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Shady Grove
See closely related: Betty Ann/Pig in a Pen/Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss
Traditional Bluegrass and Old-Time song
ARTIST: From Doc Watson- probably learned from Jean Ritchie
CATEGORY: Fiddle and Instrumental Tunes
EARLIEST DATE: 1800s; According to Erbsen, "An early version of the tune was collected as early as 1786 in Henry Beck's Flute Book."
Collected in 1905 by Perrow; Collected as "Betty Ann" by Cecil Sharp in 1916
First Recording The earliest recording was The Kentucky Thorobreads 'Shady Grove' recorded in September 1927 in Chicago and issued as Paramount 3080.
RECORDING INFO:
Shady Grove [Me II-A25b]
Visconti, Carl (ed.) / Paint Creek Folklore Society Song Tune Book, Paint Creek, Sof (1986), p25
Lomax, Alan / Folksongs of North America, Doubleday Dolphin, Sof (1975/1960), p234/#120
Blood, Peter; and Annie Patterson (eds.) / Rise Up Singing, Sing Out, Sof (1992/1989), p149
Any Old Time String Band. Ladies Choice, Bay 217, LP (1980), trk# A.03
Aronoff, Benji. Two Sides of Benji Aronoff, Prestige PR 7416, LP (1965), trk# A.02
Arwood, Garrett and Norah. Appalachia, The Old Traditions, Vol. 2, Home Made Music LP-002, LP (1983), trk# B.06 [1983/05/21]
Ashley, Clarence (Thomas/Tom). Old-Time Music at Clarence Ashley's, Part 2, Folkways FA 2359, LP (1963), trk# 13 [1961/07]
Bailey, Mike. Banjo Newsletter, BNL, Ser (1973-), 1981/05,p13
Blue Night. 52nd Annual Old Fiddlers Convention Galax, Va 1987, Heritage (Galax) 704, LP (1988), trk# 17
Bowers, Bryan. By Heart, Flying Fish FF 313, LP (1984), trk# B.03
Bruce, Guy;, Jr.. Banjo Newsletter, BNL, Ser (1973-), 1982/12,p10
Bruce, W. Guy. Rosenbaum, Art (ed.) / Folk Visions & Voices. Traditional Music & So...., Univ. of Georgia, Bk (1983), p138 [1981/04/25]
Bruce, W. Guy. Art of Field Recording, Vol. 1, Dust to Digital DTD 08, CD( (2007), trk# 4.31 [1981/04/25]
Bryant, Larkin. Bryant, Larkin / Larkin's Dulcimer Book, Ivory Palaces, Fol (1982), p62
Chicken Chokers. Shoot Your Radio, Rounder 0241, LP (1987), trk# 11
Clayton, Paul. Dulcimer Songs and Solos, Folkways FG 3571, LP (1962), trk# 6
Common Ground. Traveller's Choice, Kicking Mule KM 229, LP (1984), trk# 15b
Cramer, Hank. Days Gone By, Ferryboat FRD 499, CD (1999), trk# 4
Creed, Kyle. Liberty, Heritage (Galax) 028 (XXVIII), LP (1977), trk# A.03
Crisp, Rufus. Rufus Crisp, Folkways FA 2342, LP (1972), trk# A.06 [1946]
Crooked Still. Crooked Still / Hop High, Signature SIG 2004, CD (2007), trk# 11
Darling, Erik. Darling, Erik / Train Time, Vanguard VRS 9131, LP (1963c), trk# B.01
de Wolfe, Dean. Folk Swinger, Audio Odessey DJLP 4030, LP (196?), trk# B.03b
Diller, Dwight. New Plowed Ground, Diller, CD (1998), trk# 7
Dixie Ramblers. 2nd Florida Bluegrass and Old Time Music Championships, Sunny Mountain EB 1003, LP (1975?), trk# A.02
Dr. Corn's Bluegrass Remedy. It'll Tickle Your Innards, Grassroots GR 004, LP (1977), trk# A.01
Erbsen, Wayne. Erbsen, Wayne / Manual on How to Play the 5-String Banjo for the com...., Erbsen, sof (1974), p56
Erbsen, Wayne. Banjo Newsletter, BNL, Ser (1973-), 1980/04,p19
Everly Brothers. Roots, Edsel Ed 203, LP (1986/1968), trk# A.07
Everly Family. Roots, Edsel Ed 203, LP (1986/1968), trk# B.06a
Feldmann, Peter. How to Play Clawhammer Banjo, Sonyatone STI-104, LP (1975), trk# 3
Garcia, Jerry; and David Grisman. Shady Grove, Acoustic Disc ACD 21, CD (1996), trk# 1
Griffin, Neil. Griffin, Neil / Deluxe Bluegrass Banjo Method, Mel Bay, sof (1974), p 80
Hellman, Neal. Hellman, Neal / Dulcimer Songbook, Oak, Sof (1977), p46
Hellman, Neal. Hellman, Neal / Dulcimer Songbook, Oak, Sof (1977), p52
Herald Angels. You've Been a Friend to Me, Herald Angels HA1001, Cas (1994), trk# 2
Jane and Ireland. Jane and Ireland at Penland, Penland RSR-1027, LP (1979), trk# B.02
Kentucky Colonels. Livin' in the Past, Briar BT 7202, LP (1975), trk# B.09b [1964/04/18]
Kentucky Thorobreds. Paramount Old Time Tunes, JEMF 103, LP (1974), trk# B.01 [1927/09]
Kimmel, Dick. Banjo Newsletter, BNL, Ser (1973-), 1974/09,p 6
Kingston Trio. From the "Hungry i", Capitol T 1107, LP (1959), trk# B.04a
Krassen, Miles. Krassen, Miles / Clawhammer Banjo, Oak, sof (1974), p30
Landis, Ned. Dulcimer Players News, DPN, Ser, 2/1, p27(1976)
Langstaff, John. Songs for Singing Children, Revels CH 1086, LP (1986/1962), trk# A.06
Lapidus, Joellen. Lapidus, Joellen / Lapidus On Dulcimer, ALMO, sof (1978), p 24
Lapidus, Joellen. Lapidus, Joellen / Lapidus On Dulcimer, ALMO, sof (1978), p108
Leigh, Bonnie. Down in the Shady Grove, Maywind K56-03, CD (1998), trk# 21
Lissenberg, Theo. Galax International, Heritage (Galax) 067, LP (1988), trk# D.07 [1985/06]
Lowinger, Gene. Lowinger, Gene / Bluegrass Fiddle, Oak, fol (1974), p40
McBee, Hamper. Raw Mash, Rounder 0061, LP (1978), trk# 14
Molsky, Bruce; and Big Hoedown. Bruce Molsky and Big Hoedown, Rounder 0421, CD (1997), trk# 13
Montgomery, Chris. Folk Favorites, Clodhopper, Cas (1989), trk# 8
Moore, Charlie. Original Rebel Soldier, Wango 114, LP (1976), trk# B.06
Mountain Ramblers. Sounds of the South, Atlantic 7-82496-2, CD( (1993), trk# 1.28 [1959/07ca]
Muller, Eric. Muller, Eric & Barbara Koehler / Frailing the 5-String Banjo, Mel Bay, Sof (1973), p31
Myers, Sidna and Fulton. Clawhammer Banjo. Vol 2 [More Clawhammer Banjo], County 717/CD 2717, LP (2003/1969), trk# 18 [1964/10]
New Lost City Ramblers. Cohen, John, Mike Seeger & Hally Wood / Old Time String Band Songbook, Oak, Sof (1976/1964), p195
New Lost City Ramblers. There Ain't No Way Out, Smithsonian/Folkways 40098, CD (1997), trk# 22
Nicholson, Roger. Nonesuch for Dulcimer, Trailer Ler 3034, LP (1972), trk# B.07
Nicholson, Roger. Nicholson, Roger / Nonesuch for Dulcimer, Scratchwood Music, Sof (1972), p16
Paley, Tom. Folk Box, Elektra EKL 9001, LP (1964), trk# 45
Paley, Tom. O Love Is Teasin', Elektra BLP 12051, LP (1985), trk# 3.11
Paley, Tom. Courtin's a Pleasure and Other Folk Songs of the Southern App..., Elektra EKL 122, LP (1957), trk# B.01
Perlman, Ken. Perlman, Ken / Melodic Clawhammer Banjo, Oak, Sof (1979), p17
Perlman, Ken. Perlman, Ken (ed.) / Fingerstyle Guitar, Spectrum Books, Sof (1980), p 84
Pickow, Peter. Brody, David (ed.) / Banjo Picker's Fakebook, Oak, Fol (1985), p145b
Pierce, Otis. Every Bush and Tree, Bay 102, LP (1975), trk# B.05
Prairie Ramblers. Kentucky Country; Old Time Music From Kentucky, Rounder 1037, LP (1983), trk# 9 [1933/12/06]
Prairie Ramblers. Bluegrass Bonanza., Properbox 29, CD (2001), trk# 1.15 [1933/12/06] ()
Presnell, Mrs. Edd (Nettie). Instrumental Music of the Southern Appalachians, Tradition TR 1007, LP (196?), trk# 18 [1956/07ca]
Ritchie, Jean. O Love Is Teasin', Elektra BLP 12051, LP (1985), trk# 2.12a
Ritchie, Jean. Best of Jean Ritchie, Prestige International 13003, LP (196?), trk# 1
Ritchie, Jean. Ritchie, Jean / Singing Family of the Cumberlands, Oak, sof (1955), p 46
Ritchie, Jean. Folk Festival at Newport. Vol. 3, Vanguard VRS 9064, LP (1959), trk# A.04
Ritchie, Jean. Saturday Night and Sunday Too, Riverside RLP 12-620, LP (1956), trk# B.09
Ritchie, Jean. Ritchie, Jean / Dulcimer Book, Oak, sof (1963), p35a
Ritchie, Jean. Sing Out Reprints, Sing Out, Sof (1959), 5, p49
Ritchie, Jean. Marching Across the Green Grass and other American Children Game, Asch AH 752, LP (1968), trk# A.04
Rooftop Singers. Good Time!, Vanguard VRS-9134, LP (1964), trk# B.04
Rosenbaum, Art. Rosenbaum, Art (ed.) / Old-Time Mountain Banjo, Oak, sof (1968), p13
Rosmini, Dick. Adventures for 12 String, 6 String, and Banjo, Elektra EKS 7245, LP (1964), trk# A.05
Rossbach, John. From the Mountains to the Mills, Chestnut CRCD 103, CD (2002), trk# 1
Scruggs, Gary and Randy. All the Way Home, Vanguard VSD 6538, LP (1970), trk# A.03
Sexton, Lee "Boy". Whoa Mule, June Appal JA 051, LP (1987), trk# 2
Sexton, Morgan. Best of Seedtime on the Cumberland, June Appal JA 059C, Cas (198?), trk# 4
Sexton, Morgan. Shady Grove, June Appal JA 066C, Cas (1992), trk# 26
Seymour, Wayne; and Fred Reynolds. Virginia Carolina Sampler, Flying Cloud FC 007, LP (1988), trk# B.09
Slater, Alec. Slater, Alec / Clawhammer Banjo Solos, Mel Bay, Sof (1979), p61
Slater, Alec. Slater, Alec / Clawhammer Banjo Solos, Mel Bay, Sof (1979), p62
Smith, Peggy Donaldson. Shady Grove, Shady Grove PDS 11-30-78, LP (1978), trk# A.01
Steele, Pete. Banjo Tunes and Songs, Folkways FS 3828, LP (1958), trk# 5
Stover, Don; & the White Oak Mountain Boys. Don Stover and the Whte Oak Mountain Boys, Rounder 0039, LP (1974), trk# A.07
Streeter, Harold. Banjo Newsletter, BNL, Ser (1973-), 1982/02,p18
Trapezoid. Three Forks of Cheat, Rounder 0113, LP (1978), trk# A.04b
Trischka, Tony. Trischka, Tony (ed.) / Banjo Song Book, Oak, Sof (1978), p108b
Troy, Leroy. Old Grey Mare, Rounder 0426, CD (2001), trk# 5
Watson, Doc. Essential Doc Watson, Vanguard VCD 45/46, CD (1986), trk# 10 [1963ca]
Watson, Doc. Watson, Doc / Songs of Doc Watson, Oak, Sof (1971), p 65
Weissman, Dick. Weissman, Dick / Five String Banjo. Vol. 3, Advanced Techniques, United Artists, Sof (1977), p 44
Wernick, Pete/Peter. Banjo Newsletter, BNL, Ser (1973-), 1978/11,p13
West, Hedy. Hedy West, Vanguard VRS 9124, LP (1963), trk# 4
West, Hedy. Love, Hell and Biscuits, Bear Family BF 15009, LP (1975), trk# 1
Williamson, Robin. Williamson, Robin / Penny Whistle Book, Oak, Sof (1977), p17b
RECORDING INFO: Shady Grove #2
Rt - New Shady Grove
Arm and Hammer String Band. Stay on the Farm, Grooveless, Cas (1983/1978), trk# A.07
Berggren, Dan; and Dan Duggan. Rooted in the Mountain, Sleeping Giant SG 0103, CD (2001/1996), 1a
Carlin, Bob. Fiddle Tunes for Clawhammer Banjo, Rounder 0132, LP (1980), trk# 4
Curley, Clyde. Songer, Susan; & Clyde Curley (eds) / Portland Collection, Vol. 2, Portland Collection, Fol (2005), p186
Davis, Luther. Old Time Way, Heritage (Galax) 070, LP (1986), trk# 13 [1974/01/30]
Frosty Morning String Band. Fiddling Celebration, Soaring Hawk SH 002, LP (1980), trk# B.06
Hollow Rock String Band. Hollow Rock String Band, Rounder 0024, LP (1974), trk# A.09
Levy, Bertram. That Old Gut Feeling, Flying Fish FF 272, LP (1982), trk# 2
Rossbach, John. From the Mountains to the Mills, Chestnut CRCD 103, CD (2002), trk# 16 (Old Time Shady Grove)
Salyer, John Morgan. Home Recordings 1941-42. Vol. 2, Appal. Center Ser. AC 003-v2, cas (1993), trk# B.10
Sapoznik, Hank (Henry). Brody, David (ed.) / Banjo Picker's Fakebook, Oak, Fol (1985), p145a
True West String Band. Rough and Ready, True West, CD (2004), trk# 16
Ward, Wade. High Atmosphere, Rounder 0028, LP (1974), trk# 10 [1965/11]
Wright, Oscar. Krassen, Miles (ed.) / Masters of Old Time Fiddling, Oak, Sof (1983), p118
Wright, Oscar And Eugene. Oscar & Eugene Wright, Rounder 0089, LP (1978), trk# 3b
Shady Grove #3 - Brown, Lee Ann/Pettis, Pierce
Rt - Shady Grove
Pettis, Pierce. Great Big World, Compass 7 4388 2, CD (2004), trk# 8
Shady Grove (Song)
Rt - Pig in the Pen
Gaster, Marvin. Uncle Henry's Favorites, Rounder 0382, CD (1996/1994), trk# 3
RELATED TO: Pig in a Pen; Betty Ann/ Little Betty Ann; Western Country/Fly Around my Pretty Little Miss; Woah Mule (lyrics); Whole World Round; Hard To Love (Little Turtle Dove); Liza Jane; New Orleans; Davy, Come on Back and Act Like You Ought to; Fair Margaret and Sweet William (melody) Kansas Cyclone (melody)
OTHER NAMES: Betty Ann; Shady Grove #3; Wish I had Needle and Thread;
SOURCES: Jean Ritchie's 'Singing Family of the Cumberlands'; Johnson (The Kitchen Musician: Occasional Collection of Old‑Timey Fiddle Tunes for Hammer Dulcimer, Fiddle, etc.), No. 2, 1982 (revised 1988, 2003); pg. 4. Rounder 0113, Trapezoid ‑ "Three Forks of Cheat" (1979. Learned from Kilby Snow). Tradition TLP 1007, Mrs. Edd Presnell ‑ "Instrumental Music of the Southern Appalachians" (1956).
NOTES: The song Shady Grove probably began life in eastern Kentucky/Tennessee in the 1800s. There are towns called Shady Grove in Virginia or Kentucky, though the title originally refer to a place, it is now used as the name of a person. It's even possible that Shady Grove might be a mishearing of Matty Grove, though the two songs are different and not related.
While certain verses seem to be linked with the tune, other 'floating' verses are often attached by different singers. The earliest collected sets that I know, printed in the 1915 Journal of American Folklore, are from Perrow collected in 1905:
SHADY GROVE. (1) PERROW
A. (From East Tennessee; mountain whites; from memory; 1905.)
Once I wus a little boy2
Playin' in the san';
Now I am a great big boy
En think myself a man.
CHORUS: Shady, shady, my little love,
Shady I do know;
Shady, shady, my little love,
I'm boun' fer shady grove.
When I wus a little boy,
All I wanted a knife;
Now I am a gret big boy
En now I want a wife.
Some come here to fiddle en dance;
Some come here to tarry;
Some come here to fiddle en dance;
I come here to marry.
Ev'ry night when I go home,
My wife I try to please her;
The more I try, the worse she gets;
Damned if I don't leave her!
B. (From Kentucky; mountain whites; MS. of Mr. House; 1905.)
Shady grove, my little love,
Shady grove, my darling;
(1) This is sung to the same tune as " Old Joe Clark." Whether the tune belongs to the
one or the other, or to neither, I am unable to say. I should like to remark here, what I
have not seen stated anywhere else, that the small number of tunes as compared with
the songs in circulation may often account for the mixing of ballads. I am sure that it
has been only with the greatest difficulty that I have been able to separate some of the songs in this collection from others sung to the same tune, and I am not sure now that I have not put some stanzas in the wrong songs.
2 A good starting-point for a song (cf. Chambers, p. 155).
Shady grove, my little love,
Going back to Harlan.1
Fly around, my blue-eyed girl,
Fly around, my daisy;
Fly around, my blue-eyed girl;
Nearly drive me crazy.2
The very next time I go that road,
And it don't look so dark and grazy;3
The very next time I come that road,
Stop and see my daisy.
I once had a mulie cow,4
Mulie when she was born;
Took a jay-bird forty year
To fly from horn to horn.
Apples in the summer,
Peaches in the fall;
If I can't marry the girl I want,
I won't have none at all.
MORE NOTES: The Shady Grove melody (in major key) with the current Old Joe Clark melody in mixolydian mode is different. Perhaps the melody Perrow knew in 1905 for Old Joe Clark was similar. Since then the song has spread throughout the mountains and has been recorded frequently. There are two versions; one in minor (the one Doc Watson sings on The Watson Family- Smithsonian Folkways CD SF40012) and one in major. The major key version tends to be faster and more of a breakdown.
It was collected as "Betty Ann" by Cecil Sharp in 1916 in NC. The melody is very similar and the lyrics are similar and include the "Fly Around" verses. Similar verses appear in the 1911 Journal of American folklore - Page 300- Missouri Play-party Songs:
Ain't I Gone (chorus similar to versions of Liza Jane)
I wish I had a needle and thread
As fine as I could sew,
I'd sew my true love to my side,
And down the river we'd go.
I wish I had a little red box
To put my true love in,
To take her out and kiss her,
And put her in again.
In Albert Benjamin Cunningham's 1919 book, Singing Mountains - Page 19, he includes a version:
Shady Grove is my little love,
Shady Grove, I say;
Shady Grove is my little love
Shady Grove far away
To Shady Grove and my little love,
To Shady Grove far away;
To Shady Grove my little love
I travel a-far today.
Meade's earliest printed reference to 'Shady Grove' is 'Journal of American Folklore XXVIII, 182' (1915). The earliest recording was The Kentucky Thorobreds 'Shady Grove' recorded in September 1927 in Chicago and issued as Paramount 3080. This recording has been reissued on CD: Various Artists 'The Rose Grew Round the Briar Vol I' Yazoo 2030. The Kentucky Thorobreds featured Doc Roberts on fiddle, see Version 9 for complete lyrics.
Shady Grove by Kentucky Thorobreds (excerpt) 1927
Note: Roberts fiddles "The Gal I left Behind Me" during the breaks
(Fiddle break)
Shady Grove, my little miss, Shady Grove my daisey
Shady Grove, my true love, you almost drive me crazy.
Oh my gal that pretty little gal
The gal I left my brandy
Oh my gal that pretty little gal
The gal sure comes in handy.
(fiddle)
Shady Grove, my little miss, Shady Grove my daisey
Shady Grove, my true love, you almost drive me crazy.
If I had no horse to ride,
I'd be found a-crawlin',
Up and down this rocky road,
A-looking for my darlin'.
Here are notes from Kuntz: SHAD(E)Y GROVE [1]. Old‑Time; Breakdown and Song Tune. USA, North Carolina. A Minor. Standard tuning. AA. There are towns called Shady Grove in Virginia or Kentucky, though the title may refer to a place.
Shady Grove, my little love, Shady Grove I know
Shady Grove, my little love, bound for the Shady Grove.
Cheeks as red as the blooming rose, eyes the deepest brown,
You are the darling of my heart, stay til the sun goes down.
Shady Grove, my little love, Shady Grove my darlin'
Shady Grove, my little love, I'm going away to Harlan.
Went to see my Shady Grove, she was standing in the door,
Shoes and stockings in her hand, little bare feet on the floor.
From Jean Ritchie's Singing Family of the Cumberlands (1955) (condensed):
Dad remembered for us the first day he ever heard the fiddle played. He was about nine years old and going to school to old man Nick Gerhart... when Maggard Ritchie came in.
"He'd been off somewheres, courtin in Virginny, and he'd brought a feller home... and they had come to the schoolhouse to visit with Nick. Nick told us not to look up while they talked... But you know that stranger had a fiddle in his hand, and pretty soon he propped it in the cradle of his arm and begun to play that thing. Lordie! It was the prettiest sweepingest music. ... I just couldn't stand to sit still on that log bench and that tune snaking around so.
No sir, that was one tune that didn't stay in one place no time at all. ... I thought I was going plum crazy. You could hear feet a‑stomping all over the house, benches a‑creaking, young uns a‑giggling...
"Finally I let out a yell and lept off'n that bench and commenced to dance and clog around.... some of the other boys jumped up too.... .... after a while they left, and the teacher tried to settle us, back to our books, but I couldn't even see the print. I kept seeing that old fiddle bow race around on "Shady Grove." We around there had always sung that tune middling fast, hopped around to it a little bit, but that fiddle had tuck out with that'n like the Devil was after her. ... I kept laughing and wiggling in my seat, and saying the words to "Shady Grove” instead of my lesson.
Cheeks as red as a bloomin rose,
Eyes of the deepest brown,
You are the darlin of my heart,
Stay till the Sun goes down.
Shady Grove, my little love,
Shady Grove I know,
Shady Grove, my little love,
Bound for the Shady Grove.
These verses have also been heard at various times:
Shady Grove, my little love, Shady Grove my darling
Shady Grove, my little love, I'm going back to Harlan (or)
Shady Grove, my little love, Shady Grove I know
Shady Grove, my little love, I'm bound for Shady Grove
When I was a little boy, I wanted a Barlow knife
Now I want little Shady Grove to say she'll be my wife
Cut a banjo from a gourd, string it up with twine
The only song that I can play is "Wish that gal was mine"
Apples in the summer time, peaches in the fall
If I can't have the girl I love, I don't want none at all
I've got a big fine horse, and corn to feed him on
All I need's little Shady Grove to feed him when I'm gone
SHADY GROVE [2]. AKA and see "Salt River [3]." Old‑Time, Breakdown. USA; Virginia, West Virginia. A Dorian (Krassen): A Mixolydian (Phillips). Standard tuning. AB (Krassen): AABB (Phillips). The 'A' and 'B' parts are reversed between Krassen's and Phillips' versions. Wright’s version was slower and more plaintive than Henry Reed’s version (below), points out musicologist Alan Jabbour. Source for notated verision: Oscar Wright (Mercer County, West Virginia) [Krassen]; Armin Barnett and Oscar Wright [Phillips]. Krassen (Masters of Old Time Fiddling), 1983; pg. 118. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), Vol. 2, 1995; pg. 125. County 717, Sidna and Fulton Myers. Rounder 0089, Oscar and Eugene Wright ‑."Old‑Time Fiddle and Guitar Music from West Virginia." Rounder 0132, Bob Carlin ‑ "Fiddle Tunes for Clawhammer Banjo" (1980. Learned from a recording of southwest Virginia fiddler Sam Connor, who knew the tune under the title "Salt River"). Rounder 0241, The Chicken Chokers ‑ "Shoot Your Radio" (1987. Learned from Wade Ward, Galax, Va.). In the repertoires of Luther Davis, Galax, Va., and Fiddlin' Cowan Powers (b. 1877, S.W. Va.) {and who recorded it for Okeh in September, 1927, though apparently unissued}. The Whistlepigs - "Out of Their Hole" (Learned from the playing of Kentucky fiddler John Salyer).
SHADY GROVE [3]. Old‑Time, Breakdown. A Dorian. Standard tuning. AABB. According to folklorist and musicologist Alan Jabbour (notes to the tune at the Henry Reed collection) the ‘A’ part of the tune is derived from “The Boyne Water.” Jabbour believes that Henry Reed’s tune possibly derived from a version or versions of “The Foggy Dew” (also a “Boyne Water” relative). This set of “Foggy Dew” is found in O’Neill’s Old Irish Folk Music and Songs (No. 58), and, finds Jabbour, a “Foggy Dew” that is similar to Henry Reed’s “Shady Grove” was fiddled by J.H. Chisholm of Greenwood, Virginia. The second strain of Reed’s “Shady Grove” corresponds to the usual Appalachian song given in “Shad(e)y Grove [1],” albeit, as Jabbour points out, the part does not begin on the tonic, as is usual with the song. Finally, the musicologist notes that Reed’s tune begins on the high strain, followed by the low (“a stylistic choice that is particularly characteristic of the old Upper South frontier”), a reversal of the usual British Isles practice of low-to-high strain order. Source for notated version: fiddler Henry Reed (Glen Lyn, Virginia) [Johnson]. Johnson (The Kitchen Musician: Occasional Collection of Old‑Timey Fiddle Tunes for Hammer Dulcimer, Fiddle, etc.), No. 2, 1982/1988; pg. 4. Rounder 0024, “Hollow Rock String Band” (1974. Learned from Henry Reed). CD, Alan Jabbour, James Reed, Bertram Levy – “A Henry Reed Reunion” (2002).
SHADY GROVE [4]. Old‑Time, Breakdown. USA, north Georgia. A Mixolydian (Spandaro): G Mixolydian (Rosenbaum): G Major (Johnson). AEae or Standard tunings. AABB.
Shady Grove, sugar Betty Ann,
Shady Grove I say,
Shady Grove, sugar Betty Ann,
Bound to leave this place.
Shady Grove's a pretty little girl,
Mighty hard to please;
She went to sleep by herself one cold night,
And I hope, by jinks, she'll freeze. (Rosenbaum/Bruce)
Source for notated version: banjo player W. Guy Bruce (Trion, Chattooga County, Georgia) [Rosenbaum]. Johnson (The Kitchen Musician: Occasional Collection of Old‑Timey Fiddle Tunes for Hammer Dulcimer, Fiddle, etc.), No. 2, 1982 (revised 1988, 2003); pg. 4. Rosenbaum (Folk Visions and Voices: Traditional Music and Song in North Georgia), 1989; pgs. 138‑139. Spandaro (10 Cents a Dance), 1980; pg. 38. Fretless 136, Arm and Hammer String Band ‑ "Stay on the Farm."
SHADY GROVE [6]. Old-Time. D Major. Standard. Rounder 0421, Bruce Molsky - “Big Hoedown” (1997. Version from Galax area fiddlers Norman Edmonds and Luther Davis).
NOTES to Henry Reed:
"Shady Grove" is usually known in the Upper South as a song with a floating assemblage of lyrics. But Henry Reed's "Shady Grove" is not just a instrumental version of a song; it is a classic instrumental tune. Its first strain is a variant of an old and widespread British and American air, showing up in such disparate places as the British "Boyne Water" march and some Appalachian variants of the ballad "Barbara Allen." "Boyne Water" refers to the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, and the tune appears in America as early as 1786, in "Henry Beck's Flute Book," a manuscript tunebook in the Library of Congress. For typical sets, see Johnson, Scots Musical Museum (1853 edition), vol. 2, 363 (#351) and vol. 4, 325; Joyce, Old Irish Folk Music and Songs (1909), #377; O'Neill's Music of Ireland, #260. A related set in Old Irish Folk Music and Songs, #58, "The Foggy Dew," may offer a clue to the "Shady Grove" connection, for a set fiddled by J. H. Chisholm of Greenwood, Virginia, is shaped more like Henry Reed's set and is entitled "The Foggy Dew." Henry Reed's second strain is also an old air and corresponds to the usual Appalachian song "Shady Grove," though his instrumental set does not begin the low strain on the tonic as the song normally does. A notable feature of Henry Reed's set is its beginning with the high strain (which is also true of Chisholm's "Foggy Dew"). The British "Boyne Water" march typically begins with a low strain and goes on to the high strain corresponding to Henry Reed's. But Henry Reed begins with the high strain, a stylistic choice that is particularly characteristic of the old Upper South frontier.
Lyrics to "Shady Grove" from Doc Watson (Key Dm):
Chords are Dm, C, Dm, F, C, Am, Dm
Chorus: Shady Grove, my true love
Shady Grove they say
Shady Grove, my true love
Bound to go away.
Cheeks as red as a bloomin' rose
Eyes the prettiest brown
She's the darlin' of my life,
Sweetest girl in town.
Chorus
Wish I had a big, fine horse
And corn to feed him on.
And pretty little Shady Grove
To feed him when I'm gone
Chorus
When I was a little boy
I wanted a Barlow knife.
Now I want little Shady Grove
To say she'll be my wife.
Chorus
Last time I seen my Shady Grove
She was standin' in the door.
Shoes and stockings in her hand
And bare feet on the floor.
Chorus
Kiss from pretty little Shady Grove
Is sweet as brandy wine
And there's no girl in this whole world
Prettier than that gal o' mine.
Chorus
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