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Latest revision as of 16:17, 4 October 2024

Composed by Braxton County, West Virginia, old-time fiddler Ernie Carpenter (1909-1997).

According to the booklet accompanying Carpenter's LP, the story behind the tune is one of a difficult adjustment to a forced change in Ernie's life. He had worked most of his life for the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company in Clarksburg, prior to retiring in 1972 to his home in Braxton County, West Virginia.

He was a regular visitor during his working years to his homeplace on the Elk River, and was witness to the planning and construction of the Sutton Dam by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on the river during the 1950's and 1960's.

Unfortunately, this resulted in the flooding of his boyhood home and the surrounding area, despite the efforts of himself and neighbors to forestall the project through a lobbyist. He refused the government's initial offer for his land (they didn't offer him anything for his house), and took the case to court.

He was able to gain a marked increase in the money he eventually was paid through this process, although he had to pay legal fees out of his pocket. He stayed in his Elk River homestead while the dam was being constructed, even though most of his neighbors had already left. Workmen blocked the roads in and out of the area, but Carpenter found alternate routes until they too were closed off.

"I was the last person out of there," he said," I went ahead then and tore the old place town and brought it up here. Part of its in this house." Of the tune, he remarked: "I was sittin' here one day, an' I had the blues. I reckon as bad as anybody could, thinkin' about my old homeplace up on the Elk River. I started sawin' on the fiddle an' that's what I came up with."

...more at: Elk River Blues - full Score(s) and Annotations

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 {{SheetMusic
-|f_track=Gillie Callum.mp3
+|f_track=Elk River Blues.mp3
-|f_pdf=Gillie Callum.pdf
+|f_pdf=Elk River Blues.pdf
-|f_artwork=Sandyskinner.jpg
+|f_artwork=Ernie Carpenter.jpg
-|f_tune_name=Gillie Callum
+|f_tune_name=Elk River Blues
-|f_track_title=Gillie Callum
+|f_track_title=Elk River Blues
-|f_section=X1
+|f_section=abc
-|f_played_by=[https://soundcloud.com/user-300042645 Epiton]
+|f_played_by=[https://soundcloud.com/jatek-zenekar Jatek Zenekar]
-|f_notes= James Scott Skinner's brother, Alexander "Sandy" Skinner, performing a sword dance while accompanying himself on the fiddle, c. 1880's.
+|f_notes=Ernie Carpenter (1909-1997)
-|f_caption=Scottish tradition has it that it was first danced by a king of the Scots, Malcolm Canmore (O'Neill says the name is an English version of the Gaelic Callum a chinn mhoir, which "signifies as 'Callum of the big head'), in celebration of his victory at the Battle of Dunsinane in the year 1054.
+|f_caption=According to the booklet accompanying Carpenter's LP, the story behind the tune is one of a difficult adjustment to a forced change in Ernie's life.
-|f_source=[https://soundcloud.com/user-300042645/gillie-callum Soundcloud]
+|f_source=[https://soundcloud.com/jatek-zenekar/elk-river-blues Soundcloud]
 |f_pix=420
 |f_picpix=200
-|f_article=[[Gillie Callum | '''Gillie Callum''']]
+|f_article=[[Elk River Blues | '''Elk River Blues''']]
-One of the core tunes of Scottish repertoire, sometimes published (especially in older collections) with numerous variation sets. The earliest record of the tune is in David Young's '''Drummond Castle Manuscript, Part 2''' (1734, No. 10), in the possession of the Earl of Ancaster at Drummond Castle, sometimes called the '''Duke of Perth MS''' because of the inscription.  Young also included the tune in one of his subsequent manuscript collections, '''The MacFarlane Manuscript, Part 2''' (c. 1740, No. 101, p. 236), albeit under the title "[[Cuttie Spoon]]." John Glen (1891) finds the reel in Robert Bremner's '''2nd Collection or Scots Reels or Country Dances''' (London, 1768, p. 108) under the title "Keelum Kallum taa fein." "Gillie Callum" retained its popularity into the next century, and J.S. Skinner, who was a dancing master as well as a celebrated violinist, taught the dance at such places as Elgin and Balmoral (where among other dances he had four children dance Gillie Callum "in a masterly style, such as has not been witnessed in this locality before").
+Composed by Braxton County, West Virginia, old-time fiddler Ernie Carpenter (1909-1997).
+According to the booklet accompanying Carpenter's LP, the story behind the tune is one of a difficult adjustment to a forced change in Ernie's life. He had worked most of his life for the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company in Clarksburg, prior to retiring in 1972 to his home in Braxton County, West Virginia.
+He was a regular visitor during his working years to his homeplace on the Elk River, and was witness to the planning and construction of the Sutton Dam by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on the river during the 1950's and 1960's.
+Unfortunately, this resulted in the flooding of his boyhood home and the surrounding area, despite the efforts of himself and neighbors to forestall the project through a lobbyist. He refused the government's initial offer for his land (they didn't offer him anything for his house), and took the case to court.
+He was able to gain a marked increase in the money he eventually was paid through this process, although he had to pay legal fees out of his pocket. He stayed in his Elk River homestead while the dam was being constructed, even though most of his neighbors had already left.  Workmen blocked the roads in and out of the area, but Carpenter found alternate routes until they too were closed off.
+"I was the last person out of there," he said," I went ahead then and tore the old place town and brought it up here. Part of its in this house." Of the tune, he remarked: "I was sittin' here one day, an' I had the blues. I reckon as bad as anybody could, thinkin' about my old homeplace up on the Elk River. I started sawin' on the fiddle an' that's what I came up with."
 }}