Annotation:Hunting the Buffalo
Tune properties and standard notation
HUNTING THE BUFFALO. AKA and see "Hunting for the Buffalo," "We're Gonna Hunt the Buffalo." Old-Time, Breakdown. USA, Arkansas. A Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. The melody is apparently not related (according to Drew Beisswenger) to an old play-party song from the Ozarks, with similar and various titles such as "Shoot the Buffalo" and "Gonna Go Huntin' for the Buffalo." Mike Seegar plays a version learned from Jimmy Driftwood (1907-1998, born John Morris of Timbo, Arkansas), who had the tune from his two fiddler uncles who lived in Indian territory for years. They played it in BEgb tuning (an E minor chord).
Source for notated version: Barb Zavon (Cincinnati, Ohio) via Helga Sermat (Vancouver, B.C.) [Songer]; Jimmie Driftwood [Beisswenger & McCann].
Printed sources: Beisswenger & McCann (Ozarks Fiddle Music), 2008; p. 182. Songer (Portland Collection), 1997; p. 105.
Recorded sources: Dorian Discovery DIS-80103, Helicon - "Horizons" (1992. Learned from fiddler Freyda Epstein, Charlottesville, Va.). HPV1, Ramona Jones - "Back Porch Fiddling." Shanachie 6001, Norman Blake - "Just Gimme Somethin' I'm Used To" (1991). Time and Strike #7785, Clyde Curley and Oxymorons - "Old Time Mandolin Music."
See also listing at:
Jane Keefer's Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources [1]