Poor Ole Davy- Prairie Ramblers

Poor Ole Davy

Poor Ole Dave/Davy, Davy

Traditional Old-Time Hoedown-North Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky.

ARTIST: from Prairie Ramblers.

YouTube- Prairie Ramblers- Poor Ole Davy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVoh72qx5U4

CATEGORY: Fiddle and Instrumental Tunes DATE: Early 1900’s.

RECORDING INFO: County Records - "Echoes of the Ozarks, Vol. 3." County Records, "Weems String Band." Rounder Records 0132, Bob Carlin - "Fiddle Tunes for Clawhammer Banjo" (1980. Learned from Ithica, N.Y., revival musicians Judy Hyman and Jeff Claus). Carlin, Bob. Fiddle Tunes for Clawhammer Banjo, Rounder 0132, LP (1980), cut# 15. New Lost City Ramblers. New Lost City Ramblers, Vol. 1, Folkways FA 2396, LP (1958), cut# 11. New Lost City Ramblers. Old-Time String Band Songbook, Oak, Sof (1964/1976), p 68. Wade, Stephen. Dancing Home, Flying Fish FF-90543, Cas (1990), cut# 5. Weems String Band. Echoes of the Ozarks, Vol. 3, County 520, LP (1970), cut# 8.

OTHER NAMES: "Poor Ole Davy" “Davy,” "Goin' Down the River," "Sailing Down the River," "Paddy Won't You Drink Some Good Old Cider."

SOURCES: Cohen/Seeger/Wood, p. 68, "Davy" (1 text, 1 tune); Kuntz, Fiddler's Companion, http://www.ceolas.org/tunes/fc;

NOTES: Standard AABB form- Key G or A. The Prairie Ramblers do a comic high energy version of the old fiddle tune Davy Davy.

"Davy" is similar to the tune "Goin' Down the River." See also: Kuntz, Fiddler's Companion, http://www.ceolas.org/tunes/fc. See lyrics to both "Goin' Down the River," and "Paddy Won't You Drink Some Good Old Cider" in this collection. Resembles Green Corn/Black-Eyed Suzy.

[Another lyrically related text was collected by Josiah Combs circa 1900 from Wiley Parks in Hindman, KY titled Davy Crockett. It begins:

"I knew a little boy, his name was Davy,
He wouldn't eat meat, but he did like gravy;"

Whether the Davy in in the fiddle tune is Davy Crockett is not know but it is a distinct possiblity. R.Matteson 2011]


Standard lyrics:

A Section: Davy, Davy, Where is Davy?
Down in the hen house eatin’ up the gravy.

B Section: Davy, Davy, poor ol’ Davy.
Down in the chicken yard sick on the gravy

POOR OLE DAVY- Prairie Ramblers

[fiddle]

Davy, Davy poor ole Davy,
He got choaked on chicken and gravy

 Davy, Davy poor ole Davy,
He got choaked on rabbit and gravy

Davy, Davy poor ole Davy,
He got choaked on turkey and gravy

Davy, Davy poor ole Davy,
He got thrown out of the U.S. navy.

Davy, Davy poor ole Davy,
Went with a girl and she said maybe. 

Davy, Davy poor ole Davy,
Married the girl and soon had a baby