Annotation:Creek's All Muddy and the Pond's All Dry (The)

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X:1 T:Creek's all Muddy, Pond's all Dry M:2/2 L:1/8 S:Thomas Jefferson "Duck" Wootan (1882-1864, Kimble County, central Texas) N:From a 1958 home recording by Tim Wooten N:GDgd tuning (fiddle) F:https://www.slippery-hill.com/recording/creeks-all-muddy-ponds-all-dry Z:Transcribed by Andrew Kuntz K:G [G,2D2]e2d2ed|Bded d3d|dedB A2G2 |EGGA G2 ((3GFE)| [G,2D2]e2d2ed|Bded d4|dedB A2G2 |EGGA G4|| |:[D2_B2][DB]G A2 GA|[D_B]A[DB]A G2 AG|[D_B]ABA BdBG|EGGA G4:|

CREEK'S ALL MUDDY AND THE POND'S ALL DRY. American, Reel (cut time). USA, Texas. G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). ABB. "Creek's/Spring's all Muddy and the Pond's all Dry" is the name of fiddle tunes in the repertoire of Pocahontas County, West Virginia, fiddler Burl Hammons (1931-2018), and Thomas Jefferson "Duck" Wootan (1882-1964) of Kimble County, central Texas. The title comes from a line in the third verse of a folk song called "Bird Song," which McNeil claims is derived from the Child ballad (No. 26) "The Three Ravens," first published in 1611. The West Virginia verse from the "Bird Song" goes:

Well, said the shitepoke to the crow,
Now, don't you wish that it would snow;
The creek's all muddy and the pond's all dry,
If it wasn't for the tadpoles, we'd all die.

The "Creek's all muddy" phrase has become detached from any original source, however, and has been in wide circulation, even as a response to the query "How's it going"..."Creek's all muddy and the pond's all dry" i.e. 'I've got challenges'. See the similarly titled "Spring's all Muddy and the Pond's all Dry" for the Burl Hammons tune, a different melody then that played by Wootan.

Additional notes

Source for notated version: -

Printed sources : -

Recorded sources: -

See also listing at:
See another standard notation transcription of Wootan's version (interpreted by Spencer & Rains) in the key of 'A' at taterjoes.com [1]

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