Annotation:Saddle Old Spike (1)

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X:1 T:Saddle Old Spike [1] S:Fred Stoneking M:4/4 L:1/8 K:A cB|A2f2e2c2|ecAc BAFE|A2f2 ec BA|Bc4...

SADDLE OLD SPIKE [1]. Old-Time, Breakdown. USA, Missouri. A Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. The tune was recorded for the Library of Congress by musicologist/folklorist Vance Randolph from the playing of Ozarks Mountains fiddlers in the early 1940's. Fred Stoneking says: “Back in the ‘twenties, there was a guy by the name of Lum Varner and he had a younger brother called Jim. When Lum was about twenty years old, he made up this tune and called it ‘Saddle Old Kate.’ But those brothers had a little fall-out on account of being jealous of each other’s fiddling ability. So they parted company. The problem was that Jim loved that tune too. He was so mad at his bother that he called the tune after his own horse which was Spike. A friend of mine named Joe knew Jim and that’s how it came down to me as ‘Saddle Old Spike.’” See related lyrics for “Little Home To Go To” or “Got a Little Home to Go To.” Silberberg (93 Fiddle Tunes I Didn’t Learn at the Tractor Tavern), 2004; p. 38.

Additional notes

Source for notated version: - Fred Stoneking [Silberberg].

Printed sources : -

Recorded sources: - Rounder CD 0381, Fred Stoneking – “Saddle Old Spike: Fiddle Music from Missouri.”