Annotation:Bumblebee in the Jug (1)

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X:1 T:Bumblebee in a Jug [1] N:From the playing of fiddler George Lee Hawkins N:(1904-1991, Bath County, northeastern Ky.), recorded N:in the field in 1974. M:C| L:1/8 Q:"Quick" D:Rounder 0376, George Hawkins - "Traditional Fiddle Music of Kentucky, vol. 1" (1974) D:https://www.slippery-hill.com/recording/bumblebee-jug Z:Transcribed by Andrew Kuntz K:C [G,2E2]-|[G,2E2][G,2E2][G,E]-[G,2G2]c|AFAc BGAB|[E2c2][E2c2] eged| Bded BG[G2B2]| G,-C2E G2Gc|AFAc B(G2[G,2G2])|[E3c3]d ecdc|[M:3/2]BG A2 [E6c6]:| |:[e2e2]-|[M:C|][ee]ged eged|"*"eged- cBA+slide+[AA]-|[AA]cAG AcAG|EGAc AG E2| [e4e4][e3e3][ee]-|[ee]gec- dcAG-|GBcd ecdc|[M:3/2]BGA(E[E2c2]) [Ec]d[E2c2]:|] P:Substituions "*"eged- cBA2|+slide+[A3A3][AA]- [AA]cAG||



BUMBLEBEE IN THE/A JUG, THE. AKA - "Bumblebee in a Jar." Old-Time, Breakdown. USA; Kentucky, Indianna. D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AAB (Phillips): AABB' (Songer). The coarse part is supposed to imitate a bee trapped in a jug. John Hartford (1996) traces the tune through successive fiddlers. Most modern versions derived from George "Geo" Lee Hawkins of Bath County, Kentucky, who learned it from Tom Riley whose parents had emigrated from Ireland to Flemming County, Kentucky. Tom Riley later moved to Marion County, Indiana, where Dick (John) Summers picked it up. Hawkins also taught the tune to Bruce Greene and Jane Harrod, from whom Hartford and Roger Cooper learned it. Hawkins and Cooper play the tune in the key of 'C'. Alfred Bailey also has a version of "Bumblebee in the Jug," that is distanced from the Hawkins tune.

Additional notes

Source for notated version: - fiddler Joel Shimberg [Phillips].

Printed sources : - Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), vol. 1, 1994; p. 42. Songer (Portland Collection), 1997; p. 42.

Recorded sources: -Rounder 0376, Geo Hawkins - "Traditional Fiddle Music of Kentucky, vol. 1." Rounder 0380, Roger Cooper (Garrison, Ky.). Rounder CD0392, John Hartford - "Wild Hog in the Red Brush and a Bunch of Others You Might Not Have Heard" (1996).

See also listing at:
Jane Keefer's Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources [1]
Hear George Hawkins' 1977 rendition of the tune recorded by John Harrod at Berea Digital Content [2]
Hear Alan Jabbour's version at Berea Digital Content [3]
Hear Alfred Baily's version at Berea Digital Content, recorded by John Harrod in 1986 [4]



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