Annotation:Belle of Lexington

Back to Belle of Lexington

BELLE OF LEXINGTON. AKA and see "Belle Election" (John Patterson's title), "Hauling Home (The)," "Kitty's Wedding (1)," "Mrs. Smith's Reel," "Smith's Delight," "Smith's Reel." Old-Time, Breakdown. USA; western Virginia (Grayson and Carroll Counties). D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. The tune, related to "Smith's Reel" and apparently derived from the Irish hornpipe "Kitty's Wedding (1)," was recorded by legendary southwestern Virginia fiddler Emmett Lundy (1864-1953, as "Belles of Lexington").

Source for notated version: Emmett Lundy (Galax, Va.) [Krassen]; Skip Gorman [Phillips]; Peter Boveng [Silberberg].

Printed sources: Krassen (Masters of Old Time Fiddling), 1983; p. 34. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), Vol. 1, 1994; p. 22. Silberberg (Tunes I Learned at Tractor Tavern), 2002; p. 7.

Recorded sources: Rounder Records 0058, John Patterson - "Old Originals, vol. 2" (1978. Also issued under Heritage 5).