Annotation:Nelly Grey
X:1 T:Nelly Gray M:C L:1/8 R:Air S:Kerr - Merry Melodies, vol. 2, No. 403 (c. 1880's) Z:AK/Fiddler's Companion K:G B>c|d>^cd>e d>BA>G|c>de>f g2 f>e|d>d^c>d e>dB>G|A2d2D2 B>c| d>^cd>e d>BA>G|c>de>f g2 f>e|e2 Bd d>cA>F|G2 [B2g2][B2g2]:| |:A>B|c>cc>c c2 d>c|c>BB>B B2 G>B|d>d^c>d e>dB>G|A2d2D2 B>c| d>^cd>e d>BA>G|c>de>f g2 fe|d2 B>d d>cA>F|G2 [B2g2][B2g2]:|
NELLY GRAY. American; Air, Schottische, "Sand Jig" (4/4 time). G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. Composed in 1856 by Ohio minister and schoolteacher Benjamin Russell Hanby as "Darling Nellie Gray," about a slave who is sold away from her beloved to work on a plantation in Geogia. The popular song fueled abolitionist sympathies. It was variously arranged in tradition as an air, stage vehicle (for a sand jig, a solo dance on a sanded stage), and a play party game. 78RPM-era recordings were numerous, by early country music stars that included the Stanley Trio (1924), Riley Puckett (1924), Vernon Dalhart (1925), Al Hopkins (1927) and Carson Robison (1930). See also note for "Annotation:Darling Nellie Gray" for more, and the excellent tune history at the Banjo Hangout site [1].
