Annotation:Sheep Shell Corn by the Rattling of His Horn
X:1 T: Sheep Shell Corn by the Rattling of His Horn S: Emmett Lundy (1864-1953, Galax, Va.) M:C| L:1/8 R:Reel N:1941 field recording by Alan Lomax, Joe Liss & Jerome Wiesner from the N:playing of Emmett Lundy (fid.), Kelly Lundy (gtr.) & Joe Liss (bj.) D:Library of Congress AFS 04947 B01, Emmett Lundy (1941) D:String Records STR802, Emmett W. Lundy - "Fiddle Tunes from D:Grayson County, Va." (1977). F:https://www.slippery-hill.com/recording/sheep-shell-corn-rattling-his-horn Z:Transribed by Andrew Kuntz K:A c-|e2cc e2cc-|BABc (d[d2f2])(f|e)ccc eccc|BABc A3:| K:D (A|d)dfd edee|dd[d2f2] {f}[d3g3]g|fdfd ecec|BAB-c A3(A| d)dfd edee|dd[d2f2] {f}[d3g3]g|fgaf- e2ce| BAcB A2||
SHEEP SHELL CORN BY THE RATTLING OF HIS HORN. AKA - "Sheep Shuckin' Corn," "Sheepy Shell Corn." AKA and see "Fuller's Reel." American, Reel (cut time). USA; Virginia, Arkansas. A Major ('A' part) & D Major/A Major ('B' part). Standard tuning (fiddle). AB (Silberberg): AABB (Kuntz, Phillips). "Sheep Shell Corn" is a Galax, southwestern Virginia, standard, and was in the repertoire of older fiddlers such as biography:Emmett Lundy (1864-1953) and biography:Luther Davis (1887-1986). However, the title (as "Sheepie Shell Corn") appears in a list of traditional Ozarks Mountains fiddle tunes compiled by musicologist/folklorist Vance Randolph, published in 1954. If Ozarks fiddler George Mert Reves' version is representative, then the tune is quite distanced from the one played by Galax musicians. Contemporary Mid-West fiddler Brad Leftwich calls the melody "Fuller's Reel" after his source, who had no name for it.
Never seen the like since I was born,
Sheep shell corn by the rattlin' of his horn.
Corn's in the cupboard and the butter's in the churn,
Never seen the like since I was born.
Sheep shell corn by the rattle of his horn,
Never seen the like since I was born.
Sheep shell corn by the rattle of his horn,
Swing that gal with the red dress on. .... [Highwoods]
African-American collector Thomas Talley (born c. 1870) printed a song called “Sheep Shell Corn” in his 1922 book Negro Folk Rhymes (set to a completely different tune), that contains the first line of the song (as sung by the Highwoods String Band), but introduces a supernatural element to the lyric:
De Ram blow de ho’n an’ de sheep shell co’n;
An’ he sen’ it to de mill by de buck-eyed Whoppoorwill.
Ole Joe’s dead an’ gone but his Hant blows de ho’n;
An’ his hound howls still from de top o’ dat hill.
De Fish-hawk said unto Mistah Crane;
I wishes to de Lawd dat you’d sen’ a liddle rain;
Fer de water’s all muddy, an de creek’s gone dry;
If it ‘twasn’t fer de tadpoles we’d all die.
When de sheep shell co’n wid de rattle of his ho’n, I wishes to de Lawd I’d never been bo’n; Caze when he Hant blows de ho’n, de sperits all dance, An’ de hosses an’ de cattle, dey whirls ‘round an’ prance.
Yonder comes Skilled an’ dere goes Pot; An here comes Jawbone ‘cross de lot. Walk Jawbone! Beat de Skilled an’ de Pat! You cut dat Pigeon’s Wing, Black Man!
Take keer, gemmuns, an’ let me through, Caze I’se gwinter dance wid liddle Mollie Lou. But I’se never seed de lak since I’se been born, When de sheep shell co’on wid de rattle of his ho’n!