Big Eyed Rabbit (2)

Big Eyed Rabbit (2) Click on the tune title to see or modify Big Eyed Rabbit (2)'s annotations. If the link is red you can create them using the form provided.Browse Properties <br/>Special:Browse/:Big Eyed Rabbit (2) Query the Archive
Theme code Index	1132 1111
Also known as
Composer/Core Source
Region	United States
Genre/Style	Old-Time
Meter/Rhythm	Reel (single/double)
Key/Tonic of	A
Accidental	3 sharps
Mode	Ionian (Major)
Time signature	4/4
History	USA/Upland South"USA/Upland South" is not in the list (IRELAND(Munster), IRELAND(Connaught), IRELAND(Leinster), IRELAND(Ulster), SCOTLAND(Argyll and Bute), SCOTLAND(Perth and Kinross), SCOTLAND(Dumfries and Galloway), SCOTLAND(South Ayrshire), SCOTLAND(North East), SCOTLAND(Highland), ...) of allowed values for the "Has historical geographical allegiances" property., USA/Piedmont"USA/Piedmont" is not in the list (IRELAND(Munster), IRELAND(Connaught), IRELAND(Leinster), IRELAND(Ulster), SCOTLAND(Argyll and Bute), SCOTLAND(Perth and Kinross), SCOTLAND(Dumfries and Galloway), SCOTLAND(South Ayrshire), SCOTLAND(North East), SCOTLAND(Highland), ...) of allowed values for the "Has historical geographical allegiances" property., USA/Southeast"USA/Southeast" is not in the list (IRELAND(Munster), IRELAND(Connaught), IRELAND(Leinster), IRELAND(Ulster), SCOTLAND(Argyll and Bute), SCOTLAND(Perth and Kinross), SCOTLAND(Dumfries and Galloway), SCOTLAND(South Ayrshire), SCOTLAND(North East), SCOTLAND(Highland), ...) of allowed values for the "Has historical geographical allegiances" property., USA/Deep South"USA/Deep South" is not in the list (IRELAND(Munster), IRELAND(Connaught), IRELAND(Leinster), IRELAND(Ulster), SCOTLAND(Argyll and Bute), SCOTLAND(Perth and Kinross), SCOTLAND(Dumfries and Galloway), SCOTLAND(South Ayrshire), SCOTLAND(North East), SCOTLAND(Highland), ...) of allowed values for the "Has historical geographical allegiances" property.
Structure	AA'BB'
Editor/Compiler	Biography:A.P. Spandaro
Book/Manuscript title	Book:10 Cents a Dance
Tune and/or Page number	p. 38
Year of publication/Date of MS	1980
Artist	Biography:Stripling Brothers
Title of recording
Record label/Catalogue nr.	Vocalion 5412 (78 RPM)
Year recorded	1929
Media
Score ()

<abc float="left"> X:2 T:Big Eyed Rabbit M:C| L:1/8 R:Reel N:AEae tuning S:Kirk Sutphin N:From a transcription by John Lamancusa, by permission. See http://www.mne.psu.edu/lamancusa/tunes.htm Z:AK/Fiddler's Companion K:A EF |: A2 AA cA B2 | A3B A2 (A2 | A)BAc BAcA | f3e f2 (f2 | f)gaa afed | ce2f e2 fe | cBcB AGFE | B3 c BABc | AcBA FEFG |1 A3B A2 EF :|2 A3B A2 (A2 ||: A)cBA FEFE | B3 c BABc | AcBA FEFG |1 A3 B A2 (A2 :|2 A3B A2 || </abc>

BIG-EYED RABBIT [2]. Old-Time, Breakdown. USA; Alabama, Mississippi, western North Carolina. A Major. AEae (e.g. Tommy Jarrell, Kirk Sutphin) or Standard tuning. ABB (irregular 'A' part): AABB (Silberberg). Recorded by Quitman, Mississippi, fiddler Charles Long in 1939 in the field for the Library of Congress.

Yonder comes a rabbit,
Fast as he can run,
If I see another one,
Gonna shoot him with a double-barrel gun.
Gonna shoot him with my gun.

Yonder comes a rabbit,
Slippin' through the sand,
Shoot that rabbit, he don't care,
Fry him in my pan,
Fry him in my pan.

Chorus:
Rockin' in a weary land (x2)
or Big-eyed rabbit's gone, gone (x2)

Yonder comes my darlin',
How do I know?
Know her by her bright blue eyes,
Shinein' bright like gold,
Shinein' bright like gold. (Tommy Jarrell/Plank Road String Band).

Bob Woodcock (Pa.) supplied this verse (a coney is an old English term for a rabbit-Coney Island=Rabbit Island):

Coney on the island, coney on the run,
I'll get that rabbit in my pan, I'll shoot him with my gun.

The tune, as recorded in the 1920's by the Alabama old-time duo the Stripling Brothers, shows up in some remarkable places. The Striplings' record was reissued (as were several American old-time sides) in Québec, albeit with a new title in French. In the case of "Big-Eyed Rabbit," the tune was renamed "Le reel de la Malbaie." The melody was also picked up in Ireland where it was rendered as a barn dance, where, for example the famous Ulster fiddler Sean Maguire recorded it as the first tune of his "Canadian Barndance" (a Canadian Barn Dance is a type of progressive couples dance popular in Ireland and Scotland-many 2/4 tunes have been the vehicle for the dance).

Sources for notated versions: Liz Slade (Yorktown, New York) [Kuntz]; Bruce Reid [Silberberg].

Printed sources: Kuntz, Private Collection. Silberberg (Tunes I Learned at Tractor Tavern), 2002; p. 8. Spandaro (10 Cents a Dance), 1980; p. 38.

Recorded sources: Carryon Records 005, "The Renegades" (1993). County 401, "The Stripling Brothers." County CO-CD-2711, Kirk Sutphin - "Old Roots and New Branches" (1994). Mountain 310, Tommy Jarrell - "Joke on the Puppy" (1976. Learned brom his father.). Vocalion 5412 (78 RPM), Stripling Brothers (Ala., played in C Major) {1929}.

X:1 T:Big Eyed Rabbit [2] M:C| L:1/8 K:A c4 c3c |BA A2 A2cB | ABcA B2c2 | d3d d4 | d2d2f2f2 | e2e2 d4 :| |: c2 B2 A2 F2 | B3c B2BB | cBAc BAFG | A2 AB A4 :||

__NORICHEDITOR__