Annotation:Snow Deer
X: 539 T:Snow Deer L:1/8 M:C| S: Viola "Mom" Ruth - Pioneer Western Folk Tunes (1948) K:G 2D2G2A2|"G"B2 BA B2 BA|B2G2F2G2|"A"A2 AB A2AB|A2G2F2E2| "D"D4(A4|A2)F2E2_E2|"G"D4(B4|B2)D2G2A2|B2 BA B2BA| B2G2F2G2|"A"A2AB A2AB|A2G2F2E2|"D"D4(A4|A2)^G2A2B2| "G"(=G8|G2)G2A2B2||"C"c4(E4|E2)G2F2E2|"G"D4(B4|B4)B3c|"D7"B2A2A2^G2| A4A3B|"G"A2G2G2F2|"G7"G2G2A2B2|"C"c4(E4|E2)G2F2E2|"G"D4(B4| B4)B3c|"D7"B2A2A2^G2|A2c2B2A2|"G"(G8|G2)|]
Snow Deer. American, Canadian; Two‑Step or Polka (2/4 time). USA; Michigan, Arizona, Pennsylvania, North Carolina. G Major (Johnson, Phillips): D Major. Standard tuning. AB (Johnson): AA'BB' (Phillips).In the repertory of Arizona fiddler Kenner C. Kartchner, who said it was a "pioneer song of long ago." In actuality it was a Tin-Pan-Alley song by Percy Wenrich who composed it around the end of the first decade of the twentieth century, during the craze for ethnic American Indian songs. Johnson (1986) says it is a popular tune with Michigan fiddlers, and indeed from its tin-pan-alley beginnings it entered traditional North American fiddle repertoire, influenced by the 1961 Bob Wills recording featuring twin fiddles. Most older Pennsylvania fiddlers know and play the tune, according to Robert Buckingham, “always in harmony if there are two or more fiddlers.” It was in the repertoire of Sandhills/Cape Fear, North Carolina, regional fiddler Lauchlin Shaw, though it was uncharacteristic of most of his repertoire of reels and waltzes. Also in repertoire of New Brunswick, Canada, fiddler Ned Landry, and recorded by other Canadian fiddlers including Don Messer and Al Cherny.
