Annotation:Pig in a Pen

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PIG IN THE PEN. AKA - "Pig in a Pen," "Pig at Home in a Pen." Old-Time, Bluegrass; Breakdown & Song. A popular piece in bluegrass tradition, although it started as an old-time piece. Tennessee’s Fiddlin’ Arthur Smith claimed to have composed it and did play it frequently on the radio, but Mike Yates (2002) believes some of the verses predate Smith. Verses vary, but usually are similar to:

Wish I had a pig in a pen, corn to feed him on;
Pretty little girl to stay at home, feed him when I’m gone.

Yates recorded Augusta County, Virginia, fiddler “Pug” Allen singing the same verse in his version of the tune “Nigger Trader Boatman,” and Yates also finds Charlie Woods’ “Pretty Girl Down the Road” to be a related piece.

Source for notated version:

Printed sources:

Recorded sources: Musical Traditions MTCD 321-2, Sam Connor & Dent Wimmer (et al) – “Far in the Mountains, vols. 1 & 2” (2002).

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

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