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Sandy Boys/Sandy Boy/ Uncle Gabriel
Old-Time, Breakdown and Minstrel Song. USA; Kentucky, West Virginia.
ARTIST: from various sources including Andrew Kuntz, Carl Baron and Peter Budd.
CATEGORY: Fiddle and Instrumental Tunes
DATE: Phil Rice’s Correct Method for the Banjo (1857), a period tutor, and also appears an 1844 minstrel songbook (reproduced by Harvard Theatre College Collection, Cambridge, Mass.).
Marsh's Selection, or Singing for the Million on Page 110, published in 1854:
http://books.google.com/books?id=bGT7twZaZYoC&pg=PA110&dq=%22Sandy+boy%22&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&output=html
Appears as Uncle Gabriel," (1847) Sung by the Ethiopian Singers; The Only Correct & Authorized Edition. Music of the Ethiopian Singers. (See below)
RECORDING INFO: Sandy Boys
Barnett, Armin. Songer, Susan; & Clyde Curley (eds.) / Portland Collection. Contra..., Portland Collection, Fol (1997), p173
Christian, John. Old-Time Banjo Anthology, Vol. 1, Marimac AHS 4, Cas (1991), trk# 25 [1989/06]
Diller, Dwight. New Plowed Ground, Diller, CD (1998), trk# 19
Diller, Dwight; and John Gallagher. Piney Woods, Diller YP-007, Cas (199?), trk# A.05
Gellert, Dan; and Brad Leftwich. Moment in Time, Marimac 9038, Cas (1993), trk# B.04
Gingerthistle. Grandad's Porch, Kudzu KPP 007, CD (1998), trk# 1
Goforth, Gene. Emminence Breakdown, Rounder 0388, CD (1997), trk# 7 (Quail Is a Pretty Bird)
Hammons, Burl. Hammons Family. A Study of a West Virginia Family's Traditions, Library of Congress AFS L65-L66, LP (1973), trk# 16 [1970/11/07]
Hammons, Burl. Krassen, Miles (ed.) / Masters of Old Time Fiddling, Oak, Sof (1983), p 78
Hammons, Edden. Edden Hammons Collection (Vol. 1), Sound Archives 001, LP (1984), trk# 6 [1947/08]
Hammons, Edden. Fiddler Magazine, Fiddler Mag., Ser, 6/4, p37(1999) [1947]
Heartbeats. Living Black and White, Marimac 9048, Cas (1991), trk# 3
Ill-Mo Boys. Fine As Frog's Hair, Marimac 9054, Cas (1992), trk# 17b
Mullennex, Ron. Banjo Legacy, Augusta Heritage AHR 006/024, LP (1989), trk# A.01b
Silberberg, Gene. Silberberg, Gene (ed.) / Complete Fiddle Tunes I Either Did or Did Not., Silberberg, Fol (2005), p172
Skirtlifters. Somewhere in Dixie, Skirtlifters, Cas (1987), trk# A.08b
Waldman, Ken. Week in Eek, Nomadic, CD (2000), 4
Boogerman [Me IV-E 14?]
Rt - Sandy Boys
Krassen, Miles. Krassen, Miles / Appalachian Fiddle, Oak, sof (1973), p30b
Krassen, Miles. Krassen, Miles / Clawhammer Banjo, Oak, sof (1974), p47b
Burl Hammonds (Pocahontas County, West Virginia) [Krassen]; The Hurricane Ridge Runners (Armin Barnett, Mark Graham, Jerry Gallaher & Paul Kotapish) [Songer]. Krassen (Masters of Old Time Fiddling), 1983; pg. 78-79. Silberberg (Tunes I Learned at Tractor Tavern), 2002; pg. 140. Songer (Portland Collection), 1997; pg. 173. Marimac 9038, Dan Gellert & Brad Leftwich - "A Moment in Time." Marimac 9054, The Ill-Mo Boys - "Fine as Frog Hair" (1995). Marimac 9040, The Heartbeats - “Living in Black and White” (1990). CD2001, “The Rough Deal Stringband.” Edden Hammons Collection I.
RELATED TO: Uncle Gabriel/Whip the Devil Around the Stump
OTHER NAMES: Boogerman; Whip the Devil Around the Stump [Meade IV-E 14]
SOURCES: Kuntz; Folk Index; Meade; Burl Hammonds (Pocahontas County, West Virginia) [Krassen]; The Hurricane Ridge Runners (Armin Barnett, Mark Graham, Jerry Gallaher & Paul Kotapish) [Songer]. Krassen (Masters of Old Time Fiddling), 1983; pg. 78-79. Silberberg (Tunes I Learned at Tractor Tavern), 2002; pg. 140. Songer (Portland Collection), 1997; pg. 173. Marimac 9038, Dan Gellert & Brad Leftwich - "A Moment in Time." Marimac 9054, The Ill-Mo Boys - "Fine as Frog Hair" (1995). Marimac 9040, The Heartbeats - “Living in Black and White” (1990). CD2001, “The Rough Deal Stringband.” Edden Hammons Collection I.
BOOGERMAN (WILL GET YOU). AKA and see "”Chasing/Chase the Devil around the Stump,” "Whip the Devil Around the Stump." Old‑Time, Breakdown. USA, "Most common in North Carolina," but known throughout the Appalachians (Krassen, 1973). G Major ('A' part) & E Minor or E Major ('B' part). Standard tuning. AABB. In repertoire of Samantha Bumgarner (Asheville, N.C.), J. Dedrick Harris (Eastern Tenn.), and Osey Helton (Western N.C.) {who knew it as "Whip the Devil Around the Stump"}. Helton may have learned the tune from influential fiddler J.D. Harris, who moved to Western N.C. from Eastern Tenn. in the 1920's, and who recorded the tune on Broadway A1964 (78 RPM) in 1925. Harris called the tune “Whip the Devil Around the Stump,” and it was a variant of the “Boogerman” tune. Harris, who once played regularly with Bob Taylor when he was running for Governor of Tenn. in the late 1800's, also influenced other N.C. fiddlers of Helton's generation such as Manco Sneed, Bill Hensley, and Marcus Martin. Indeed, Manco Sneed played it as “Boogerman” although Fiddling’ Bill Hensley called it “Old Boogerman” (Kerry Blech says that he was recorded about 1940 on instantaneous disk saying the title emphatically. The tune was also in the repertoire of fiddler Tommy Magness (1911-1972), born in north Georgia near the southeastern Tennessee border. Krassen (Appalachian Fiddle), 1973; pg. 30. Marimac 9033, Dirk Powell – “Wandering Ramblers.”
WHIP(PING) THE DEVIL AROUND THE STUMP. AKA and see "Booger Man," "Chasing the Devil Around the Stump," "Hummingbird Reel." Old‑Time, Breakdown. USA, Eastern Tenn., Western N.C. Broadway Records A1964 (78 RPM), 1924?, J. Dedrick Harris {Harris was a legendary fiddler, born in Tennessee, who played regularly with Bob Taylor while he was running for Governor of the state in the late 1800's. He moved to western North Carolina in the 1920's and influenced a generation of fiddlers there: Osey Helton, Bill Hensley, Manco Sneed and Marcus Martin, to name a few of the outstanding ones}. In the repertoire of Osey Helton.
NOTES: SANDY BOYS A Mixolydian. AEae. AB (Silberberg): ABAB'A'BAB (Krassen).
The song is of minstrel origin appearing in Phil Rice’s Correct Method for the Banjo (1857), a period tutor, and also in a 1844 minstrel songbook (reproduced by Harvard Theatre College Collection, Cambridge, Mass.). Under the title, Uncle Gabriel, it is found on-line in Marsh's Selection, or Singing for the million on Page 110, published in 1854. Here's an excerpt:
T.J. Booth's Kentucky minstrels UNCLE GABRIEL from Marsh's Selection 1854:
Mr. Coon is a mighty man,
He carries a bushy tail.
He steals ole Massa's corn at night,
And husks it on a rail.
CHORUS: Den cum along ole Sandy boy
Oh do cum along, oh do.
What did Uncle Gabriel say?
Jenny won't you cum along too.
De squirrel hab a bushy tail
Stumpy grows de hair.
De Coon's tail am ring'd all 'roun',
De possum's tail am bare.
De Peacock's tail am berry high,
It reach up to de moon,
He cast his eye upon his foot,
Tail drop bery soon.
"Uncle Gabriel." (1847) Sung by the Ethiopian Singers
The Only Correct & Authorized Edition. Music of the Ethiopian Singers.
[Words and Music -- anon.] New York: Firth & Hall, 1 Franklin Sqr. Plate Number: 4244 [Source: 020/184@Levy]
1. As I was guan to Sandy point de uder arter noon,
Dis *fellers heel com’l out ob joint a runnin arter a coon;
I thought I see’d him on a log, a lookin mighty quar.
Wen I cum’d up to de log, de coon he was’nt dar.
CHORUS [sung after verse]
O come along, O Sandy Boy, now come along O do;
O what will Uncle Gabriel say,
ya oh oh oh ya oh oh oh
What will Uncle Gabriel say,
why Jinny cant you come along too.
2. I blow’d de horn, I call’d de dog, and tell him for to bark;
I hunt all night in de hollow log, but de coon he still keep dark;
At last I hear de old coon sneeze, de dog he fly around;
And on to him he den did freeze, and pull him to de ground.
3. De coon he lay upon de ground, as stiff as any post;
I Knock him den upon de head, and he gabe up de ghost;
I took him to de old log house, as soon as he suspire;
He look’d just like a little mouse, and we roast him on de fire.
4. De niggers dey come all around, and kick up a debil of a splutter;
Dey eat de coon and clar de ground, to dance de chicken flutter,
Dey dance all night till de broke ob day, to a tune on de old banjo
And den dey all did gwan away, before de chicken crow.
At some point the boogerboo line, "Waiting for the boogerboo" was added to the chorus. The song is also known as "boogerboo," which means usually boogerman or boogieman (also buggyman), an evil spirit or ghost, the devil. Boogerboo is usually pronounced buggyboo or boogieboo.
Further investigation shows BOOGERBOO: verb [1940s-60s] (US Black) to behave in an unpleasant manner, to be insincere. BOOGERBOO n. 1) An unpleasent situation or person. 2) commotion, as in- He raised a big boogerboo about nothing.
A song and tune are more recently from the repertoire of Pocahontas County, West Virginia, fiddler Edden Hammons. According to Kuntz, Gerry Milnes has found ribald words accompanying the tune in West Virginia. The modern “revival” or “festival” version may have stemmed from a ‘mislearning’ of Hammon’s tune by Bob Herring. See also Missouri fiddler Gene Goforth’s related “The Quail is a Pretty Bird.” Carl Baron supplies the following lyrics, sung, in whole or part, to the melody (although it will be recognized there are quite a few ‘floating’ verses):
Sandy Boys
from Carl Baron, rec old-time music; this version is found in several places on the web.
Raccoon's got a long bushy tail.
Possum's tail is bare.
Rabbit's got no tail at all
Just a little bit a bunch of hair.
Squirrely he's a pretty thing
He carries a bushy tail
Eats up all the mossy's corn
And eats it on the rail
Chorus: Do come along, sandy boys
Do come along, oh do
Do come along, sandy boys
Waiting for the booger-boo
Somebody stole my old black dog
I wish they'd bring him back
He runs the big hogs over the fence
And the little ones through the cracks
Mama she lies sick in the bed
Papa's gone to town
Charlie wears the high-top boots
And I wish that he'd come round
Sixteen miles away from here
Chickens crowin' for day
Somebody's upstairs with my true love
And he better be gettin' away
Never told her of her faults
Dang me if I do
But every time the baby cries
I think of the booger-boo
Sixteen miles away from home,
chicken's crowin' 'fore day.
Somebody's in the bed with my true love,
and they better be gettin' away.
Another chorus:
Do get along my Sandy boys, (girls)
do get along I say.
Do get along my Sandy boys, (girls)
it's time I's gettin' away.
Racoon's tail's a ring around,
possum's tail is bare.
Rabbit ain't got no tail at all,
just a little old bunch of hair.
Sandy Boys (words collected by Peter Budd)
I got these words from Gerry Milnes. Both the verse and the chorus are sung to the B-part of the tune. The words don't really scan with the more commonly played version of the tune. There's a more melodic version which does fit with the words. Unfortunately, I can't think of a recording of that version.
Squirrely he's a pretty thing
He carries a bushy tail
Eats up all the mossy's corn
And hearts it on the rail
Chorus: Do come along, sandy boys
Do come along, oh do
Do come along, sandy boys
Waiting for the booger-boo
Somebody stole my old black dog
I wish they'd bring him back
He runs the big hogs over the fence
And the little ones through the cracks
Mama she lies sick in the bed
Papa's gone to town
Charlie wears the high-top boots
And I wish that he'd come round
Sixteen miles away from here
Chickens crowin' for day
Somebody's upstairs with my true love
And he better be gettin' away
Never told her of her faults
Dang me if I do
But every time the baby cries
I think of the booger-boo
The original Hammons versions, Dwight Diller's version, and Ron Mullenex's version all fit the lyrics, which the latter two sing. I have about six verses that Gordon Banks put together from Diller and Mullenex. The only one I can remember is:(below)
Also, these verses go with the A part and the chorus with the B part.
Raccoon's got a long bushy tail.
Possum's tail is bare.
Rabbit's got no tail at all
Just a little bit a bunch of hair.
chorus
Hey, hey, sandy boys,
Hey, hey, oh do.
Hey, hey, sandy boys.
Beware of the bugger boo.
From Rich Hartness:
Sixteen miles away from home,
Chicken's crowin' 'fore day.
Somebody's in the bed with my true love,
And they better be gettin' away.
Do get along my Sandy boys, (girls)
Do get along I say.
Do get along my Sandy boys, (girls)
it's time I's gettin' away.
Racoon's tail's a ring around,
possum's tail is bare.
Rabbit ain't got no tail at all,
just a little old bunch of hair.
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