Annotation:Good for the Tongue
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GOOD FOR THE TONGUE. AKA and see "Jenkin's Hornpipe," "Stoney Steps (The)," "Stony Steps (The)," "Washington Hornpipe." American, Breakdown or Hornpipe. USA; Nebraska, Missouri. B Flat Major (Christeson, Cole, Ford, Howe, Phillips, White): A Major (Silberberg, Songer). Standard tuning (fiddle). AB (Silberberg): AABB (most versions). The title and the melody's presence in Ryan's Mammoth Collection (1883) suggests this was once employed as a brass band tune (as was, for example, "Ned Kendall's Hornpipe"), a genre popular in the mid-19th century, and originally meant to be played on an instrument that featured 'tonguing' articulation of notes, like a coronet. However, Scottish sources ("Jenkins' Hornpipe") seem to predate brass band usage, and it appears as an untitled tune in a manuscript from the North East of England dating the the early 19th century [1], set in the key of 'C'. The manuscript is signed "C.J. Surtees" but entries are in many hands. Missouri fiddler Cyril Stinnett (1912-1986) thought it one of the more difficult tunes in his repertoire. Northwest U.S. fiddlers have changed the original key to A major. See also the closely related tune "White Fish in the Rapids."
Source for notated version: Bob Walters (1889-1960, Burt County, Nebraska) [Christeson, Phillips]; Deborah and Creighton Lindsay (Portland, Oregon) [Songer]; Cathie Whitesides [Silberberg].
Printed sources: R.P. Christeson (Old Time Fiddlers Repertory, vol. 2), 1984; p. 25. Cole (1000 Fiddle Tunes), 1940; p. 92. Ford (Traditional Music in America), 1940; p. 96. Howe (1000 Jigs and Reels), c. 1867; p. 80. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), vol. 2, 1995; p. 195. Songer (Portland Collection), 1997; p. 85. Ryan's Mammoth Collection, 1883. Silberberg (Tunes I Learned at Tractor Tavern), 2002; p. 54. White's Unique Collection, 1896; No. 142, p. 25.
Recorded sources: Great Meadow Music CD 2008, Bob McQuillen and Friends - "Old New England" (1996). Missouri State Old Time Fiddlers' Association, Bob Walters - "Drunken Wagoneer." Laurie Andres - "Fantastic Hornpipe" (1991. learned from Bob Childs and Greg Boardman, who had the tune from Maine dance musician Otto Sopher).
See also listing at:
Jane Keefer's Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources [2]