Annotation:Maysville

Back to Maysville

---

MAYSVILLE. Old-Time, Breakdown. USA, Kentucky. C Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AB. J.P. Fraley shifts into the 3rd position to play some of the unison 'e' notes, and stays in that position for some succeeding notes. Maysville is a small town on the Ohio River, the county seat of Mason County. Titon (2001) records that this is where source J.P. Fraley's father, Richard, brought his tobacco crop to be sold. John Hartford (and others) played the tune a bit up-tempo a few times, then down-tempo for later repeats; the story being that Richard Fraley played the tune with enthusiasm on the way to market, but on the return trip, suffering the effects of celebrating the sale, he played the tune "draggy."

J.P. Fraley

Source for notated version: J.P. Fraley (1924-2011, Denton, Kentucky) [Titon].

Printed sources: The Devil's Box, vol. 29, No. 4, 1995; p. 19. Titon (Old-Time Kentucky Fiddle Tunes), 2001; No. 102, p. 131.

Recorded sources: Rounder CD-0351, J.P. & Annadeene Fraley - "Maysville" (learned from his father, Richard Fraley). John Hartford - "Wild Hog in the Red Brush."

See also listing at:
Jane Keefer's Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources [1]

---