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Roll On The Ground/Big Ball’s in Town
Old-Time, Song Tune. Traditional;
ARTIST: Ray Allen on 4/13/1939 from Lomax field recording Houston, Harris County, Texas
CATEGORY: Fiddle and Instrumental Tunes; DATE: 4/13/1939 Late 1800’s; Billy Golden, "Roll on the Ground" (Berliner 0539, c. 1900; Victor A-616, c. 1901; rec. 1899
RECORDING INFO: Warren Caplinger's Cumberland Mountain Entertainers, "Big Ball in Town" (Brunswick 241, 1928) Georgia Yellow Hammers, "Big Ball in Memphis" (Victor V-40138, 1929) Billy Golden, "Roll on the Ground" (Berliner 0539, c. 1900; Victor A-616, c. 1901; rec. 1899) (CYL Albany 1131 [as "Roll On de Ground"], n.d.) (CYL: Lambert 5077 [as "Roll on de Ground"], n.d. but c. 1900) Al Hopkins & his Buckle Busters, "Roll on the Ground" (Brunswick 186, 1927) J. E. Mainer's Mountaineers, "Big Ball's in Town" (King 622, 1947) Fate Norris & his Playboys, "Roll 'em on the Ground" (Columbia 15435-D, 1929) Gid Tanner & His Skillet Lickers, "Big Ball In Town" (Columbia 15204-D, 1927) Taylor-Griggs Louisiana Melody Makers, "Big Ball Up Town" (Victor 21768, 1928) Thaddeus C. Willingham, "Roll on the Ground" (AFS, 1939; on LC02, LCTreas) Del McCoury- High on a Mountain Rounder; J.E. Mainer- Good Old Mountain Music; Gid Tanner & His Skillet Lickers, "Big Ball In Town" (Columbia 15204-D, 1927); Thaddeus C. Willingham, "Roll on the Ground" (AFS, 1939; on LC02, LCTreas); Cooper, Wilma Lee. Songs to Remember, Cooper, Fol (19??), p 4 (Big Ball's in Boston); Georgia Yellow Hammers. Mountain Songs, County 504, LP, cut# 9 (Big Ball's in Memphis); Mainer's Mountaineers (J. E. Mainer's Mountaineers). Good Ole Mountain Music, King 666, LP (196?), cut# 12; Mountain Ramblers. Sounds of the South, Atlantic 7-82496-2, CD( (1993), cut#1.23 (Big Ball's in Boston); New Lost City Ramblers. There Ain't No Way Out, Smithsonian/Folkways 40098, CD (1997), cut#15; Nix, Hoyle; and his West Texas Cowboys. Operators' Special, String STR 807, LP (1979), cut#B.02 (Big Ball's in CowTown); Poston, Mutt; and the Farm Hands. Hoe Down! Vol. 6. Country Blues Instrumentals, Rural Rhythm RR 156, LP (197?), cut# 8 (Big Ball's in Memphis); Skillet Lickers. Skillet Lickers, Vol. 1, County 506, LP (196?), cut# 3; Texas Playboys. Texas Music, Heritage (Galax) 066, LP (1986), cut#A.04d (Big Ball's in CowTown); Mysterious Redbirds. Mysterious Redbirds, Copper Creek CCCD 0188, CD (2000), cut# 7 (Roll on the Ground); Paley, Tom. Hard Luck Papa. Old Time Picking Styles & Techniques, Kicking Mule KM 201, LP (1976), cut# 13 (Roll on the Ground); Paley, Tom. Shivaree!, Esoteric ES-538, LP (1955), cut# 10 (Roll on the Ground); Skillet Lickers. Corn Licker Still in Georgia, Voyager VRLP 303, LP (197?), cut#A.15 (Roll on the Ground); Smith, Ralph Lee. Allan Block & Ralph Lee Smith, Meadowlands MS 1, LP (1971), cut#B.09; Willingham, Thaddeus. Anglo-American Shanties, Lyric Songs, Dance Tunes & Spirituals, Library of Congress AAFS L 2, LP (195?), cut# 9
OTHER NAMES: "Roll ’em On the Ground," “Big Ball,” “Big Ball in Memphis,” ”Big Ball's in Boston.” "Hook Nose In Brooklyn," “Big Ball's in CowTown” Many versions include “Big Ball in Bristol” etc.
SOURCES: BrownIII 234, "Working on the Railroad" (1 text plus two unrelated fragments, the "B" and "C" fragments probably belong here; the "A" text is a jumble starting with "Working on the Railroad" but followed up by what is probably a "Song of All Songs" fragment) Cohen/Seeger/Wood, p. 200, "Big Ball's In Town" (1 text, 1 tune); Silber-FSWB, p. 199, "Roll On The Ground" (1 text); Cohen/Seeger/Wood, p. 200, (Big Ball's In Town); Silber-FSWB, p. 199, (Roll On The Ground) New Lost City Ramblers. Old-Time String Band Songbook, Oak, Sof (1964/1976), p200; Kuntz, Fiddler's Companion, http://www.ceolas.org/tunes/fc;
NOTES: Most versions of “Roll on the Ground” use floating verses, mostly concerning high life: "Get on your big shoes, get on your gown/Shake off those sad blues, Big Ball's in town"; "Let's have a party, let's have a time/Let's have a party, I've only a dime"; "My love's in jail, boys, my love's in jail/My love's in jail, boys, who's going her bail?" And "Work on the railroad, sleep on the ground/Eat soda crackers, ten cents a pound." Chorus: "Big Ball's in Boston [Nashville], Big Ball's in town/Big Ball's in Boston, we'll dance around." Or, in the other common version, "Roll on the ground, boys, roll on the ground (x2)."
“Roll on the Ground” and “Roll ‘Em on the Ground” are similar songs. They, in turn, are related to the instrumental versions “Going to the Wedding to Get Some Cake,” and “New Broom,” the latter title appears in Talley’s ‘Negro Folk Rymes’ as “Sweep dat Kittle Wid a Bran’ New Broom.”
Version 1 in this collection was recorded by Billy Golden as "Roll on the Ground" (Berliner 0539, c. 1900; Victor A-616, c. 1901; rec. 1899) in 1989. The lyrics appear in later in the Al Hopkins 1927 version.
Here’s some info by Kuntz about the related tunes: GOIN' TO THE WEDDING. AKA – “Going to the Wedding to Get Some Cake.” Old-Time, Breakdown. USA, Mississippi. A Major or G Major. Modern versions are modelled on fiddler Alvis Massengale and the Newton County (Mississippi) Hillbillies’ recording. Recorded for the Library of Congress in 1939 by Lauderdale County, Mississippi, fiddler Frank Kittrell. Okeh 45549 (78 RPM), Newton County Hillbillies (Mississippi, with Alvis Massengale on fiddle).
NEW BROOM [1]. AKA and see "Democrats A-Rising." Old-Time, Breakdown. G Major. Standard. AB (Silberberg): AA'BB' (Phillips). Charles Wolfe (1991) thinks the title might be associated with an old African-American banjo song, perhaps of minstrel origins, called “Sweep dat Kittle Wid a Bran’ New Broom.” Sources for notated versions: Dick Barrett [Phillips]; Carthy Sisco [Silberberg]; Gary Lee Moore (Seattle) [Silberberg]. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), vol. 1, 1994; pg. 164. Silberberg (Tunes I Learned at Tractor Tavern), 2002; pgs. 105 & 106. Ok 45477 (78 RPM), The Fox Chasers. Rounder 0215, Byron Berline, "Rounder Fiddle" (1990). Rounder 0100, Byron Berline, "Dad's Favorites."
The Traditional Ballad Index as well as Meade categorizes the “Big Ball in Town” songs with “Roll on the Ground.” “Big Ball In Town” was the result of The Skillet Licker's marrying of the tune "Roll on the Ground" with new words."(Kuntz, Fiddler's Companion, http://www.ceolas.org/tunes/fc). The tune was recorded by J.E. Mainer's Mountaineers, and by West Virginia string band duo the Cumberland Mountain Entertainers (Sam Caplinger & fiddler Andy Patterson {1893-1950}) in 1928 for Brunswick-Vocalation (Later the duo moved to Akron, Ohio, and formed the Dixie Harmonizers, who recorded for Gennett). Heritage 048, "Georgia Fiddle Bands" {Brandywine, 1982} (1983). Cohen/Seeger/Wood report "This tune is the sort that exists only for itself and its suitability on the banjo, the words being only very freely attached and often with reference to a drunken state." The same melody is used for versions of “Don't Get Troubled in Mind.” Also included in this collection is “Big Ball in Memphis” by the Georgia Yellow Hammers (See Big Ball in Memphis/Cowtown etc.).
Roll on de Ground- Ray Allen
ROLL ON THE GROUND- Ray Allen
CHORUS: Roll on the ground boys
Roll on the ground boys
Roll on the ground boys
Roll on the ground.
The raccoon has a bushy tail
The possums tail is bare
The rabbit has no tail at all,
But a little bunch of hair.
CHORUS:
The june bug has a golden wing
The lightenin’ bug’s has flame.
The bed bug has no wing at all,
But he gets there just the same.
CHORUS:
Raccoon up a ‘simmons tree,
Possum on the ground.
Possum says you son-of-a-gun,
You shake some simmons down.
CHORUS:
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