Annotation:Possum's Tail is Bare (The)

Back to Possum's Tail is Bare (The)

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POSSUM’S TAIL IS BARE, THE. Old-Time, Breakdown & Song. D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. This version of the tune is sourced to Braxton County, West Virginia, fiddler Melvin Wine (1909-2003). Verses sung to this tune are numerous and include:

Melvin Wine

Squirrel’s got a bushy tail, rabbit’s got the hair,
The old coon’s tail has rings all around, but the possum’s tail is bare.

Oh the possum’s tail is bare, oh, the possum’s tail is bare,
The old coon’s tail has rings all around, but the possum’s tail is bare.

Take an old possum by the tail, then we’ll skin him on a rail,
Never ever more will he be seen, grinning at the moon.

Grinnnin’ at the moon, grinning at the moon,
Never ever more will he be seen, grinning at the moon. ... (Melvin Wine)

Source for notated version:

Printed sources: Silberberg (Tunes I Learned at Tractor Tavern), 2002; p. 121.

Recorded sources:

See also listing at:
Hear Melvin Wine play the tune in a 1994 performance at Berea Digital Archives [1]
Hear/See David Bragger's medium paced version on youtube.com [2]

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