Annotation:McCraw's Ford

Back to McCraw's Ford

McCRAW'S FORD. AKA - "McGraw's Ford." AKA and see "Brown's Dream (2)," "Doc Brown's Dream." Old-Time, Breakdown. USA, Missouri. G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AA'B. McCraw's Ford is the name of a river crossing on the James River, near Springfield, Missouri. An apparently true "fiddler's dream" tale is attached to the melody in which a country doctor named Brown, fell asleep in his buggy while being driven to a house call, a not uncommon occurrence for a weary country medic. He dreamed the tune as the horse approached the ford of the title, only to be awakened when the animal steered into deep water and the buggy lurched. Brown awoke and told the driver to remind him in the morning of a tune he had dreamt, and when he returned home he found he was able to play it. The tune is sometimes called "Brown's Dream" or "Doc Brown's Dream" as a result. It was passed along to Galbraith family members by the doctor, who also happened to be in attendance at Art's birth. McCraw's Ford was adjacent to the Galbraith family farm, and Beisswenger & McCann (2008) relate that it annoyed the McCraw family no end when they would be asked for 'McGraw's Ford', the name of the ford in popular usage (as it was perhaps a bit easier to pronounce). Drew Beisswenger (2008) notices similarities in the 'A' part with "Fat Meat and Dumplings" and "Green Corn."

See also Howard Marshall's Play Me Something Quick and Devilish (2013, pp. 91-92). A bridge on Missouri 125 at the site of the ford was built in 1947, and replaced with a more modern structure in 2010.

Source for notated version: Art Galbraith (1909-1993, near Springfield, Mo.), learned from family members [Beisswenger & McCann].

Printed sources: Beisswenger & McCann (Ozark Fiddle Music), 2008; p. 40.

Recorded sources: Rounder Records 0133, Art Galbraith - "Dixie Blossoms" (1981).