Annotation:Polecat's Den

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POLECAT'S DEN. Old-Time, Song Tune and Breakdown. USA, Kentucky. The tune's sole source is Monticello, Ky., fiddler and banjo player Clyde Davenport (b. 1921). Davenport was born in Mount Pisgah and raised in the Cumberland Plateau region of south-central Kentucky. In America, 'polecat' is another name for a skunk.

I went down to the polecat's den,
Never been there before;
Feed me out of an old slop jar,
And I ain't going back no more.
Ain't going back no more,
Ain't going back no more,
Poor boy, ain't going back no more.

Sixteen years of marriage,
Sixty more to come;
Ain't no more a married man,
Than I was before it begun.
Than I was before it begun,
Than I was before it begun, oh boy,
Than I was before it begun. .... [lyrics posted on banjo-L]

The tune is similar to the "Hop High Ladies"/"Did You Ever See the Devil Uncle Joe?" tune family.

Source for notated version:

Printed sources:

Recorded sources: Cedar Glade #007, Clyde Davenport - "Shades of Clyde" (Video). County 788, Clyde Davenport (Monticello, Ky.) - "Clydeoscope: Rare and Beautiful Tunes from the Cumberland Plateau" (1986). Josh Cole & Curt Alsobrook - "Polecat's Den" (2008).

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