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Revision as of 15:10, 4 October 2014
Back to Green Back Dollar
GREEN BACK DOLLAR. AKA - "Green Backed Dollar Bill," "Old Greenback Dollar." Old-Time, Breakdown and Song. USA; Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma. A Major (Thede): C Major (Hartford, New Lost City Ramblers). AEae or Standard tunings (fiddle). AAB. The American 'greenback', the one dollar bill printed by the federal government, did not make its appearance until 1861, when the first national paper money was issued. Prior to that year paper money was exclusively in script, printed by local banks and guaranteed by them for the note's value in metal. Unfortunately, this promise of exchange was only as good as the extent one knew and trusted the solvency of any particular bank, and the farther script travelled from its source, the more its actual trade value varied. The title appears in a list of traditional Ozark Mountain fiddle tunes compiled by musicologist/folklorist Vance Randolph, published in 1954.
Over the hill and down the holler,
All I want is a greenback dollar (x2)
Over the hill and down the holler,
All I want is a sweet little mama (x2)
John Hartford (2001) says that fiddler Howdy Forrester played two versions of "Greenback Dollar," the standard form and "one (form) he said the way his people played it was 'lengthened out'". Forrester's family was from Hickman County, Tennessee. Hartford says "Greenback Dollar" is "essentially an old tune called 'Possum Up a Gum Stump (1)'." Early Grand Ole' Opry star Dr. Humphrey Bate recorded "Greenback Dollar" in his only Atlanta session, backed by a band that included middle-Tennessee fiddler Oscar Stone. This version has similarities to "Billy in the Lowground (1)."
Sources for notated versions: Pat Turney (Okpuskee County, Oklahoma) [Thede]; John Hartford [Phillips].
Printed sources: Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes, vol. 1), 1994; p. 104. Thede (The Fiddle Book), 1967; p. 91.
Recorded sources: Brunswick 275 (78 RPM), 1928, Dr. Humphrey Bate and His Possum Hunters (Nashville, Tenn.). Columbia 15300 (78 RPM), Weems String Band. Folkways FA 2492, New Lost City Ramblers - "String Band Instrumentals" (1964. Learned from the Weems String Band recording). Rounder 0436, Bill Mustain - "Traditional Fiddle Music of the Ozarks, vol. 2: On the Springfield Plain." Rounder 0442, John Hartford - "Hamilton Ironworks" (2001).
See also listing at:
Jane Keefer's Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources [1]