin' upwards for the ground.
You rob the children of their bread,
An' they are hungry sent to bed;
It causes them such bitter cries,
An' makes tears flow from the mother's eyes.
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