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Unfortunate Puppy/Rye Straw
Old-Time, Breakdown. USA; North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, Indiana, Arkansas.
ARTIST: Elmo Newcomer in his ranch home near Pipe Creek, Bandera, Co., Texas, May 3, 1939
CATEGORY: Fiddle and Instrumental Tunes
DATE: 1880's by George Coe of Boston, Mass., as "A Whoop from Arkansas"
RECORDING INFO: Biograph 6007, Ebenezer- "Tell it to Me." Briar 0798 (or BR 4204), Earl Collins- "That's Earl." Carryon Records 002, "Ace Weems and the Fat Meat Boys." Cassette C-7625, Wilson Douglas - "Back Porch Symphony." Columbia 15521 (78 RPM), Clayton McMichen & Riley Puckett (1930). County 412, Doc Roberts - "Fiddling Doc Roberts" (1983). County 527, Doc Roberts - "Old Time Fiddle Classics, Vol. 2." County 788, Clyde Davenport (Monticello, Ky.) - "Clydeoscope: Rare & Beautiful Tunes from the Cumberland Plateau" (1986). Folkways FS 3809, John Summers- "Fine Times at our House". Gennett 7221 (78 RPM), Doc Roberts (1930). Mississippi Department of Archives and History AH-002, Frank Kittrell (Lauderdale County, Miss.) - "Great Big Yam Potatoes: Anglo-American Fiddle Music from Mississippi" (1985. Originally recorded in 1939). Rounder 0040, "Pickin' Around the Cookstove." Rounder 0128, The Backwoods Band- "Jes' Fine" (1980). Rounder 0132, Bob Carlin- "Fiddle Tunes for the Clawhammer Banjo" (1980). Rounder 1005, Gid Tanner and the Skillet Lickers- "Hear These New Fiddle and Guitar Records." Tennvale 001S, Bob Douglas- "Old Time Dance Tunes from Sequatchie Valley." Recorded by Uncle Am Stuart (b. 1856), Morristown, Tenn., in 1924 for Vocalation, and by Clayton McMichen in 1929; Backwoods Band. Jes' Fine, Rounder 0128, LP (1979), trk# 12; Barton, Cathy; and Dave Para. On a Day Like Today, Folk Legacy FSI-107, LP (1986), trk# 2b; Carlin, Bob. Fiddle Tunes for Clawhammer Banjo, Rounder 0132, LP (1980), trk# 3; Carpenter, Ernie. Elk River Blues, Augusta Heritage AHR 003, LP (1986), trk# 14 [1982ca] (Ryestraw); Collins, Earl. That's Earl, Briar BR-4204, LP (1975), trk# 7 Davenport, Clyde. Clydeoscope, County 788, LP (1986), trk# 16 [1983ca]; Deseret String Band. Land of Milk and Honey, Okehdokee 74002, LP (1974), trk# 9a; Douglas, Wilson. Back Porch Symphony, Douglas C-7625, Cas (1995), trk# A.06 (Ryestraw); Ebenezer. Tell It To Me, Biograph RC-6007, LP (1975), trk# 2; Ebenezer. Brody, David (ed.) / Fiddler's Fakebook, Oak, Sof (1983), p241; Feldmann, Peter; & the Pea Patch Quintet. Grey Cat on the Tennessee Farm, Hen Cackle HC 504, CD (2004), trk# 13; Jabbour, Alan. Silberberg, Gene (ed.) / Complete Fiddle Tunes I Either Did or Did Not.., Silberberg, Fol (2005), p166; Jarrell, Tommy. Sail Away Ladies, County 756, LP (1976), trk# A.05 (Joke on the Puppy); Jarrell, Tommy. Joke on the Puppy, Heritage (Galax) 044, LP (1992), trk# 1 (Joke on the Puppy); Kittrell, Frank. Great Big Yam Potatoes. Anglo-American Fiddle Music from Missi., Southern Culture AH002, LP (1985), trk# A.16 [1939/05/20]; Leftwich, Brad. Say Old Man, County 2714, CD (1996), trk# 15; Lost World String Band. Lost But Not Least, Wheatland 002, LP (1978), trk# B.08b; Lunsford, Bascom Lamar. Bascom Lamar Lunsford, Smithsonian SF 40082, CD (1996), trk# 13 [1949/03/25]; Macon, Uncle Dave. Uncle Dave Macon, RBF RF 51, LP (1963), trk# A.07b [1938/01/26]; Macon, Uncle Dave. Go 'Long Mule, County 545, LP (1981), 13b [1938/01/26] ; Nelson, Mark. After the Morning, Kicking Mule KM 241, LP (1983), trk# B.04a (Joke on the Puppy); Osborne, Uncle Charlie (Charlie N.). 100 Years Farther On, June Appal JA 0064C, Cas (199?), trk# 14; Pickin' Around the Cookstove. Pickin' Around the Cookstove, Rounder 0040, LP (1975), trk# 4b; Powell, Dirk. If I Go Ten Thousand Miles, Rounder 0384, CD (1996), trk# 17b (Ryestraw); Red Clay Ramblers. Twisted Laurel, Flying Fish FF-030, LP (1976), trk# 10b (Ryestraw); Reed, Henry. Krassen, Miles (ed.) / Masters of Old Time Fiddling, Oak --, Sof (1983), p 94 [1967/05/06] ; Rhythm Godzilla. Galax International, Heritage (Galax) 067, LP (1988), trk# B.08 [1985/06/28] (Joke on the Puppy); Roberts, Fiddlin' Doc. Old Time Tunes, County 412, LP (1978), trk# 7 [1930/01/13]; Roberts, Fiddlin' Doc. Old Time Fiddle Classics, Vol. 2, County 527, LP (1973), trk# 8 [1930/01/13]; Roberts, Fiddlin' Doc. Titon, Jeff Todd / Old Time Kentucky Fiddle Tunes, Kentucky, Bk/ (2001), p167/#140 [1930/01/13]; Roberts, Fiddlin' Doc. Fiddlin' Doc Roberts / Complete Recorded Works..., Vol 2. 1928-1, Document DOCD 8043, CD (1999), trk# 18 [1930/01/13]; Seeger, Pete; and Frank Hamilton. Nonesuch and Other Folk Tunes, Folkways FA 2439, LP (1959), trk# A.05; Seeger, Mike. Second Annual Farewell Reunion, Mercury SRMI-685, LP (1973), trk# 1; Skillet Lickers. Gid Tanner and the Skillet Lickers, Rounder 1005, LP (1973), trk# 13 [1929/10/29] (Ryestraw); Smith, Glenn (Virginia). 28th Annual Galax Old Fiddlers Convention. Galax, Virginia 1963, Kanawha 302, LP (1963), trk# 2 (Dog in the Rye Straw); Stripling, Lee. Hogs Picking Up Acorns, Voyager VRCD 349, CD (2000), trk# 1; Thomas, Tony. Old Style Texas and Oklahoma Fiddling, Takoma A-1013, LP (195?), trk# 13; Tucker, Stephen B.. Great Big Yam Potatoes. Anglo-American Fiddle Music from Missi., Southern Culture AH002, LP (1985), trk# B.14 [1939/05/23] (Joke on the Puppy); Wade, Stephen. Dancing Home, Flying Fish FF-90543, Cas (1990), trk# 9; Wagner, Pop; and Bob Bovee. Pop Wagner & Bob Bovee, Train on the Island TI 1, LP (1977), trk# A.08b; Walters, Bob. Christeson, R. P. / Old Time Fiddlers Reportory, Vol 1., University of Missouri, Bk (1973), # 21 [1950/09] (Unfortunate Dog); Weems, Ace; and his Fat Meat Boys. It's All Gone Now, Carryon 002, LP (199?), trk# A.02 (Ryestraw); Morrison, James. Pure Genius of James Morrison, Shanachie 33004, LP (1978), trk# A.01a (The Irish Girl -Reel); Teague, Howe. Traditional Fiddle Music of the Ozarks. Volume 1, Rounder 0435, CD (1999), trk# 34 (Arkansas Hop); Fraley, J. P. and Annadeene. Maysville. Old Time Fiddle Tunes, Rounder 0351, Cas (1995), trk# B.02 (Buck Hord/Hoard); Greene, Alva. Titon, Jeff Todd / Old Time Kentucky Fiddle Tunes, Kentucky, Bk/ (2001), p 54/# 19 [1974/04/05] (Buck Hord/Hoard); Hartford, John. Devil's Box, Devil's Box, Ser, 31/3, p35a(1997) (Buck Hord/Hoard); Molsky, Bruce. Lost Boy, Rounder 0361, CD (1996), trk# 10 (Buck Hord/Hoard); Forrester, Howdy. Fancy Fiddlin' Country Style, MGM E-4035, LP (197?), trk# A.04 (Dog in the Rye Straw); Forrester, Howdy. Devil's Box, Devil's Box, Ser, 28/3, p42(1994) (Dog in the Rye Straw)
RELATED TO: Black My Boots and Go See the Widow; Old Ryefields; Buck Hord/Hoard; Forked/Forky Deer; Granny Will Your Dog Bite; The Irish Girl (Reel)
OTHER NAMES: "The Joke on the Puppy," "Dog Shit a Rye Straw," "Dog in the Rye Straw," "The Dog in Difficulty," "The Unfortunate Pup," "The Unfortuate Dog," "Lady's/Ladies Fancy," "A Whoop from Arkansas," "Alabama Waltz" (Mississippi title),” “Dog in the Rye Straw,” “The Dog in Difficulty,” “Acrobat,” “Preacher's Favorite,” “The Joke on the Puppet (Puppy),” “Unfortunate Puppy,” “Run Boy Run!” “Big Fish” “Arkansas Hop”
SOURCES: American Memory Henry Reed (Monroe County, W. Va.); Kuntz; Mudcat; Folk Index; [Krassen]: Earl Collins [Reiner & Anick]: Ebenezer [Brody, Spandaro]; Howard 'Howdy' Forrester [Phillips]; Clayton McMichen (Ga.) [Phillips]; Ruthie Dornfeld (Seattle) [Phillips]. Brody (Fiddler's Fakebook), 1983; pg. 241. Ford (Traditional Music in America), 1940; pg. 47. Krassen, 1983; pgs. 94-95. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), 1994; pgs. 205-206 (three versions). Reiner & Anick (Old Time Fiddling Across America), 1989; pg. 123. Spandaro (10 Cents a Dance), 1980; pg. 2.; Ford, Ira W. / Traditional Music in America, Folklore Associates, Bk (1965/1940), p 47a; Brody, David (ed.) / Guitar Pickers Fakebook, Oak, Sof (1984), p123; Burke, John. Burke, John / Book of Old Time Fiddle Tunes for Banjo, Amsco, sof (1968), p33;
NOTES: From Kuntz: D Major (most versions): A Major (Frank Kittrell). Standard or ADAE (Frank Kittrell). AABB (Brody, Kittrell, Spandaro): AA'BBCC (Phillips): AABBCC (Ford): ABCCB' (Krassen): AABCCCCDD (Reiner & Anick). The melody was known throughout the South and Midwest under a variety of (mostly related) titles, but appears to have first been published in the 1880's by George Coe of Boston, Mass., as "A Whoop from Arkansas." Charles Wolfe (1983) states the Doc Roberts (Ky) used to sing "a scatalogical ditty involving a dog, a grubbing hoe, and a straw" to the tune, from which most of the titles appear to stem from.
West Virginia fiddler Ernie Carpenter remarked that the version fiddled by the regionally influential musician Lewis Johnson "Uncle" Jack McElwain (1856-1938) of White Oak (a tributary of Laurel Creek, near the village of Erbacon, Webster County, West Virginia) was so good that: "When Jack 'Wain played it, you had to open the door and let the stink out" (Milnes, Play of a Fiddle, 1999).
It has been variously mentioned as having been played by Rock Ridge, Alabama, fiddlers around 1920 (Bailey), and was mentioned in the autobiography and newspaper accounts of Tom Freeman of Cullman County, Alabama, and also in reports (1926-31) of the De Kalb County Annual (Fiddlers') Convention (Cauthen, 1990). The tune was recorded for the Library of Congress by folklorist/musicologist Vance Randolph from Ozark Mountain fiddlers in the early 1940's. Influential Mt Airy, North Carolina, fiddler Tommy Jarrell knew the tune as "The Joke on the Puppy," though its most common name seems to have been "Rye Straw." A version of this tune is called "Lost Indian," a floating title.
From American Memory: The title "Rye Straw" is a shortened form of "Dog in the Rye Straw," which in turn is bowdlerized, for it refers to a cycle of vulgar jingles that conjure up a dog excreting fantastical things. The piece appears in at least one nineteenth-century collection, George H. Coes' Album of Music, p. 51, entitled "A Whoop from Arkansas." Part of the humor seems to reside in coy titles that allude to the true meaning while appearing innocent enough to the uninitiated. Henry Reed himself gave an alternative title in this vein, "The Dog in Difficulty." Hence Morris, Old Time Violin Melodies, #28 "Acrobat"; Thede, The Fiddle Book, p. 98 "Preacher's Favorite," or "Ladies Fancy"; Archive of Folk Culture AFS 3047b3 "The Joke on the Puppet," played by Stephen B. Tucker, Meridian, Mississippi (probably an error for "Puppy"); AFS 3044a2 "Alabama Waltz," played by Charles Long with Sam Neal beating on straw, near Quitman, Mississippi; AFS 2634a2 "Unfortunate Puppy," played by Elmo Newcomer, Bandera County, Texas. Published recorded sets include "Run Boy Run!" on North Carolina Boys, played by Gray Craig, Kinney Rorer, and Doug Rorer (Leader LEA 4040).
A characteristic oddity of the tune is the way it usually oscillates between keys, usually A and D, so that one is often uncertain which key is the true tonal center. In this respect, though it has the A-D oscillation, Henry Reed stays more closely anchored in A than some sets. Versions of the tune often have three strains, and Henry Reed's third strain is a recasting in the upper octave of the first strain. His set has an interesting detail not found in most sets: it reaches ("squeals," perhaps) up to the high C-sharp on the E-string.
Here the lyrics to “Unfortunate Puppy/Rye Straw” from Elmo Newcomer:
RYE STRAW- Elmo Newcomer in his ranch home near Pipe Creek,
Bandera, Co., Texas, May 3, 1939
Why can't a white man
Dance like a nigger,
Oh, just because he
Can't cut a *figger.
Doggone a ryestraw,
Doggone a riddle- O,
Doggone a little boy
Playin' on a fiddle- O.
*figure
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