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Sourwood Mountain/I've Got A Woman On Sourwood Mountain
Old-Time and Bluegrass Breakdown; Southeast US; widely known.
ARTIST: Osborne Brothers
CATEGORY: Fiddle and Instrumental Tunes
DATE: Kuntz traces to 1880; Sharp EFFSA 1913; 1916 (Wyman-Brockway)
RECORDING INFO:
Coleman & Harper "Sourwood Mountain" (Perfect 12751, 1931) (Oriole 8095, 1935)
Fruit Jar Guzzlers, "Sourwood Mountain" (on CrowTold01)
I. G. Greer & Mrs. I. G. Greer, "Sourwood Mountain" (AFS; on LC12)
The Hillbillies, "Sourwood Mountain" (Vocalion 5022, c. 1926)
Earl Johnson & his Dixie Entertainers "I've Got a Woman on Sourwood Mountain" (OKeh 45171, 1927)
Kessinger Brothers, "Sourwood Mountain" (Brunswick 308, c. 1929)
Bradley Kincaid ,"Sourwood Mountain" (Gennett 6417/Silvertone 8220, 1928) (Brunswick 420, c. 1930) (Conqueror 8090, 1933) (one of these is on CrowTold02, but it's not clear which)
Clayton McMichen, "Sourwood Mountain [part of instrumental medley] (Decca 2649, 1939)
Fiddlin' Powers & Family, "Sour Wood Mountains" (Victor 19448, 1924)
Hobart Smith, "Sourwood Mountain" [instrumental] (on LomaxCD1702)
Ernest V. Stoneman, "Sourwood Mountain" (Victor 20235, 1926)
Stove Pipe No. 1 [pseud. for Sam Jones], "Cripple Creek & Sourwood Mountain" (Columbia 201-D, 1924)
Uncle "Am" Stuart, "Sourwood Mountain" (Vocalion 15840, 1924)
Gid Tanner & Riley Puckett, "Sourwood Mountain" (Columbia 245-D, 1924)
Taylor's Kentucky Boys, "Sourwood Mountain" (on BefBlues3)
The Vagabonds, "Sourwood Mountain" (Bluebird B-5335, 1934)
Wade Ward, "Sourwood Mountain" [instrumental] (on Holcomb-Ward1)
Henry Whitter, "Sourwood Mountain" (OKeh 7005, n.d.)
Sourwood Mountain [Sh 216/Me II-AA16]
Sourwood Mountain
Rm - Little Boy Britches
Sandburg, Carl (ed.) / American Songbag, Harcourt, Sof (1955/1928), p125
Snyder, Jerry (arr.) / Golden Guitar Folk Sing Book, Hansen, Fol (1972), p104b
Cazden, Norman (ed.) / Book of Nonsense Songs, Crown, Sof (1961), p 62 (Hey Hum Diddle Um Day)
Lomax, John A. & Alan Lomax / Folk Song USA, Signet, Sof (1966/1947), # 24
Oregon 4-H Sings, CSS OSC Extension, Sof (1946ca), p11
Joyful Singing. Campfire Girls Edition, CSS, poc (1947ca), p 6
Fox, Lillian M. / Folk Songs of the United States, Calif. State Series, Sof (1951), p38
Richardson, Ethel Park / American Mountain Songs, Greenberg, Bk (1927/1955), p 89
Glazer, Tom / Treasury of Songs for Children, Songs Music, Fol (1964/1981), p210
Herder, Ronald (ed.) / 500 Best-Loved Song Lyrics, Dover dn500/500, Sof (1998), p323b Barber, Isla. Morris, Alton C. / Folksongs of Florida, Univ. Florida, Bk (1950), p231/#142 [1934-39]
Bell Spur String Band. Bell Spur String Band, Heritage (Galax) 047, LP (1984/1963), trk# B.04 [1963/08/12]
Bridges, Will. Sharp & Karpeles / English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians II, Oxford, Bk (1932/1917), p305/# 216A [1913/08]
Brown, Fleming. Banjo Newsletter, BNL, Ser (1973-), 1984/03,p10
Cedar Point String Band. Cedar Point String Band, Roane, Cas (1983), trk# 3
Chase, Richard. Chase, Richard (ed.) / American Folk Tales and Songs, Dover, sof (1971/1956), p148 [1930-40's]
Clemmens, Ginni. Sing a Rainbow and Other Children Songs, Folkways FC 7637, LP (1967), trk# A.04b
Cline, Curly Ray. Curly Ray Cline and His Lonesome Pine Fiddle, Melody MLP-17, LP (1970?), trk# B.02
Crawford, Roy. Front Porch Fiddling in Alabama, Crawford --, CD (2003), trk# 14
Crisp, Rufus. Rufus Crisp, Folkways FA 2342, LP (1972), trk# B.01b [1946]
Crisp, Rufus. Rufus Crisp, Folkways FA 2342, LP (1972), trk# B.06a [1946]
Crisp, Rufus. Anglo-American Songs and Ballads, Library of Congress AFS L21, LP (196?), trk# A.01a [1946]
Crockett Family Mountaineers. Mountain Frolic. Rare Old Timey Classics; 1924-37, JSP 77100A-D, CD (2007), trk# A.01a [1928/11/12]
Erbsen, Wayne. Old Fashioned WindDing, Native Ground NG 114, CD (2000), trk# 9
Evans, Joe. Early Country Music, Historical HLP 8002, LP (197?), trk# A.07 [1931/05/20] Finley, Ben (Benjamin J.). Sharp & Karpeles / English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians II, Oxford, Bk (1932/1917), p306/# 216B [1917/08/10]
Gainer, Patrick. Folk Songs of the Alleghenies, Folk Heritage, LP (1963), trk# B.09
George, Franklin/Frank. Banjo Legacy, Augusta Heritage AHR 006/024, LP (1989), trk# A.04
George, Franklin/Frank. Swope's Knobs, Anachronistic 001, LP (1977), trk# 3.01
Goforth, Cecil. Traditional Fiddle Music of the Ozarks. Volume 1, Rounder 0435, CD (1999), trk# 40
Greer, Mr. & Mrs. I. G.. Anglo-American Songs and Ballads, Library of Congress AFS L12, LP (1953), trk# B.05 [1945]
Haley, Ed. Forked Deer, Rounder 1131/1132, CD( (1997), trk# 1.09
Hammons, Edden. Edden Hammons Collection. Vol Two, West Virginia Univ SA-2, CD (2000), trk# 2.08 [1947/07]
Hanks, Larry. 1977 Northwest Folklife Festival, Voyager VTLP 101, LP (1977), trk# 3a
Hanks, Larry. Tying a Knot in the Devil's Tail, Long Sleeve LS 104, LP (1982), trk# A.06a
Hanks, Larry. 15th Aniversary Cassette. The Northwest Folklife Festival, NW Folklife --, Cas (1986), trk# A.05a
Hatfield, Bert. Kentucky Old-Time Banjo, Rounder 0394, CD (1999), trk# 28 [1997/09/12]
Hellman, Neal. Hellman, Neal; and Sally Holden / Life Is Like a Mountain Dulcimer, TRO, sof (1974), p28
Highwaymen. One More Time!, United Artists UAL 3323, LP (1964), trk# B.03
Holt, Bob. Traditional Fiddle Music of the Ozarks. Volume 1, Rounder 0435, CD (1999), trk# 9
Howard, James. Lomax, J. A. & A. Lomax / American Ballads and Folk Songs, MacMillan, Bk (1934), p276 [1920s]
Iron Mountain String Band (Calif.). Someday We'll Meet Again, Folkways FA 3836, LP (1981), trk# B.06 (Sour Wood Mountain)
Ives, Burl. Ives, Burl / Burl Ives Song Book, Ballantine Books, Bk (1963/1953), p206
Jarrell, Tommy. Pickin' on Tommy's Porch, County 778, LP (1984), trk# 13
Jarrell, Tommy. Music of North Carolina, Heritage (Galax) 024 (XXIV), LP (1979), trk# A.06
Johnson, Earl; and his Clodhoppers. Georgia Fiddle Bands, Vol. 2, County 544, LP (197?), trk# A.05 [1927/10/07] (I've Got a Gal/Woman on Sourwood Mountain)
Keithley, Joshua C.. Randolph, Vance / Ozark Folksongs. Volume III, Humorous & Play-Party ..., Univ. of Missouri, Bk (1980/1946), p156/#417D [1940/08/26]
Kilby, Steve. Steve Kilby, 11/26/54, Heritage (Galax) 074, Cas (198?), trk# B.05
Kimble Family. Carroll County Pioneers, Marimac 9036, Cas (1992), trk# 23 [1973-77]
Knight, Ray. Rosenbaum, Art (ed.) / Folk Visions & Voices. Traditional Music & So...., Univ. of Georgia, Bk (1983), p216 [1982/02/21] (I Got a Woman on Sourwood Mountain)
Last Straw String Band. Last Straw String Band, Jack Rabbit 001, LP (197?), trk# A.05a
Leaphart, Mary. Sandburg, Carl (ed.) / American Songbag, Harcourt, Sof (1955/1928), p320 (I Got a Gal at the Head of the Holler)
Lunsford, Bascom Lamar. Botkin, Benjamin / A Treasury of American Folklore, Crown, Bk (1944), p897
MacKay, Karen. West Virginia Woman, West Virginia Woman, LP (1983), trk# 11
Maggie Valley Country Singers. Maggie Valley Country Singers, Rural Rhythm RR-MVS 134, LP (197?), trk# B.12
Mainer, Wade; and Mainer's Mountaineers. Wade Mainer and the Mainer's Mountaineers, Old Homestead 90002, Cas (1971), trk# B.06
McCord, May Kennedy. Seeger, Peggy / Five String Banjo American Folk Styles, Hargail, sof (1960), p34/# 9
McCord, May Kennedy. Randolph, Vance / Ozark Folksongs. Volume III, Humorous & Play-Party ..., Univ. of Missouri, Bk (1980/1946), p155/#417 [1938/04/28]
Monroe, Charlie; & the Kentucky Pardners. Songs of Charlie Monroe and the Kentucky Pardners, County 539, LP (1974), trk# 12 [1944]
Moseley, Abby. Sharp & Karpeles / English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians II, Oxford, Bk (1932/1917), p306/# 216C [1917/05/24]
New Lost City Ramblers. 20th Aniversery Concert, Flying Fish FF 090, LP (1986), trk# B.07a
Osborne, Uncle Charlie (Charlie N.). 100 Years Farther On, June Appal JA 064C, Cas (199?), trk# 9
Paley, Tom. Old Tom Moore and More, Global Village C 309, Cas (1991), trk# 8
Parsons, Pheoba & Roscoe. Traditional Music at Newport, 1964, Part 2, Vanguard VSD 79183, LP (1965), trk# B.07
Peerce, Lonnie. Fiddle Jam Sessions, Voyager VLRP 301, LP (1967), trk# 1 [1966]
Pegram, George; and Parham, Red (Walter). Pickin' and Blowin', Riverside RLP 12-650, LP (1959), trk# 6 [1957]
Proffitt, Frank. Frank Proffitt of Reese, North Carolina, Folk Legacy FSA 001, Cas (1962), trk# B.07
Rayburn, Otto Ernest. Randolph, Vance / Ozark Folksongs. Volume III, Humorous & Play-Party ..., Univ. of Missouri, Bk (1980/1946), p156/#417B [1931/05/10]
Reid, Boone. Instrumental Music of the Southern Appalachians, Tradition TR 1007, LP (196?), trk# 4 [1956/07ca]
Rosenbaum, Art. Rosenbaum, Art (ed.) / Old-Time Mountain Banjo, Oak, sof (1968), p15
Rutherford, Enoch. Old Five String, Vol 2, Heritage (Galax) 052, Cas (1991), trk# 8
Salyer, John Morgan. Titon, Jeff Todd / Old Time Kentucky Fiddle Tunes, Kentucky, Bk/ (2001), p180/#155 [1941/12/18]
Salyer, John Morgan. Home Recordings 1941-42. Vol. 2, Appal. Center Ser. AC 003-v2, cas (1993), trk# A.09
Schwarz, Tracy. Dancing Bow and Singing Strings, Folkways FTS 6524, LP (1979), trk# A.04
Seeger, Mike. Old Time Country Music, Folkways FA 2325, LP (196?), trk# 18
Seeger, Pete. Seeger, Pete / Goofing-Off Suite, Hargail, Sof (1959), p16
Shelton, Allen. Trischka, Tony (ed.) / Banjo Song Book, Oak, Sof (1978), p 56
Short, Lillian. Randolph, Vance / Ozark Folksongs. Volume III, Humorous & Play-Party ..., Univ. of Missouri, Bk (1980/1946), p157/#417E [1941/04/25]
Simmons Family. Simmons, Tommy (ed.) / Simmons Family, Simmons, Sof (1974), p26
Smith, Glen (Virginia). Clawhammer Banjo. Vol 2 [More Clawhammer Banjo], County 717/CD 2717, LP (2003/1969), trk# 4
Smith, Hobart. Folk Music USA. Vol. 1, Folkways FE 4530, LP (1959), trk# C.02 [1945-49?]
Smith, Hobart. Southern Journey. Vol. 2: Ballads and Breakdowns, Rounder 1702, CD (1997), trk# 3 [1959/08/25]
Smith, Ralph Lee. Dulcimer; More Old-Time and Traditional Music, Skyline DD-106, LP (1975), trk# 5
Song Spinners. Johnson, Margaret & Travis (eds) / Early American Songs from ... the Spi, AMP, Fol (1943), #50
Stamper, I. D.. Red Wing, June Appal JA 010, LP (1977), trk# 14
Stover, Don; & the White Oak Mountain Boys. West Virginia Coal Miner Blues, Old Homestead 90011, LP (197?), trk# 9
Stracke, Win. Folk Songs for the Young, Golden Records, LP (1962), trk# A.01
Vanderlaan, Vera. Five String Banjoree, Quest Q 101, LP (196?), trk# A.04b
Ward, Clyde. Thede, Marion (ed.) / The Fiddle Book, Oak, Bk (1967), p102a [1930s]
Ward, Wade. Roscoe Holcomb and Wade Ward, Folkways FA 2363, LP (1962), trk# B.04 [1961/07]
Ward, Wade. Uncle Wade. A Memorial to Wade Ward, Old Time Virginia Banjo ..., Folkways FA 2380, LP (1973), trk# 17
Ward, Wade. Traditional Music From Grayson and Carroll Counties, Folkways FS 3811, LP (1962), trk# 10 [1960ca]
Ward, Wade. Burke, John (ed.) / Book of Old Time Fiddle Tunes for Banjo, Amsco, sof (1968), p14
West Maryland Highballers. West Maryland Highballers, Biograph RC 6001, LP (1963), trk# B.07
Wilbur, Marie. Randolph, Vance / Ozark Folksongs. Volume III, Humorous & Play-Party ..., Univ. of Missouri, Bk (1980/1946), p156/#417C [1931/05/24]
Wimmer, French. Old-Time Banjo Anthology, Vol. 2, Marimac AHS 5, Cas (1991), trk# 20 [1989/05]
Wiseman, Mac. 20 Old-Time Country Favorites, Rural Rhythm RHY-258, CD (1997/1966), trk# 20
Sourwood Mountain Medley
Rt - Shortenin' Bread; Sourwood Mountain; Ain't Gonna Get No Supper Here Tonight
Macon, Uncle Dave. Classic Sides 1924-1938, JSP 7729A-D, CD( (2004), trk# B.01 [1926/09/08]
RELATED TO: Drop Thumb Banjo; Jenny Hang the Kettle On; Beaucatcher Mountain; Payday;
OTHER NAMES: Chicken's Crow on Sourwood Mountain; I Got A Girl On Sourwood Mountain
SOURCES: Clyde Ward (Bates, Arkansas) [Thede]; W. Franklin George (W.Va.) [Phillips]; John M. Salyer (Salyersville, Magoffin County, Ky., 1941-42) [Titon]. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), vol. 1, 1994; pg. 229. Thede (The Fiddle Book), 1967; pg. 102. Titon (Old Time Kentucky Fiddle Tunes), 2001; No. 155, pg. 180. Recorded for the Library of Congress (2740-A-3 and 2744-A-1/2), 1939, by Herbert Halpert from the playing of both H.L. Maxey and J.W. "Peg" Thatcher (Franklin County, Va.). Recorded for Edison in 1925 and Victor in 1924 by Fiddlin' Cowan Powers (b. 1877, southwest Va.), and for Vocalion in 1924 by Uncle Am Stuart (b. 1856, Morristown, Tenn.). Anachronistic 001, John Hilt – “Swopes Knobs” (1977). Copper Creek CCCD 0199, James Leva – “Memory Theatre.” County 778, Tommy Jarrell ‑ "Pickin' On Tommy's Porch" (1984. Learned from his father, North Carolina fiddler Ben Jarrell and his Uncle Charlie Lowe). County 2730, Rafe Stefanini – “Glory on the Big String.” Document 5659, The Booker Brothers. Document 8040, “The Hill Billies/Al Hopkins and His Buckle Busters: Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order, Vol. 2” (reissue). Gennett Records (78 RPM), Taylor's Kentucky Boys {with Doc Roberts} (1927). Heritage XXIV, Tommy Jarrell ‑ "Music of North Carolina" (Brandywine, 1978). Rounder Records, Hobart Smith – “Southern Journey, Vol. 2: Ballads and Breakdowns” (a reissue of Alan Lomax recordings). Rounder 1008, “Ernest V. Stoneman and the North Carolina Corn Shuckers” (c. 1978). Tradition TLP 1007, Boone Reid ‑ "Instrumental Music of the Southern Appalachians" (1978). Yazoo 2017, The Booker Brothers. Yodel-Ay-Hee 003, “Dirk Powell and John Hermann” (1992). Edden Hammons Collection, Disc 2.
PRINT SOURCES:
Randolph 417, "Sourwood Mountain" (4 texts plus a fragment, 1 tune)
Randolph/Cohen, pp. 346-347, "Sourwood Mountain" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 417A)
BrownIII 251, "Sourwood Mountain" (7 texts plus an excerpt and 3 fragments)
Wyman-Brockway I, p. 91 "Sourwood Mountain" (1 text, 1 tune)
Fuson, pp. 170-171, "Sourwood Mountain" (1 text)
Sandburg, p. 125, "Sourwood Mountain" (1 text, 1 tune); 320-321, "I Got a Gal at the Head of the Holler" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-FSUSA 24, "Sourwood Mountain" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-ABFS, pp. 276-277, "Sourwood Mountain" (1 text, 1 tune, composite)
Botkin-AmFolklr, pp. 897-898, "Sourwood Mountain" (1 text, 1 tune)
Chase, pp. 148-149, "Sourwood Mountain" (1 text, 1 tune)
Darling-NAS, pp. 257-258, "Sourwood Mountain" (1 text)
Silber-FSWB, p. 35, "Sourwood Mountain" (1 text)
Roud #754
NOTES: D Major (Thede): A Major (Phillips, Titon). Standard or AEae (John Salyer, Edden Hammons) tunings. AABB (Thede): AABB' (Phillips).
Where is Sourwood Mountain?
According to USGS: Geographic Names Information System (containing "entries for almost 2,000,000 geographic features in the United States"), there're two Sourwood Mountains on the record.
(1) Sourwood Mountain -- St: TN -- County: Jefferson -- Type: summit -- Latitude: 360428N -- Longitude: 0833456W
(2) Sourwood Mountain -- St: VA -- County: Russell -- Type: ridge -- Latitude: 370111N --Longitude: 0820820W
There are other Sourwood Mountain's; Quotation from: Kenansville Historical Trail:
James Wallace Webb, whose brother ran Webb's General Store on Kenansville Rd., let rooms at $3 for a double for the first night, $2 for each additional night. Webb, from Sourwood Mountain in Teges, Kentucky, was born on September 8, 1919. He left there for Florida on November 8, 1939, and arrived in Kenansville on January 11, 1940. After three years, he moved to Arkansas, then moved back here three years after that.
The Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names lists two places called Sourwood Mountain. One is a peak in Jefferson County, Tennessee; the other is a ridge in Russell County, Virginia. Sourwood Mountain in Franklinton, NC, US (United States)
Other Sourwood names include Sourwood Spring (AL), Sourwood (KY), Sourwood Branch (KY, SC), Sourwood Creek (MS, TN), Sourwood Gap (NC), Sourwood Mountain School (school; VA), and Sourwood Ridge (WV).
The sourwood is a small tree, Oxydendrum arboreum, with white flowers, one of the heath family, growing in eastern North America below southern Pennsylvania.
If anyone is ever in the Southeastern USA, try to locate some honey made from the sourwood tree. "Sourwood Honey" is considered some of the best here in Tennessee. Beekeepers will pull the honey from the hives before and after the sourwood run, to assure that the honey that the bees set is all from the flowers of the sourwood tree. I've heard three states claim that their Sourwood Mountain is the one referred to in the song (NC, TN, VA.)
The tune (and attached song) has been widely collected in the South, especially in banjo settings, although like many a folk-song its origins are obscure. It has long been used as a play-party melody. Sourwood Mountain is a place-name in the state of Massachusetts, and the ballad is said by some to have originated in that state. Mrs. Betty Jane Dodrill writes to say that family lore has it that the song was composed by her ancestor William Francis (Blue Bill) Combs (1840-1924), a fiddler and farmer who lived on Breezers Branch, North of Finney in Russell County, Virginia. Blue Bill served with the Confederate forces in the Civil War and was with General Lee at the surrender at Appomattox in 1865 (see The Heritage of Russell County Virginia, 1786-1988, Vol. II, pgs. 203-204). Whatever its origins (and despite the fact that melodic material was undoubtedly imported from the British Isles), it is one of the first truly American ballads, and the tragic tale of a young man fatally bit by a snake made its way into folk traditions throughout the United States. Sourwood is the name for chestnut or other bark used in tanning leather, and a fairly common commodity on the frontier.
The tune was mentioned by William Byrne who described a chance encounter with West Virginia fiddler ‘Old Sol’ Nelson during a fishing trip on the Elk River. The year was around 1880, and Sol, whom Byrne said was famous for his playing “throughout the Eld Valley from Clay Courthouse to Sutton as…the Fiddler of the Wilderness,” had brought out his fiddle after supper to entertain (Milnes, 1999). Popular as a folksong, as a tune it had a place in traditional fiddle repertoire. It was, for example, popular enough to have been mentioned in a 1931 newspaper account as having been played at a LaFollette, northeast Tennessee, fiddlers' contest. It was also among the tunes listed as a standard in a square dance fiddler's repertoire, as asserted by A.B. Moore in his History of Alabama, 1934 (Cauthen, 1990). It was in the repertoire of fiddler Albert Hash of Rugby, Virginia, who thought it originated in the British Isles. Charles Wolfe (1982) states it was popular with older Kentucky fiddlers (Doc Roberts recorded the tune, duetting with African-American fiddler Jim Booker {b. 1872}). Jeff Titon (2001) reports that “Sourwood Mountain” was mentioned in several of the 1915 Berea, Kentucky, lists of tunes played by fiddlers at a gathering that year, and was played at the 1919 and 1920 Berea fiddle contests. West Virginia fiddler Edden Hammons had a version, played crosstuned. The title appears in a list of traditional Ozark Mountain fiddle tunes compiled by musicologist/folklorist Vance Randolph, published in 1954. Many comic rhymes were sung with the tune, which usually begins something like:
I got a gal on Sourwood Mountain,
Da da da da‑da da‑da‑da da;
Pretty girls there 'til you can't count 'em,
Da da da da‑da da‑da‑da da.
***
I GOT A WOMAN ON SOURWOOD MOUNTAIN. Old-Time, Breakdown & Song. USA, north Georgia. G Major. Standard. One part (Rosenbaum). A reworking of the traditional Appalachian song "Sourwood Mountain" by Georgia fiddler Earl Johnson, who added some new verses and subsituted the "hey-de-ing-dang, diddle ally-day" refrain with "What in the world can I do?" Well, I got a woman on Sourwood Mountain, What in the world can I do? Had so many children I couldn't count 'em, What in the world can I do?
Gene Wiggins says the tune of Earl Johnson's "I've got a woman on Sourwood Mountain" is of 19th century vintage and usually called merely 'Sourwood Mountain' but that Johnson 'wrought such a change' in it 'that it might be considered a different tune'. [cf G.Wiggins, liner notes to 'Georgia Fiddle Bands Vol 2 County LP 544].
(Rosenbaum) Source for notated version: Earl Johnson via his protege L.D. Snipes who taught it to Ray Knight (Lumpkin County, Georgia) [Rosenbaum]. Rosenbaum (Folk Visions and Voices: Traditional Music and Song in North Georgia), 1989; pg. 216. County 544, Earl Johnson & the Clodhoppers - "Georgia Fiddle Bands, Vol. 2".
SOURWOOD MOUNTAINS, THE [2]. American, Jig or Quadrille. USA, southwestern Pa. G Major. Standard. AB. Unlike version #1, there is no relationship to the famous American folksong "Sourwood Mountain." Source for notated version: James Taylor (Greene County, Pa., and Wetzel County, W.Va., 1930's) [Bayard]. Bayard, 1981; No. 486, pg. 452.
Sourwood Mountain- Collected by Brown
251 SOURWOOD MOUNTAIN
"The Frank C. Brown Collection of North Carolina Folklore; the folklore of North Carolina, collected by Dr. Frank C. Brown during the years 1912 to 1943, in collaboration with the North Carolina Folklore Society"
A great favorite in the Southern mountains, 'Texts have been reported from Virginnia (AMS 89, FSSH 400. FSV 246). Kentucky (Shcarin 38, LT ot-.^, RKH 170-1. SharpK 11 ,0. .ASh 125, p 320-1. DD 1 14-15). Tennessee (FSSH 401, ETWVMB n). North
Carolina (JAFL xxii 249, xliv 85, FSSH 399), Georgia (SharpK II 305), and Missouri (OFS iii 155-/). Commonly it is a dance or play-party song (Thomas Smith calls his version a jig), but it may be just a song. Texts vary considerably, and so does the refrain; Miss Bascom (version C) remarks that the variation in the refrain lines is due to the individual singer's attempt to imitate his banjo. Mrs. Richardson (AMS 117) says that Sourwood Mountain is a spur of Sandy Ridge in Russell county, Virginia, but there are other mountains of the same name, taken from the sourwood brush (the sourwood is the sorrel tree, Oxydcndroti (trborciiiii, common in the Alleghanies ).
A 'Sourwood Mountain' From I. G. Greer, Boone. Watauga county, in 1922. With the tune. Greer's text exists in the Collection in two forms, the first of which, a manuscript in Dr. Brown's hand, runs as follows:
1. I've got a girl in the Sourwood mountains;
She's gone cripple an' blin'.
She's broke the heart of many a pore feller
But she ain't broken this 'n of mine.
2. I've got a girl in the bend o' the river,
Tink-tank-toodle all the day.
A hop and a jump and I'll be with her,
Tink-tank-toodle all the day.
3. I've got a love in the Buffalo holler.
Tink-tank-toodle all the day.
She wouldn't come an' it's I won't call her.
Tink-tank-toodle all the day.
4. Now my love went a-floatin' down the river,
Tink-tank-toodle all the day.
If I had my boat I'd a-went with her,
Tink-tank-toodle all the day.
5. An old grey goose went a-swimmin' down the river,
Tink-tank-toodle all the day.
If I was a gander I'd a went with her.
Tink-tank-toodle all the day.
6. Big dog bark, little dog bite you.
Tink-tank-toodle all the day.
Big girl court and little girl slight you,
Tink-tank-toodle- all the day.
7. I got a girl in the head of the holler.
Tink-tank-toodle all the day.
She wouldn't come and I won't foller,
Tink-tank-toodle all the day.
8 She sits up with old Si Hall.
Tink-tank-toodle all the day,
Me and Jeff can't go there at all.
Tink-tank-toodle all the day.
9. Some of these days he fore very long
Tink-tank-toodle all the day.
I'll get that girl and a-home I'll run
Tink-tank-toodle all the day.
Greer's other text differs slightly in the refrain line, which here runs:
'He-tink-toodle all the day," by having a stanza marked "chorus" :
I've got a gal in the Sourwood Mountain
He-tink-toodle all the day
I've got a gal in the Sourwood Mountain
He-tink-toodle all the day,
and by the introduction of a stanza (the third) not in the other version:
Get your dog and your old gun,
He-tink-toodle all the day
Let's go a-huntin' and have a little fun.
He-tink-toodle all the day,
and by having as its seventh stanza the first stanza of Smith's version B.
Otherwise its stanzas correspond ( with the difference in the refrain line noted above and with "Buffalo Holler" in place of "the head of the holler") with those of the first version, but in a different order; using the order of the first version, this version consists of stanzas 1, 7 (its third stanza is given above), 5, 4, 9, 7 (stanza 8 of the
first version does not appear).
B. 'Sourwood Mountain.' Contributed, probably in 1915, by Thomas Smith of Zionville, Watauga county, with the notation that "the above jig has been sung and played as far back as tiie oldest person of this place can remember." With the tune, as sung by Mrs. Joseph Miller.
1. Chickens are crowing in the Sourwood Mountains.
Chickens are crowing for day.
Chickens are crowing in the Sourwood Mountains,
Oh fod da link a day.
2. I have a love in the Sourwood Mountain,
Oh fod da link a day.
I have a love in the Sourwood Mountain,
Oh fod da link a day.
3. She won't come and I won't call her.
Oh fod da link a day.
She won't come and I won't call her,
Oh fod da link a day.
4. Wake up, Sam, and let's go a-hunting.
Oh fod da link a day.
Wake up, Sam. and let's go a-hunting,
Oh fod da link a day.
5. Way over in the Buckeye hollow.
Oh fod da link a day.
Way over in the Buckeye hollow,
Oh fod da link a day.
C. 'Sourwood Mountain.' The Collection has two texts contributed by Louise Rand Bascom. In her 1909 paper on North Carolina ballads (JOAFL, xii 238-50) she speaks of 'Sourwood Mountain' as a ballad she would like to get but of which she knows only one stanza ( which is the first stanza of A). Later, evidently, she secured the two texts
in our collection. The first of these corresponds to the first five stanzas of A except for a somewhat different refrain line: 'Taddle-tink-tank-toodle all the day.' The other is also of five stanzas, the first three of which correspond to stanzas 1, 5, 7 of A (with a slightly different refrain line) and the other two are
1. A Pretty little girl went a-floating down the river.
Fol-tom-tollie-tum all the day,
Ef I could a swum I'd a-went with her,
Fol-tom-tollie-tum all the day.
2. The chickens is a-crowin' in the sourwood holler,
Fol-tom-tollie-tum all the day,
Ef ye don't believe it, I'll bet you a dollar,
Fol-tom-tollie-tum all the day.
'Sourwood Mountain.' Contributed by J. E. Massey of Klon College, Caswell county, apparently in 1917.
1. Chicken crowing on .Sourwood Mounlaiii,
Hey ho diddle dum day
Get your dogs and we'll go a-hunting,
Hey ho diddle dum day.
2. My true love she lives in Letcher,
Hey ho diddle dum day
She won't come and I won't fetch her.
Hey ho diddle dum day.
3. Big dog'll bark and little one bite you,
Hey ho diddle dum day
Big girl'll court and little one slight you,
Hey ho diddle dum day.
4. My true love lives up the river.
Hey ho diddle dum day
A few more jumps and I'll be with her,
Hey ho diddle dum day.
E. 'Sour wood Mountain.' Reported by Mrs. Sutton, apparently in 1916 or 1917. She says: "Its rhythm is irresistible. The words cannot be applied to the tune by anybody but a mountaineer. I heard it first at a dance given for the drafted men who were leaving Xewland [Avery county] for Camp Jackson." She gives only three stanzas.
1. Chicken crowin' on Sourwood Mountain,
Yoy ho diddle dum day
Git your dogs and we'll go a-huntin',
Yuly ho diddle dum day.
2. My little gal's a blue-eyed daisy,
Yoy ho diddle dum day
If I don't git her I'll go crazy,
Yoy ho diddle dum day.
3. Big dog bark and little dog bite ye,
Yov ho diddle dum day
Big girl court and little girl slight ye,
Yoy ho diddle dum day.
F. 'Sourwood Mountain.' Contributed by Otis Kuykendall of Asheville in 1939. The refrain line here is entirely different.
1. I've got a girl in Sourwood Mountain,
She's both crippled and blind.
She's broke the heart of many a poor boy.
But she can't break the heart of mine.
Chorus: Chickens a-crowing in the Sourwood Mountain,
Tell my honey she had better get away.
Chickens a-crowing in the Sourwood Mountain.
Tell my honey it's not long till day.
2. Jay bird a-sitting on a hickory limb.
Tell my honey she had better get away,
My big rifle will sure get him.
Tell my honey she had better get away.
3. The big dog bark and the little dog bite you.
Tell my honey she had better get away.
Big girls court you and the little girls slight you,
Tell my honey she had better get away.
G. 'Sourwood Mountain.' Contributed by Miss Kate S. Russell of Roxboro, Person county, in 1923 or thereabouts. Here again the refrain line is slightly different from those given before. It runs the same throughout the song.
1. Chickens crowing on Sourwood Mountain,
Hay ho didyum day.
Get my dog. and I'll go hunting.
Hay ho didyum day.
2 My true love lives up the hollow,
She won't come and I won't follow.
3 My true love is a blue (or black or brown) -eyed daisy;
If she don't come, I'll go crazy.
4 Old man, old man, I want your daughter
To bake my bread, and carry me water.
H. 'Chickens A-Crowing in the Sourwood Mountains.' Reported by Gertrude Allen (later Mrs. Vaught) from Oakboro, Stanly county. The manuscript is in six-line stanzas, pretty certainly wrongly, but the editor will not undertake to correct the error.
1 Chickens a-crowing in the Sourwood mountains.
Hay oh doodle may day
So many pretty girls I can't count them.
Hay oh doodle may day.
They won't come and I won't call them.
Hay oh doodle may day.
2. Old man, old man, I want your daughter,
Hay oh doodle may day
Bake my bread and carry my water.
Hay oh doodle may day.
Get your gun and we'll go hunting,
Hay oh doodle may day.
I. 'Sourwood Mountain' fragment reported by Dr. Brown as follows: "The lines of Sourwood Mountains are frequently affected by local current events. For instance, I heard a man with newly acquired religion singing—"Mountains" is written "mounts" in both placcs, doubtless merely a slip of the pencil.
The chicken's crow on the Sourwood Mountains
You better be gittin' away.
Or the devil is sure a-goin' to git you
Long 'fore the Judgement Day."
Not perhaps assignable with certainty to 'Sourwood Mountain' yet clearly akin to versions G and H above are the following fragments.
J. 'Old Man, Old Man.' Reported in July 1922. by Miss Jennie Irvin of Durham.
'Old man, old man, what'll you take for your daughter?'
'Fifteen cents, a dollar an' a quarter.
Take her an' go,
And I don't want to catch her in town no more.'
K. 'Song.' From Miss Mamie E. Cheek of Durham. No date given.
'Old man, old man, I want your daughter.'
'Well, you can have her for a dollar and a quarter.'
Sourwood Mountain Osborne Brothers
(Benny Birchfield - Bobby Osborne - Sonny Osborne)
I got a girl in the Sourwood Mountain, hi ho didle oh day
She won't come and I won't call her, hi ho didle oh day.
Hey, old man I want your daughter, hi ho didle oh day
Bake my bread and carry my water, hi ho didle oh day.
--- Instrumental ---
Rooster crow on the Sourwood Mountain, hi ho didle oh day
So many pretty girls I can't count them, hi ho didle oh day.
Big girls love, the little ones spite you, hi ho didle oh day
Big dogs bark and little dogs bite you, hi ho didle oh day.
--- Instrumental ---
Sara, Sara, let's go walkin', hi ho didle oh day
Kiss me quick and stop your talkin', hi ho didle oh day.
Sheriff, sheriff, and a posse, hi ho didle oh day
Someone stole my darling Flossy, hi ho didle oh day...
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