Annotation:Rock all My Babies to Sleep

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X:1 T:Rock all the Babies to Sleep S:Lonnie Robertson (Missouri) M:3/4 L:1/8 D:Rounder Records 0375, "Lonnie's Breakdown" (1996) F:https://www.slippery-hill.com/recording/rock-all-babies-sleep Z:Transcribed by Andrew Kuntz K:G Bc|d2e2d2|c2d2 cd|BGDB,DG|B4 de|d2A2B2| c2(B/c/B)A2|(d4[d2g2])|[d4g4]Bc|d2e2d2|c2d2 cd| BGDB,DG|B4 de|d2A2B2|c2(B/c/B)A2|1G6-|G4:|2G6-|G3A Bc|| |:d2 bd b(d|c2) ac a(c|B2) gB (ga)|g2 (dc) Bc|A2[d3f3]-[dg]| fe dB (c/B/A)|G2 g3a|g2 B2c2|d2 bd b(d|c2) ac a2(c| B2) gf(ga)|g2 (dc) Bc|A2 fe fg|fe dB (c/B/A)|G2 g3a|1g2 B2c2:|2 g4||

ROCK ALL MY/THE BABIES TO SLEEP. Old-Time, Waltz (3/4 time). USA, Missouri. G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AA’BB. A waltz derived from a song of the same name that was recorded by a number of early country music stars, including Jimmie Rodgers (1932), Uncle Dave Macon (1926), and the Leake County Ramblers (1928). The lyrics depict a man who stays at home ‘rocking all the babies to sleep’, deserted by a wife who has left to enjoy the nightlife of the town. The song was derived from "Hush-a-bye Baby," recorded by George P. Watson in 1910.

The tune is known in Yorkshire as “Fire Burning Bright.”

Additional notes

Source for notated version: - Lonnie Robertson (1908-1981, Springfield, Mo.), who learned it in Shenandoah, Iowa, during a stint playing for a radio station there [Beisswenger & McCann].

Printed sources : - Beisswenger & McCann (Ozarks Fiddle Music), 2008; p. 125.

Recorded sources: - Bear Family Records ‎BCD 15540, Jimmie Rodgers ‎– "The Singing Brakeman" (1992). Rounder CD 0375, Lonnie Robertson – “Lonnie’s Breakdown” (1996. Originally recorded 1978).

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