Annotation:Big Footed Nigger (in the Sandy Land) (1)

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X:1 T:Big Footed N..... in the Sandy Lot [1], The S:The Stripling Brothers, Charlie (1896-1966) and Ira (1898-1967), west Alabama. M:C| L:1/8 Q:"Fast" R:Reel D:Vocalion 5321 (78 RPM), The Stripling Brothers (1928) F:https://www.slippery-hill.com/recording/big-footed-man-sandy-lot Z:Transcribed by Andrew Kuntz K:G ((3DEF|G2)G2 GFED|"*"G3G- G2((3ABd|e)e2e e2B2|d6(f2| g)age gagf|edBc d3(_B|=B)+slide+B2d AGEF| G6:| |:(f2|g)age gagf|edBc d3[de]-|[ee][e2e2]f e2B2|d5(f2 g)age gagf|edBc d3(_B|=B)+slide+B2d AGEF|1 G6:|2 G8-|G4|| P:Charlie Stripling inserts "Sweet Bye and Bye" after the 2nd time through on the recording g2a2|b4 a2g2| a4 gf e2|[M:6/4] d4- d4 g2a2| [M:C|]b4 b2 c'2|d'4 d'2c'2|[M:6/4] a4-a4 g2a2|[M:C|]b4 a2g2| a4 gf e2|[M:6/4]d4- d4 g2a2|[M:C|]b4 a2g2|a4 g2f2|g4- g2|| P:Substitutions: "*"DG2G G4(3ABd|

BIG-FOOTED N.....^[1] (IN THE SANDY LAND) [1]. AKA - "Bigfoot." AKA and see "Big-Footed N....r/Man (in the Sandy Lot)," "Sandy Lot," "Big-Footed Man," "Big-Footed Coon," "Virginia Reel." American, Reel (cut time). USA; N.C., Ala., Miss., Tenn. G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. The tune is a mixture of phrases from common dance tunes. The coarse phrase, played on the middle strings will be recognized from the "Turkey in the Straw"-"Natchez Under the Hill (1)"-"Zip Coon" tune family, while the fine part will be found in tunes like "Fort Smith (1)" and "Fort Smith Breakdown (2)" (as played by Ozarks old-time musician Luke Highnight). Charles Wolfe says the Stripling Brothers (Charlie and Ira) learned the tune from local West Alabama fiddlers (Devil's Box, Dec. 1982), and Robert Fleder (1971) relates (in liner notes to the County album of Stripling Brothers releases) that Charlie Stripling recalled "waking up one morning at 3:00 with the second part of the tune running through his head, having heard it played only once earlier in the evening by a neighbor, Henry Ludlow." Stripling was a contest fiddler, and the recording of "Big Footed Man in the Sandy Lot" includes a 'trick' or feature that helped him impress judges and win in competitions; in the middle of the song he inserts a chorus of "Sweet Bye & Bye." "Big Footed N.... in the Sandy Lot" was one of the first sides recorded by the brothers, for Brunswick Records (released on their subsidiary Vocalion label), when the recording company came to Birmingham, Alabama, in 1928 in search of talent. Subsequent sessions for Brunswick were held in Chicago. Later, the Striplings recorded for Decca records in New Orleans.

The tune was recorded in the field in 1941 by Alan Lomax, Joseph Liss and Jerome Wiesner for the Library of Congress from the playing of The Helton Brothers, fiddle and banjo (it was subtitled "Virginia Reel" in the original field notes). Fiddler Osey Helton (1879-1942) was from Cherokee County, western North Carolina.

Additional notes
Source for notated version : - Liz Slade (Yorktown, New York) [Kuntz]; Charlie Stripling (Alabama) [Phillips].

Printed sources : - Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes, vol. 1), 1994; p. 23. Brid Nowlan & Stuart Williams (Roses in Winter: a Celebration of Fiddlers in Washington State), 2004; p. 14.

Recorded sources : - Recorded by the Roane County (East Tenn.) Ramblers {1929} but unissued. County 401, "The Stripling Brothers." Document Records DOCD 8007, "The Stripling Brothers, vol. 1: 1928-1934" (1997). Library of Congress AFS 4806-A-3, Osey Helton (Western N.C.). Library of Congress recording, 1939, W.A. Bledsoe, Meridian, Mississippi (appears as "Big Footed N....r in a Sandy Lot" and was learned from his father in Lincoln County, Tennessee). Mississippi Department of Archives and History AH-002, W.A. Bledsoe - "Great Big Yam Potatoes: Anglo-American Fiddle Music from Mississippi" (1939). New World 226, The Helton Brothers - "That's My Rabbit, My Dog Caught It; Southern Traditional Instrumental Styles" (1978. Various artists). Rounder 0197, Bob Carlin - "Banging and Sawing" (1985). Vocalion 5321 (78 RPM), Stripling Brothers (Pickens Cty., Alabama; learned from Henry Ludlow) {1928} [appears as "Big-Footed N....r in the Sandy Lot"].

See also listing at :
Hear the Stripling Brothers 1928 recording at Slippery Hill [1] and at youtube.com [2]

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[1] Some of items in the Traditional Tune Archive may contain offensive language or negative stereotypes. Such materials should be seen in the context of the time period and as a reflection of the attitudes of the time. The items are part of the historical record, and do not represent the views of the administrators of this site.

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