Beech Tree News Network

Most old fiddle tunes did not have wands. Some did.
Here’s one that did: “If I had a candy box to put my sweetheart in; I’d take her out and kiss her twice, and put her back again…round and round ole Joe Clark, round and around I go – round and a-round ole Joe Clark; won’t be back no mo.” Same song, second verse. May get better – may get worse:
“If I had a sweet little girl, I’d put her on the shelf. Every time she grinned at me, I’d get up there myself.” Round and round ole Joe Clark…Third verse, may be worse: “Ole Joe Clark had a wife, she was 8 feet tall; she slept with her head in the kitchen and her feet in the hall – round and a-round ole Joe Clark, round and a-round I go; round and a-round ole Joe Clark, won’t be back no mo.”
Neither time nor space permits naming all the old fiddle tunes; some may be familiar, some not: “Soldier’s Joy” (apparently known as payday in the Army); “Rubber Dolly”; “Devil’s Dream”; “Faded Love”; “Maiden’s Prayer”; “Up Jumped the Devil”; “Fire in the Mountain”, and “Orange Blossom Special”.
Some old fiddle tunes may not be as familiar as others – like: “Leather Britches”; “Rattlesnake bit the Baby” (terrible); “Whiskey before Breakfast” (no comment); “Arkansas Traveler”, and “Panhandle Rag” (one not too familiar)- “Cornstalk fiddle and shoestring bow.”
My Granddad sometimes re-strung his fiddle with a long shoe string. With a liberal amount of “rosin”, it worked pretty well.
Then there are old traditional songs: Songs with no known authors – but have lyrics. There you need not worry about stepping on somebody’s patent: Clementine; “(She) drove the ducklings to the water every morning just at nine; hung her feet upon a splinter; fell into the foaming-brine – oh my darlin’; oh my darling’ Clementine…”
Pine Tree – “And they hauled it away to the mill; to make a coffin of pine for that sweetheart of mine, when they cut down the old pine tree.”
Then, the first song I ever learned: Maple on the Hill – “In a quiet and country village stood a maple on the hill; where I sat with my Geneva long ago….” (with an R.C. coke and a moon pie)
Then there are the traditional cowboy songs like “Rod River Valley”, and “Streets of Laredo”. Perhaps the oldest known cowboy song (maybe) is “Press along to the big coral”. We sang this in high school chorus; the last verse of which goes: “The food we got ain’t fit to eat, press along to the big coral. There’s rocks in the beans and sand in the meat – press along to the big coral…”
Another trail-driving song is: “Glad the round-up ‘s over”: “I spent six weeks in the open air; sand and cactus in my hair. Hand me down my rocking chair, I’m glad the round-up is over. (last verse): I’ll never – never be the same – my feet are sore, my back is lame; I’ve never felt such awful pain; I’m glad the round-up’s over.”
The cattle round-ups earlier, were where several outfits would throw their herds together, trail-brand them all, and drive them north to Ogalla, Nebraska; Abilene, Kansas, and to Sedalia, Missouri. These places had railheads for shipping beef east.
Most of these cattle drivers originated in south and southwest Texas. Some originated out of Matagordh; Southeast, Texas. The trail drivers began soon after the Civil War and lasted about 11 years.
A forest ranger from Arizona, by the name of Stan Jones wrote, perhaps, the first so-called gunfighter ballad: “The Lilies Grow High”. Last verse (also sad): “A woman may love him, but she knows soon above him, the lilies growing high. Then like the lilies she’ll bow down her head – bow down her poor head and cry.  On some boot hill they will lay him. The headboard will sway in the wind. The lilies will gently nod and weep, for another gunman died. Boots and Stetson and six gun, and the lilies grow high.”
Stan Jones also wrote “Shoot Riders”, “Rawhide”, and the theme from the TV series, Cheyenne; the theme from the John Wayne hit movie The Searchers; theme from Wagon Train.
In between stints as a forest ranger, Stan Jones managed to earn a degree in Zoology.
Funny thing, Stan Jones first pitched “Shoot Riders in the Sky” to the Sons of the Pioneer. For some reason they turned it down (bad mistake). On hearing that big-band leader, Vaughn Monroe, was looking to record a cowboy song, Jones sent “Riders” to Monroe.
Monroe had a mega hit from it. Later the ‘Sons did record it. It also did very well for them.
Man, I’ve got to cut-a-choggie. Bye.
Kindest Regards…