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"Carroll County Blues" was the Mississippi fiddle and guitar duo Narmour and Smith's biggest hit recording. The original melody is said to have been composed by fiddler Will Narmour (1889-1961) and was named for his home county, Carroll County, north-central Mississippi, but whether Narmour actually composed it is in dispute. Narmour, however, did record the tune with a man named Shell (Sherril) Smith, whose wife, it has been written, recalled that Narmour may have heard the tune either being whistled by a black farmer (according to David Freeman), or hummed by a black field hand (remembers Henry Young). This farmer claimed authorship and called the tune "Carroll County Blues." Narmour and Smith then "worked the tune out," presumably meaning that they arranged it for fiddle and guitar. Narmour is known to have been friendly with black bluesman Mississippi John Hurt, who lived in nearby Avalon. It has also been maintained, ostensibly by older community members in Avalon, that Narmour's mentor, Gene Clardy, an older local fiddler, was the one who composed "Carroll County Blues." However, the story about the black farmer is also disputed, and, further, it may be that Gene Clardy neither wrote nor played the tune.

Gary Stanton, in his article "All Counties Have Blues: County Blues as an Emergent Genre of Fiddle Tunes in Eastern Mississippi" (North Carolina Folklore Journal, vol. 28, no. 2, Nov. 1980), points out that the tune is not what one would consider to be in conventional twelve or sixteen bar blues, but was rather built on several 'riffs' (melodic statements) separated by long held notes or a contrasting musical figure. This results in a piece which has alternations of motion and repose, that Stanton contrasts with Anglo-American fiddling, which is almost constant melodic and rhythmic motion. Joseph Scott points out that:

It seems to be fairly widely accepted among old time music enthusiasts that Narmour and Smith's "Carroll County Blues" is not a "true blues," because it does not use the "standard" 12-bar blues progression. That reasoning rests on the anachronistic assumption that all "true blues" by definition used the 12-bar approach. The famous 'standard' 12-bar approach increasingly dominated within blues over the decades... "Carroll County Blues" is based on the same basic progression, the 8-bar I-I-I-I-IV-IV-I-I, as were some 'Blues' by 'black' Mississippi musicians born around the same era, such as "Sundown Blues by Alec Johnson, "Pretty Mama Blues" by Cannon's Jug Stompers, and "Vicksburg Blues" by Scott Dunbar.

In addition the tune features 'blues notes', flattened thirds and sevenths slurred into the natural note. The timing is rather odd (ten measures in the 'A' part instead of the usual eight, among other irregularities) with respect to the majority of fiddle tunes, but despite this Freeman (1975) says it has become one of the most famous fiddle tunes in the United States. He notes it was mentioned in Talking Machine World, an old trade paper, as having been one of the biggest selling records of 1929. Narmour recorded other "Carroll County Blues" tunes (see abc's below) attempting to ride the popularity of "Carroll County Blues #1" but they never achieved such widespread acclaim as the first. Due to its popularity #1 was covered by a great many fiddlers, including Kentuckian Doc Roberts (it appears that the Gennett company gave a copy of Narmour's recording to Roberts and told him to learn it for their next recording session). Subsequently, it has been found in local fiddlers' repertoires throughout the South and Mid-West. As previously mentioned, the 'A' part is irregular, though Phillips notes that Narmour sometimes omits the 2/4 time measures (in an otherwise 4/4 tune) or adds two beats to them, so that his performance can be considered inconsistent as well, a not uncommon phenomenon among traditional fiddlers who seldom play a tune the same way twice. "Carroll County Blues" also seems to be related to bluesman Furry Lewis' "Turn Your Money Green." Other than Narmour & Smith's 1929 recording, another early version was by the Doc Roberts Trio (1933). S'

CARROLL COUNTRY BLUES full Score(s) and Annotations and Past Featured Tunes

Carroll County Blues

Carroll Country Blues

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-[[File:richardson.jpg|200px|thumb|left|Don Richardson]]
+[[File:Carroll County Blues.jpg|200px|thumb|left|Don Richardson]]
-An extremely well-known old-time fiddle tune. One of the earliest printings of a tune by this title is in George P. Knauff's '''Virginia Reels''', volume IV (Baltimore, 1839), where it appears under the title "[[Love from the Heart]]" (Knauff also printed a "[[Mississippi Sawyer (2)]]" in volume I of his '''Reels''', but this tune is no relation to "Mississippi Sawyer [1]"). Alan Jabbour believes that versions printed in older tune collections suggest the coarse part of the tune was played first, though the fine part is almost universally heard played first among Southern fiddlers in the 20th century. The tune has been known to American fiddlers since the early 19th century, and older fiddlers frequently give the tune's title as "[[Downfall of Paris (The)]]."  The melody was known particularly in Texas around 1935 as "Downfall of Paris" and was recorded in 1939 (for the Library of Congress) in Tishomingo County, Mississippi, under that title from the playing of John Hatcher.  W.H.A. Williams suggests the first section of the Irish tune "[[Rakes of Mallow (The)]]" was "appropriated" as the first strain of "Mississippi Sawyer."
+"Carroll County Blues" was the Mississippi fiddle and guitar duo Narmour and Smith's biggest hit recording. The original melody is said to have been composed by fiddler Will Narmour (1889-1961) and was named for his home county, Carroll County, north-central Mississippi, but whether Narmour actually composed it is in dispute. Narmour, however, did record the tune with a man named Shell (Sherril) Smith, whose wife, it has been written, recalled that Narmour may have heard the tune either being whistled by a black farmer (according to David Freeman), or hummed by a black field hand (remembers Henry Young). This farmer claimed authorship and called the tune "Carroll County Blues." Narmour and Smith then "worked the tune out," presumably meaning that they arranged it for fiddle and guitar. Narmour is known to have been friendly with black bluesman Mississippi John Hurt, who lived in nearby Avalon.  It has also been maintained, ostensibly by older community members in Avalon, that Narmour's mentor, Gene Clardy, an older local fiddler, was the one who composed "Carroll County Blues." However, the story about the black farmer is also disputed, and, further, it may be that Gene Clardy neither wrote nor played the tune.
 <br>
 <br>
-Charles Wolfe elucidates the the title and states that a 'sawyer' was a boatsman's term for an uprooted tree whose roots had become partially anchored to the bottom of the stream bed. Though anchored, the river's currents would cause the trunk to bob up and down, often causing the tree to break surface rather suddenly in front of an unsuspecting river craft. On the Mississippi the problem was of such proportions that special government 'snag boats' patrolled the river in order to protect against such menaces. He opines: "Since the Mississippi River trade played a large role in the economic life of most Americans of the 19th century, it could be expected that most fiddlers of the period would have known what a 'Mississippi Sawyer' was, whereas the term's significance has been lost to the majority of contemporary fiddlers" (notes to Rounder Records "Gid Tanner and the Skillet Lickers   The Kickapoo Medecine Show"). Mark Twain, a licensed riverboat pilot in addition to being a renowned writer, knew well the potential menace of sawyers in the river and used the term in fashioning the name of his literary hero, Tom Sawyer.
+Gary Stanton, in his article "All Counties Have Blues: County Blues as an Emergent Genre of Fiddle Tunes in Eastern Mississippi" ('''North Carolina Folklore Journal''', vol. 28, no. 2, Nov. 1980), points out that the tune is not what one would consider to be in conventional twelve or sixteen bar blues, but was rather built on several 'riffs' (melodic statements) separated by long held notes or a contrasting musical figure. This results in a piece which has alternations of motion and repose, that Stanton contrasts with Anglo-American fiddling, which is almost constant melodic and rhythmic motion. Joseph Scott points out that:
-<br>
+<blockquote>
-<br>
+''It seems to be fairly widely accepted among old time music  enthusiasts''
-Ford (1940) relates: "This tune seems to have a strong appeal among old time fiddlers. The writer has heard it at old fiddlers' concerts from coast to coast. When played by a fiddler who loses himself in the swing of its rhythm, his listeners may hear the faint tinkle of anvils, the clinking of horseshoes,  and the wetting of sickles and scythes and cradles. It is lively and exciting, yet soothing. The authorship is credited to an early sawmill owner, who set up his mill somewhere near the junction of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. The first enterprise of its kind so far West, it created widespread interest among a people whose only means of producing building materials had been the ax, maul, wedge and rive, and the broadax and adz. Always referred to as 'The Mississippi Sawyer,' the millwright became a noted character and people congregated daily at his mill from miles around. It was a tradition among a later generation that the celebration following the test run of the mill was the occasion for a picnic that lasted for days. The picnickers came in covered wagons, well supplied with good things to eat, and pitched camp in the woods near the mill. All hands took part in handling the logs and lumber as the work got under way, and tables and a dance platform were speedily built of the first boards from the saw. After the day's work an open air banquet was served by the woman, and when it was learned that the sawyer was also a fiddler he was immediately chosen by acclimation to play the opening tune of the dance. Thus came into being 'The Mississippi Sawyer', one of the rare old tunes of American fiddle lore."
+''that Narmour and Smith's "Carroll County Blues" is not a "true blues,"''
-<br>
+''because it does not use the "standard" 12-bar blues progression. That ''
-<br>
+''reasoning rests on the anachronistic assumption that all "true blues" by ''
-It was a 'catagory tune' for an 1899 fiddle contest in Gallatin, Tenn.  Each fiddler would play his version of the tune; the rendition judged the best would win the fiddler a prize (C. Wolfe, '''The Devil's Box''', vol. 14, No. 4, 12/1/80).
+''definition used the 12-bar approach. The famous 'standard' 12-bar approach ''
+''increasingly dominated within blues over the decades... "Carroll County Blues"''
+'' is based on the same basic progression, the 8-bar I-I-I-I-IV-IV-I-I, as were ''
+''some 'Blues' by 'black' Mississippi musicians born around the same era, such ''
+''as "Sundown Blues by Alec Johnson, "Pretty Mama Blues" by Cannon's Jug ''
+''Stompers, and "Vicksburg Blues" by Scott Dunbar.''
+</blockquote>
+In addition the tune features 'blues notes', flattened thirds and sevenths slurred into the natural note. The timing is rather odd (ten measures in the 'A' part instead of the usual eight, among other irregularities) with respect to the majority of fiddle tunes, but despite this Freeman (1975) says it has become one of the most famous fiddle tunes in the United States. He notes it was mentioned in Talking Machine World, an old trade paper, as having been one of the biggest selling records of 1929. Narmour recorded other "Carroll County Blues" tunes (see abc's below) attempting to ride the popularity of "Carroll County Blues #1" but they never achieved such widespread acclaim as the first. Due to its popularity #1  was covered by a great many fiddlers, including Kentuckian Doc Roberts (it appears that the Gennett company gave a copy of Narmour's recording to Roberts and told him to learn it for their next recording session). Subsequently, it has been found in local fiddlers' repertoires throughout the South and Mid-West. As previously mentioned, the 'A' part is irregular, though Phillips notes that Narmour sometimes omits the 2/4 time measures (in an otherwise 4/4 tune) or adds two beats to them, so that his performance can be considered inconsistent as well, a not uncommon phenomenon among traditional fiddlers who seldom play a tune the same way twice. "Carroll County Blues" also seems to be related to bluesman Furry Lewis' "Turn Your Money Green." Other than Narmour & Smith's 1929 recording, another early version was by the Doc Roberts Trio (1933). S'
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-[[Annotation:Mississippi_Sawyer_(1)|MISSISSIPPI SAWYER full Score(s) and Annotations]] and [[Featured_Tunes_History|Past Featured Tunes]]
+[[Annotation:Carroll County Blues|CARROLL COUNTRY BLUES full Score(s) and Annotations]] and [[Featured_Tunes_History|Past Featured Tunes]]
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-[[File:Mississippi Sawyer LW.mp3|thumb|left|'''Mississippi Sawyer''', {{break}}performed by: Lloyd Wanzer at Weiser, Idaho, in 1963]]
+[[File:Carroll County Blues.mp3|thumb|left|Carroll County Blues]] {{break|4}}
-{{break|4}}
+{{#lst:Carroll Country Blues|abc}}
-{{#lst:Mississippi_Sawyer_(1)|abc}}