Big Footed Nigger (in the Sandy Land) (1)

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Theme code Index	1H1H1H1H 6355
Also known as
Composer/Core Source
Region	United States
Genre/Style	Old-Time
Meter/Rhythm	Reel (single/double)
Key/Tonic of	G
Accidental	1 sharp
Mode	Ionian (Major)
Time signature	4/4
History	USA(Upland South), USA(Piedmont), USA(Southeast)
Structure	AABB
Editor/Compiler	Biography:Stacy Phillips
Book/Manuscript title	Book:Traditional American Fiddle Tunes vol. 1
Tune and/or Page number	p. 23
Year of publication/Date of MS	1994
Artist	Biography:Stripling Brothers
Title of recording	Big Footed N....r in the Sandy Lot
Record label/Catalogue nr.	Vocalion 5321 (78 RPM)
Year recorded	1928
Media
Score ()

BIG-FOOTED NIGGER (IN THE SANDY LAND) [1]. AKA - "Bigfoot." AKA and see "Big-Footed N....r/Man (in the Sandy Lot)," "Sandy Lot," "Big-Footed Man," "Big-Footed Coon," "Virginia Reel." Old-Time, Breakdown. USA; N.C., Ala., Miss., Tenn. G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. The tune is a mixture of phrases from common dance tunes. The coarse phrase, played on the middle strings will be recognized from the "Turkey in the Straw"-"Natchez Under the Hill (1)"-"Zip Coon" tune family, while the fine part will be found in tunes like "Fort Smith (1)" and "Fort Smith Breakdown (2)" (as played by Ozark old-time musician Luke Highnight). Charles Wolfe says the Stripling Brothers (Charlie and Ira) learned the tune from local West Alabama fiddlers (Devil's Box, Dec. 1982), and Robert Fleder (1971) relates (in liner notes to the County album of Stripling Brothers releases) that Charlie Stripling recalled "waking up one morning at 3:00 with the second part of the tune running through his head, having heard it played only once earlier in the evening by a neighbor, Henry Ludlow." Stripling was a contest fiddler, and the recording of "Big Footed Man in the Sandy Lot" includes a 'trick' or feature that helped him impress judges and win in competitions; in the midddle of the song he inserts a chorus of "Sweet Bye & Bye."

Sources for notated versions: Liz Slade (Yorktown, New York) [Kuntz]; Charlie Stripling (Alabama) [Phillips].

Kuntz, Private Collection. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes, vol. 1), 1994; p. 23.

Recorded sources: Recorded by the Roane County (East Tenn.) Ramblers {1929}. County 401, "The Stripling Brothers." Library of Congress AFS 4806-H-3, Osey Helton (Western N.C.). Library of Congress recording, 1939, W.A. Bledsoe, Meridian, Mississippi (appears as "Big Footed N....r in a Sandy Lot" and was learned from his father in Lincoln County, Tennessee). Mississippi Department of Archives and History AH-002, W.A. Bledsoe - "Great Big Yam Potatoes: Anglo-American Fiddle Music from Mississippi" (1939). Rounder 0197, Bob Carlin - "Banging and Sawing" (1985). Vocalion 5321 (78 RPM), Stripling Brothers (Pickens Cty., Alabama; learned from Henry Ludlow) {1928} [appears as "Big-Footed N....r in the Sandy Lot"].

X:2
T:Big Footed Man in the Sandy Lot
R:Reel
M:4/4
L:1/8
N:From Greg Canote
Z:Transcribed by Bruce Thomson
K:G
|:gage gagf|edBc d4|e3g adBc|[d3f3] [fd] [d4f4]|
gage gagf|edBc d4|BAGB AGED|[G3B3] [GB] [G4B4]:|
|:G2BG AGBG|AGEF G4|e3g edBc|d3d d4|
gage gagf|edBc d4|BAGB AGFD|[G3B3][GB] [G4B4]:|

X:1
T:Bigfoot
M:2/4
L:1/8
S:Liz Slade
K:G
(3D/E/F/|G)A/A/ BA/(B/|B/)D/G/E/ D(3D/E/F/|G)A/A/ B/A/G/(D/|E>)(DE/)(3D/E/F/|
G)A/A/ BA/(B/|B/)D/G/E/ DD/D/|D/(E/D/)(D/ E)F|(G/ B) (G/ B:|
|:(e|g/)(a/g/)g/ (g/e/)d|e/f/e/(d/ B/)B/d|(e/ e) (e/ ef|e/(d/B/)B/ d(e|
g)g/g/ g/e/d|e/f/e/A/ G(A/(B/|B/)A/d/(A/ B/A/)G|(C/ E) (C/ E:||