Annotation:Hell Broke Loose in Georgia (1)
Tune properties and standard notation
HELL BROKE LOOSE IN GEORGIA. AKA and see "There's No Hell in Georgia," "Hell Bound for Alabama," "Been to the East Been to the West," "Great Big Yam Potatoes." Old-Time, Breakdown. C Major ('A', 'B' and 'D' parts) & A Minor ('C' part). Standard tuning (fiddle). AABCC'DD'. The title perhaps dates to the gold rush in Georgia before the settlement of Gordon County in 1850 (approx. c. 1830). There are three distinct fiddle tunes that have been identified with this title. The tune was used in 1899 in a Gallatin Tenn. fiddle contest as a category tune - each fiddler played a version, with the best version winning a prize (all fiddlers playing a rendition of the same commonly known tune was formerly a common way of structuring fiddle contests) [C.Wolfe, The Devil's Box, vol. 14, No.4, 12/1/80]. Cauthen (1990) finds reference to a Georgia fiddler, Ben Smith, who served with the 12th Alabama Infantry in the Civil War, and was known to have played the tune in that conflict. She also cites A.B. Moore in his History of Alabama (1934) who said it was one of the standard tunes in the square dance fiddler's repertoire. The melody "Streak O' Lean Streak O' Fat" is related to Phillips' version of the tune, as is "Big Footed Nigger (2)" and "Possum Up a Gum Stump (2)." This was the four-part version recorded by the Skillet Lickers. The title appears in a list of traditional Ozark Mountain fiddle tunes compiled by musicologist/folklorist Vance Randolph, published in 1954.
Source for notated version: Ruthie Dornfeld (Seattle) [Phillips].
Printed sources: Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), vol. 1, 1994; p. 110. Songer (Portland Collection), 1997; p. 94.
Recorded sources: County 526, "The Skillet Lickers, vol. 2" (1975). Heritage 048, Lowe Stokes - "Georgia Fiddle Bands" (Brandywine, 1982). Oken 45018 (78 RPM), Fiddlin' John Carson (Atlanta, Ga.). Ruthie Dornfeld and the American Café Orchestra - "Egyptian Dominoes." PearlMae Muisc 004-2, Jim Taylor - "The Civil War Collection" (1996. The Skillet Lickers' 1920's version).