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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=Roslin Castle.mp3
+|f_track=Elk River Blues.mp3
-|f_pdf=Roslin Castle.pdf
+|f_pdf=Elk River Blues.pdf
-|f_artwork=Roslin.jpg
+|f_artwork=Ernie Carpenter.jpg
-|f_tune_name=Roslin Castle
+|f_tune_name=Elk River Blues
-|f_track_title=Roslin_Castle
+|f_track_title=Elk River Blues
 |f_section=abc
-|f_played_by=[https://soundcloud.com/robmackillop Rob MacKillop]
+|f_played_by=[https://soundcloud.com/jatek-zenekar Jatek Zenekar]
-|f_notes= Roslin Castle, Midlothian.
+|f_notes=Ernie Carpenter (1909-1997)
-|f_caption=The tune was the melody most often associated with funerals during the Revolution, and notes that legend has it that it was played by Scottish bagpipers stationed in New York at the time, in honor of the castle at Roslyn, Midlothian, Scotland.
+|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/robmackillop/20-roslin-castle Soundcloud]
+|f_source=[https://soundcloud.com/jatek-zenekar/elk-river-blues Soundcloud]
 |f_pix=420
 |f_picpix=200
-|f_article=[[Roslin_Castle | '''Roslin Castle''']]
+|f_article=[[Elk River Blues | '''Elk River Blues''']]
-Rosyln Castle does in fact exist in Angus, Scotland, and has since the early 14th century (c. 1304), when it was built by Sir William St. Clair soon after the Battle of Rosslyn, when, as part of the Scottish War of Independence, the English army of Edward I was decimated by the Scots.
+Composed by Braxton County, West Virginia, old-time fiddler Ernie Carpenter (1909-1997).
-It is a castle of the rock and waterfall, lying high above the north bank of the River Esk a few miles south-west of Edinburgh, and features a small but magnificent chapel founded in 1446 by the Earl of Orkney and Roslin.
+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.
-Added to through the years, it survived two fires but was ultimately destroyed by Cromwell's troops in 1650. The heyday of the edifice was in the 14th and 15th centuries, where it has been likened to a 'Camelot' of the era.
+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.
-Neil (1991) remarks "It is on record that one of the princesses of the castle had 75 ladies-in-waiting and 53 of them were also members of the nobility, all of whom were beautifully dressed in gowns of velvet and silk and who also wore gold and other jewels.
+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.
-When this princess traveled to her house in Edinburgh, she was accompanied by 200 men on horseback and, if at night, by a further 80 carrying torches.
+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.
-There is also the legend that the castle is haunted by the "Sleeping Lady" who guards a vast treasure. If awakened by the sound of a trumpet, to be heard in the lower apartments, she will appear and reveal the treasure, whereupon the castle would rise from its ruins to its former glory."
+"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."
 }}