Annotation:Old Cow Died in the Forks of the Branch

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OLD COW DIED IN THE FORKS OF THE BRANCH. Old-Time, Song. USA; northern Alabama, North Carolina, Kentucky. G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). The title (and also a verse) has been a "floater" in the old-time tradition, and refers to the death of a cow at the confluence of a stream. In the repertory of Tuscaloosa, Alabama fiddler E.D. "Monkey" Brown (1897-1972).

The old cow died in the forks of the branch,
The old cow died in the forks of the branch;
The old cow died in the forks of the branch,
Oh, them buzzards, how they danced.

Source for notated version:

Printed sources:

Recorded sources: County 788, Clyde Davenport (Monticello, Ky.) - "Clydeoscope: Rare and Beautiful Tunes from the Cumberland Plateau" (1986. A banjo tune/song learned from his father.). Field Recorders Collective FRC103 & FRC104, "Clyde Davenport."

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