Annotation:Monkey on the Dogcart

Back to Monkey on the Dogcart

MONKEY ON/IN A/THE DOG CART. Old-Time, Breakdown. USA; Mississippi, Missouri. C Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AA'BB. The tune was recorded for the Library of Congress by musicologist/folklorist Vance Randolph from Ozark Mountain fiddlers in the early 1940's. However, the tune appears to have not been associated with Ozarks fiddling prior to the Leake County Revelers' recording, which seems to be the source for the tune and title.

Sometimes the following ditty is sung in the second strain:

Monkey in a dog cart, dollar in his hand;
Monkey in a dog cart, looks/dressed like a little man.

Source for notated version: Wil Gilmer with the Leake County Revelers [Phillips].

Printed sources: Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes, vol. 1), 1994; p. 157.

Recorded sources: County 532, "The Leake County Revelers: 1927-1930 Recordings" (1975). Voyager 340, Jim Herd - "Old Time Ozark Fiddling" (Learned from the Leake County Revelers recording. Herd was originally from the Missouri Ozarks). Northwest Folklife (cass.), Jim Herd - "Washington Traditional Fiddler's Project, vol. 1" (1993).

See also listing at:
Jane Keefer's Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources [1]