Annotation:Hung My Jawbone on the Fence

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X:1 T:I Hung My Jawbone on the Fence M:C| L:1/8 Q:"Quick" R:Reel N:AEae tuning (fiddle) S:Lon Jordan (c. 1876-?, Farmington, Arkansas) N:From a 1941 field recording by Vance Randolph D:Library of Congress AFS 05314 A02 F:https://www.slippery-hill.com/recording/i-hung-my-jawbone Z:Transcribed by Andrew Kuntz K:A ((3e/f/g/|a2)a2 afee|c2A4AB|c2c2-c[cf]ec|B2c2d2AB| c2[c2e2][ce][ce][cf][ce]|B2c2d2AB|c2[c2e2][ce][ce] [cf][ce]|c2A4|| ((3e/f/g/|a2)a2 afee|c2A4AB|c2[c2e2][B2e2]AB|c2[c2e2][B2e2][A,2E2]-| [A,2E2]cB A2+slide+[A2A2]-|[M:5/4][A2A2][A2A2][A,4E4] AB|[M:C|] c2[c2e2][B2e2][A,2E2]-|[A,2E2]cB A2+slide+[A2A2]-| [A2A2][A2A2][A,4E4]||A,E e4A,4 |AB c2[A,4E4] |ABcA BAFG|A4[A,4E4]| +slide+e4 A,4|{A}c4 A,4|ABcA BAFG|A4 || [e4e4][c3e3]e|[cf]e B2c2d2|(B2[c3e3]) [c2e2][ce][ce]|[cf][ce][B2e2][c2e2][d2e2]| (B2[c3e3]) [c3e3][ce]|[cf][ce]c2 [e4e4]||"to the 2nd strain"

HUNG MY JAWBONE ON THE FENCE. AKA - "I Hung My Jawbone," "Jawbone." American, Reel (cut time). USA, Arkansas. A Major. AEae tuning (fiddle). AABB'CC'. The tune was recorded by the Library of Congress by musicologist/folklorist Vance Randolph (1892-1980) from Ozark Mountain fiddlers in the early 1940's. Source Lon Jordan sang several ditty verses in the second strain of the melody, 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.

Additional notes

Source for notated version: - Lon Jordoan (early-mid 20the century, Framington, Ark.) [Beisswenger & McCann]. Jordan was born around the year 1876.

Printed sources : - Beisswenger & McCann (Ozarks Fiddle Music), 2008; p. 87 (appears as "I Hung My Jawbone").

Recorded sources: - Library of Congress AFS 05314 A02, Lon Jordan (1941).

See also listing at:
Hear Lon Jordan's 1941 Library of Congress recording at Slippery Hill [1]

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