Annotation:Hung My Jawbone on the Fence
Tune properties and standard notation
HUNG MY JAWBONE ON THE FENCE. AKA - "I Hung My Jawbone," "Jawbone." Old-Time, Breakdown. USA, Arkansas. A Major. AEae tuning (fiddle). AABB'CC'. The tune was recorded by the Library of Congress by musicologist/folklorist Vance Randolph from Ozark Mountain fiddlers in the early 1940's. Source Lon Jordan sang several ditty verses in the 'B', of which only one line is clearly decipherable:
Hung my jawbone on the fence,
Ain't seen nothin' of my jawbone since.
Although this tune has no musical relation to the similarly-titled tune "Jawbone," the ditty line is shared between the two tunes, points out Drew Beisswenger (2008). He also finds similar verses in "Give the Fiddler a Dram" (as played by Kentucky fiddler James Crase, for example), but, again, the music differs.
Source for notated version: Lon Jordoan (early-mid 20the century, Framington, Ark.) [Beisswenger & McCann].
Printed sources: Beisswenger & McCann (Ozarks Fiddle Music), 2008; p. 87 (appears as "I Hung My Jawbone").
Recorded sources: