The Fiddler’s Companion

© 1996-2008 Andrew Kuntz

_______________________________

HOME       ALPHABETICAL FILES        REFERENCES

[COMMENT1] [COMMENT2] 

FORK - FOT

[COMMENT3] 

 

Notation Note: The tunes below are recorded in what is called “abc notation.” They can easily be converted to standard musical notation via highlighting with your cursor starting at “X:1” through to the end of the abc’s, then “cutting-and-pasting” the highlighted notation into one of the many abc conversion programs available, or at concertina.net’s incredibly handy “ABC Convert-A-Matic” at

http://www.concertina.net/tunes_convert.html 

 

**Please note that the abc’s in the Fiddler’s Companion work fine in most abc conversion programs. For example, I use abc2win and abcNavigator 2 with no problems whatsoever with direct cut-and-pasting. However, due to an anomaly of the html, pasting the abc’s into the concertina.net converter results in double-spacing. For concertina.net’s conversion program to work you must remove the spaces between all the lines of abc notation after pasting, so that they are single-spaced, with no intervening blank lines. This being done, the F/C abc’s will convert to standard notation nicely. Or, get a copy of abcNavigator 2 – its well worth it.   [AK]

 

[COMMENT4] 

 

FORKED BUCK. See "Forked Deer."

                       

FORKED DEER, (THE). AKA ‑ "Forked Buck," "Forky Deer," "Forked‑Horn Deer," "Forked Deer Hornpipe," “Hounds in the Horn,” "Long-Horned Deer." AKA and see "Deer Walk [1]," "Bragg's Retreat," "Van Buren." Old‑Time, Breakdown. USA, Widely known. D Major. Standard or ADae (Edden Hammons/Bruce Molsky) tunings. AB (Silberberg): AABB (most versions): AA'BB (Phillips). Many older versions have several more parts than the two that are commonly played in modern times, and Jeff Titon (2001) suggests that the influence of the recording industry had much to do with shortening and standardizing the parts of the melody. Clay County, W.Va., fiddler Wilson Douglas, heir to an older tradition, plays the tune in three parts, as did his mentor French Carpenter. Roscoe Parish of Coal Creek, Va., also had a third part. Blind northeastern Kentucky fiddler Ed Haley (1883-1951) played a five-part version, as did Charlie Bowman and Kentuckian J.W. Day. Kerry Blech says that Bowman’s version includes the familiar ‘A’ and ‘B’ parts, a high ‘C’ part that is also shared with some other sources, and two last parts that seem to be Bowman originals. John Johnson, an itinerant man originally from West Virginia who had artistic talent in several areas, had a version that had six parts, played ABACCDEFDEF (son of a jailer, he was said to have “fiddled his way in and out of most jails from West Virginia to Abiline”). Johnson (1916-1996) visited Kanawha County, West Virginia, fiddler Clark Kessinger (1896-1975) just a week before he died, an encounter from which he remembered:

***

I went and played the fiddle for him, played The Forked Deer.

Clark said, “That’s not The Forked Deer.” “Well,” I said, “I

don’t know whether it’s The Forked Deer or not, but I learned

it from a record Arthur Smith made when I was a kid, and I

know the tune’s way older than I am.” And Clark said, “That

ain’t The Forked Deer.” But you see, I play six parts of The

Forked Deer and he just played two. So I suppose that’s the

reason why he said that wasn’t The Forked Deer. I learned that

whole tune just like Arthur Smith played it. I’ve heard lots of

other fiddlers put just two parts to it.    (Michael Kline, Mountains of Music, John Lilly ed. 1999).

***

R.P. Christeson (1973) notes that the tune bears considerable resemblance to a Scottish tune named "Rachel Rae," which can be found in some of the older Scottish tune collections (and which in America was printed in such collections as White's Solo Banjoist, Boston, 1896). He notes that some fiddlers play the first part of this tune differently than the Missouri version he gives, and use a portion of "The Forked Deer" as published in George Willig's or George P. Knauff's Virginia Reels (Vol. 1, No. 4, Baltimore, c. 1839)--which appears to be the first time the "Forked Deer" tune appears in print. It has been suggested (by William Byrne) that the title “Forked Deer” (the first word is pronounced as if hyphenated, ‘FORK-ed’) is a corruption of ‘Fauquier Deer’, referring to the name of a county in northern Virginia. Others believe it may have derived from association with the Forked Deer River in Tennessee. Apparently, it was asserted in a fictionalized traveller’s account (published in the late 1880’s by Dr. H.W. Taylor) entitled "The Cadence and Decadence of the Hoosier Fiddler" that the title referred to a Deer river and its tributaries (i.e. ‘the forks of the Deer’). John Hartford and Pat Sky have speculated the original title may have been “Forked Air,” meaning a crooked melody. Indeed, Paul Tyler reports the "Forked Air" title was used in a 1950 notebook in which A. Hamblen noted down tunes played by his grandfather and brought to Brown County, Indiana, from Virginia in 1857.  The tune, as "Forkadair,” appears in W. Morris’s Oldtime Viloin Melodies: Book No. 1, and the “Forkedair Jig” is a title Gerry Milnes (1999) says was used in a minstrel-era version.

***

Miles Krassen (1973) remarks the tune is very popular through most of the southern Appalachians, though it was not played for the most part by Galax, Va., style bands. Tommy Jarrell, quintessential Round Peak (near Mt.Airy, N.C./Galax, Va.) fiddler learned the tune in Carroll County, southwestern Virginia, where he listened to his father‑in‑law, Charlie Barnett Lowe play it on the banjo with local fiddlers Fred Hawkes and John Rector. It is one of the tunes mentioned in the humorous dialect story "The Knob Dance,” published in 1845, set in eastern Tenn. (C. Wolfe), and was also known before the Civil War in Alabama, having been recalled by Alfred Benners in Slavery and Its Results as played by slave fiddler Jim Pritchett of Marengo County. The tune was mentioned by William Byrne who described a chance encounter with West Virginia fiddler ‘Old Sol’ Nelson during a fishing trip on the Elk River. The year was around 1880, and Sol, whom Byrne said was famous for his playing “throughout the Elk Valley from Clay Courthouse to Sutton as…the Fiddler of the Wilderness,” had brought out his fiddle after supper to entertain (Milnes, 1999). Charles Wolfe (1982) remarks it was popular with Kentucky fiddlers, especially in eastern Kentucky (a remark probably based on recordings of regional fiddlers Ed Haley and J.W. Day). Jeff Titon (2001) finds the title in the 1915 Berea, Kentucky, tune lists, and notes that it was played at the 1919 and 1920 Berea fiddle contests. It was one of the few sides cut in the first recorded session of American fiddle music in June, 1922, for Victor--a duet between Texas fiddler Eck Robertson and Henry Gilliland (though unissued). The tune was recorded for the Library of Congress by musicologist/folklorist Vance Randolph in the early 1940's from the playing of Ozark Mountain fiddlers. It is on Missouri fiddler Charlie Walden’s list of ‘100 essential Missouri fiddle tunes’. Alternate titles "Forked‑Horn Deer" and "Forked Deer Hornpipe" appear in a list he compiled of traditional Ozark Mountain fiddle tunes. Joel Shimberg finds that volume two of G. Legman's edition of Vance Randolph's "unprintable" Folksongs and Folklore: Blow the Candle Out (pg. 759), says: "The dance tune known as Forked Deer is regarded as vulgar in the Ozarks, because the title has a double meaning. Forked might refer to the

deer's antlers, but it is also the common Ozark term for ‘horny’, which means sexually excited. The word is always pronounced ’fork-ed’ , in two syllables. I

have seen nice young girls leave a dance when the fiddler began to play Forked Deer. Lon Jordan, veteran fiddler of Farmington, Ark., always called it Forked-Horn Deer when ladies were present. Buster Fellows once played it on a radio program, but the announcer was careful to call it Frisky Deer!  (Station KWTO, Springfield, Mo., May 3, 1947.)"

***

Ira Ford's (1940) rather preposterous story of the origins of the title is as follows: "The old dance tune, 'Forked Deer', is easily traceable to the days of powder horns, bullet molds and coonskin caps. Like many other very old tunes of American fiddle lore, it had its origin on the isolated frontier and this one has been traced to the first settlers along the Big Sandy River, the border line of Virginia and Kentucky. In the family which preserved this tune, the story, handed down through several generations, credits the authorship to a relative, a noted fiddler of pioneer days. This kinsman was also a famous hunter. There was a spirit of friendly rivalry in the hunt, much the same as there were championships in other lines of activities, and he had established a reputation as a champion deer hunter by always bringing in a forked deer. The forked deer, or two‑point buck, was considered prime venison. As a token of admiration for the hunter as well as the fiddler, his friends set the following words to this popular dance tune which comes down to us as 'Forked Deer'.     

***

There's the doe tracks and fawn tracks up and down the creek            

The signs all tell us that the roamers are near,

With the old flint‑lock rifle Pappy's gone to watch the lick,            

With powder in the pan for to shoot the forked deer.

***

Sources for notated versions: J.P. Fraley (Rush, Ky.) and The Highwoods String Band (Ithaca, N.Y.) [Brody]: Will Hinds (Haskell County, Oklahoma) [Thede]: George Helton (Dixon, Missouri) [Christeson]; Frank George and John Rector (W.Va., Va.) [Krassen]; Charlie Bowman (Ga.?) [Phillips/1989]; a 1941 home recording of Salyersville, Magoffin County, Ky., fiddler John M. Salyer (1882-1952) [Titon]. Bay (Mel Bay’s Complete Fiddling Book), 1990; pg. 145. Brody (Fiddler’s Fakebook), 1983; pg. 110. R.P. Christeson (Old Time Fiddlers Repertory, vol. 1), 1973; pg. 64. Ford (Traditional Music in America), 1940; pg. 45 (the first part is similar to some versions of "Grey Eagle"). Frets Magazine, vol. 3, No. 7, July 1981. Johnson (The Kitchen Musician: Occasional Collection of Old‑Timey Fiddle Tunes for Hammer Dulcimer, Fiddle, etc.), No. 2, 1982 (revised 1988, 2003); pg. 5. Krassen (Appalachian Fiddle), 1973; pg. 43 (includes one 'B' part variation). Phillips (Fiddlecase Tunebook: Old Time), 1989; pg. 20. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), vol. 1, 1994; pg. 91. Silberberg (Tunes I Learned at Tractor Tavern), 2002; pg. 46. Thede (The Fiddle Book), 1967; pg. 135. Titon (Old-Time Kentucky Fiddle Tunes), 2001; No. 45, pg. 76. Songer (Portland Collection), 1997; pg. 80. Berea College Appalachian Center AC003, “John M. Salyer: Home Recordings 1941-1942” (1993). Cartunes 105, Bruce Molsky & Bob Carlin – “Take Me As I Am” (2004. Sourced to Jilson Setters). Cassette C-7625, Wilson Douglas - "Back Porch Symphony." Columbia 15387 (78 RPM), Charlie Bowman (1929). Condor 977‑1489, "Graham & Eleanor Townsend Live At Barre, Vermont." County 202, "Eck Robertson: Famous Cowboy Fiddler." County 527, Charlie Bowman (East Tennessee) and His Brothers‑ "Old‑Time Fiddle Classics, Vol. 2" (originally recorded 1929). County 707, Major Franklin‑ "Texas Fiddle Favorites." County 756, Tommy Jarrell‑ "Sail Away Ladies" (1976. Learned from Fred Hawks, though Tommy’s father Ben Jarrell also played it). Flying Fish FF‑009, Red Clay Ramblers ‑ "Stolen Love" (1975). Flying Fish FF‑055, Red Clay Ramblers ‑ "Merchant's Lunch" (1977). Front Hall FHR‑021, John McCutcheon ‑ "Barefoot Boy with Boots On" (1981. "Inspired by" J.P. Fraley and Tommy Hunter). June Appal 007, Tommy Hunter‑ "Deep in Tradition" (1976. Learned from his grandfather, James W. Hunter of Madison County, N.C.). Kanawha 301, French Carpenter – “Elzic’s Farewell: Old Time Songs and Tunes from Clay County, West Virginia” (1976). Library of Congress (2742-A-3), 1939, by H.L. Maxey (Franklin County, Va.) {as "Forky Deer"}. Marimac 9000, Dan Gellert & Shoofly ‑ "Forked Deer" (1986. Ed Haley's version, "without the 5th part"). Marimac 9060, Jim Bowles – “Railroading Through the Rocky Mountains” (1994). Missouri State Old Time Fiddlers' Association, Cyrill Stinnett (1912-1986) - "Plain Old Time Fiddling." Morning Star 45003, Taylor's Kentucky Boys ‑ "Wink the Other Eye: Old Time Fiddle Band Music from Kentucky, Vol. 1" (1980. Originally recorded in 1927 for Gennett). Ok 45496 (78 RPM), The Fox Chasers. Rounder 0037, J.P. and Annadeene Fraley‑ "Wild Rose of the Mountain” (1974). Rounder 0045, Highwoods String Band‑ "Dance All Night." Rounder 1010, Ed Haley‑ "Parkersburg Landing" (1976). Rounder 0047, Wilson Douglas‑ "The Right Hand Fork of Rush's Creek" (1975. Learned from French Carpenter, the tune appears as "Forked Buck"). Rounder 0058, John Rector (western Va.) ‑ "Old Originals, vol. II" (1978). Rounder 0194, John W. Summers ‑ "Indiana Fiddler” (1984). Vetco 506, Fiddlin' Van Kidwell‑ "Midnight Ride." Rounder 1131, Ed Haley – “Forked Deer” (1997). Vetco 102 (reissue), James W. Day “Jilson Setters” (under the name Blind Bill Day) – “The Wonderful World of Old Time Fiddlers, vol. 1.” Victor 21407 (78 RPM), Jilson Setters (Blind Bill Day, b. 1860 Rowan Cty., Ky.), 1928. Voyager 340, Jim Herd - "Old Time Ozark Fiddling." Also recorded by Frank George and John Summers, French Carpenter and Uncle Am Stuart (b. 1856, Morristown, Tenn.){for Vocalion in 1924 under the title "Forki Deer"}. Edden Hammons Collection I.

X:1

T:Forked Deer

L:1/8

M:C|

K:D

|: (3ABc | defg a2fa | g2gb agfe | defg a2fa | gfed cABc |

defg a2fa | g2gb agfe | dAFD GBAG | FDEF D3 :|

|: (A|A2)A2c4 | ABAF E2 EF | A2AB c2cA | BAFE FD3 |

A2A2c4 | ABAF E2FE | D2ED FDGD | FDEF D3 :|

                       

FORKS AND KNIVES.  English, A version of “Three Case Knives,” “Jacks Gone a Shearing” and one of the “Rusty Gulley” tunes.

           

FORKS OF SANDY [1]. AKA and see "Three Forks of Sandy," "Three Forks of Big Sandy," "Roll 'em Up Sandy." Old‑Time, Breakdown. USA; western North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky. G Major. Standard tuning. AB (Silberberg): AABB (Brody, Phillips). The title refers to the Big Sandy River on the West Virginia/Kentucky border, the (3) forks being the Big Sandy River, Levisa Fork and Tug Fork. Oscar Wright maintained the song was popularized in his area of West Virginia (Mercer County) by North Carolina banjo player and band leader Charlie Poole and his fiddler Posey Rorer when they played the area in 1916, 17 or 18. He claimed to have learned it directly from Rorer. West Virginia fiddler Clark Kessinger (1896-1975), who probably learned the tune as a boy in the Kanawha Valley, recorded the melody in 1930 for Brunswick Records (as “Three Forks of Sandy”) {Wolfe, Mountains of Music, John Lilly ed. 1999}. Sources for notated versions: Charlie Poole (N.C.) [Brody]; Clark Kessinger (W.Va.) [Phillips]; Barry Shultz [Silberberg]. Brody (Fiddler’s Fakebook), 1983; pg. 111. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), vol. 1, 1994; pg. 241. Silberberg (Tunes I Learned at Tractor Tavern), 2002; pg. 47. Columbia 15106‑D (78 RPM), 1926, Charlie Poole and the North Carolina Ramblers. County 747, Clark Kessinger‑ "Sweet Bunch of Daisies" (appears as "Three Forks of Sandy"). Flying Cloud FC-023, Kirk Sutphin - "Fiddlin' Around." Historical HLP‑8005, Charlie Poole and the North Carolina Ramblers ‑ "1926‑1930: A Young Boy Left His Home One Day" (1975). June Appal 007, Thomas Hunter‑ "Deep in Traditon" (1976. Appears as "Three Forks of Big Sandy." Learned from Manco Sneed of Cherokee, N.C.). Rounder 0089, Oscar and Eugene Wright‑ "Old‑Time Fiddle & Guitar Music From West Virginia." Rounder 0392, John Hartford - “Wild Hog in the Red Brush (and a Bunch of Others You Might Not Have Heard” (1996).

See also listing at:

Jane Keefer’s Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources 

 

FORKS OF SANDY [2]. Old‑Time, Breakdown. G Major. Standard tuning. AABB. Johnson (The Kitchen Musician No. 2: Occasional Collection of Old‑Timey Fiddle Tunes for Hammer Dulcimer, Fiddle, etc.), 1982 (revised 1988 & 2003); pg. 13.

                       

FORLORN LOVER, THE (An Graduigteoir Treigte). Irish, Air (3/4 time). G Major/Mixolydian. Standard tuning. AAB. O'Neill (Music of Ireland: 1850 Melodies), 1903/1979; No. 275, pg. 48.

X:1

T:Forlorn Lover, The

M:3/4

L:1/8

R:Air

S:O’Neill – Music of Ireland (1903), No. 275

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

N:”Moderate”

K:G

G2|B2B2B2|B3A G2|e2A2A2|A4 GA|B2 dB AG|E2D2 GA|(B3c) BA|G4:|

B2|d2d2d2|d2 cB AG|G2g2g2|g4 Bc|d2d2d2|ed cB AG|G2 g2f2|g4 de|

=f3 g f2|e4 g2|d2 cB AG|A4 GA|B2 dB AG|E2D2 GA|B3 c BA|G4||

                       

FORLORN STRANGER, THE (An Coigreac Treigte). Irish, Slow Air (3/4 time). G Major. Standard tuning. One part. Cazden (et al, 1982) points out the similarity of this tune with his Catskill Mountain (New York) collected "The Wild Irish Boy." O'Neill (Music of Ireland: 1850 Melodies), 1903/1979; No. 326, pg. 56.

X:1

T:Forlorn Stranger, The

M:3/4

L:1/8

R:Air

N:”Slow”

S:O’Neill – Music of Ireland (1903), No. 326

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:G

BA|GE D2 DE|G2B2GB|A2G2G2|G4 B2|c2c2e2|d2 dB A>G|

G2 G>A BG|A4 (3GAB|c2c2e2|d2 d>B A>G|G2 GA Bc|d4 (3def|

g2 ge d2|zB GA BG|A2G2G2|G4||

                       

FORLORN VIRGIN, THE. Irish, Air (3/4 time). G Major/D Mixolydian. Standard. One part. Stanford/Petrie (Complete Collection), 1905; No. 563, pg. 143.

X:1

T:Forlorn Virgin, The

M:3/4
L:1/8

S:Stanford/Petrie (1905), No. 563

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:G

DGG | GA/B/ cA/F/ GF | DD D3A | AB/c/ d>c BG/A/ | Bc/B/ AF GF/G/ |

AB/c/ d>c BG/A/ | Bc/B/ AF GF/G/ | A/B/c/B/ A>F G>F | DD D3 ||

 


FORNESBRUNEN AFTER JOHANNES DAHLE. Norwegian, Lydarslatter (listening tunes, 2/4 time). Norway, Telemark District. A Mixolydian. ADae tuning. One part. A listening ganger known as the "tearfull slatt (piece)." One of the most ancient slatts -- the legend and music were recorded in the mid-19th century. "The symphonic poems of Hardanger fiddle music." The title refers to a courageous horse whose morbid task it was to transport dead bodies of plague victims of the medieval black death through the desolate stretches of Mosstand to the Rauland Chruch in south-cental Norway. The tune is programmatic, in that the listener may hear musical renderings of the "sound made by horse's hoofs struggling through deep snow, of the eventual stumble due to a broken snowshoe, of the whinnying for help and of the death cry of the horse, who expires as human help arrives just too late" (Hopkins, 1986). Source for notated version: Johannes Dahle (Tinn, Telemark, Norway) [Hopkins]. Hopkins, 1986; Ex. 6, pg. 112.

           

FORNETH HOUSE. AKA – “Forneith House.” AKA and see “Mrs. Crawford’s Favorite.” Scottish, Slow Air or Strathspey. D Major. Standard tuning. AAB. The melody appears in Robert Petrie’s Third Collection (1790) in which he claimed authorship. The Gows later published it (1800) in a slightly altered setting under the title “Mrs. Crawford’s Favourite” but did not attribute it. Lerwick (The Kilted Fiddler), 1985; pg. 70‑71. Petrie (Third Collection of Strathspey Reels and Country Dances), 1790; pg. 7. Redwing Music RWMCD 5410, Abby Newton – “Castles, Kirks and Caves” (2001. Learned from Angus Grant).

X:1

T:Forneth House

C:Robert Petrie (?)

S:Petrie's Collection of Strathspey Reels and Country Dances &c., 1790

Z:Steve Wyrick <sjwyrick'at'astound'dot'net>, 3/5/04

N:Petrie's First Collection, page 7

L:1/8

M:C

R:Strathspey

K:D

"^Slow"

A | F<AA>B A<FA>B | d/c/d/e/ f>e d<BB>d | F<AA>B A<Fd>B | (B/A/)(G/F/) (A/G/)(F/E/) D2  D :|

f | a>ba<f d<Ad>f | e>f g/f/e/d/ B2 B>f | a>ba<f d<Ad<f | e>f (a/g/) (f/e/) d2 (d/e/f/g/) |

a>ba<f  d>Ad<f | (e/f/e/f/) (g/f/e/d/) B2 (B/c/d/B/) | A2 B/A/G/F/ F>dA<F | TE>DEF D2 D |]

                       

FORNOCHT. Irish, Air (irregular metre). G Major. Standard tuning. From the playing of the late Philadelphia, Pa., musician Tom Standeven (d. 2002).

X:1

T:Fornocht
M:3/4
L:1/8
S:Tom Standeven
N:Transcribed from music belonging to Tom Standeven and posted at
N:http://www.blueskiesink.com/standeven/fornocht.jpg by
N:bil mckenty
Z:Dennis Gormley
K:G
zD D3 (E/2G/2)|A/2G/2 A3 (G/2A/2)|(cB) ( AG) ( ED)|
M:4/4
L:1/8
(E>B,) D4 FG|\
M:3/4
L:1/8
A3 B c|\
M:4/4
L:1/8
(d4 ed)(cB)|
M:3/4
L:1/8
A2 C3 B|\
M:4/4
L:1/8
A2 A4 z f/g|\
M:3/4
L:1/8
A2 B3 c|
M:4/4
L:1/8
(d4 ed)( cB)|\
M:3/4
L:1/8
(Ac)(BA)( G e/d)|\
M:4/4
L:1/8
(E>B,) D4 GA|
M:3/4
L:1/8
B (cA)( GE)|\
M:4/4
L:1/8
(Ac B4) (AG)|\
M:3/4
L:1/8
E2 D3 B,|D2 D4||

                       

FORRES COUNTRY DANCE. Scottish, Reel. Forres, Moray, is an ancient site traditionally associated with MacBeth. The royal castle there has a rich, albeit bloody history, stemming from the ancient rivalry of the men of Moray and the kings of the Scots. The town suffered at the hands of Alexander, Wolf of Badenoch, in 1390 and subsequently declined. Tradition 2118, Jim MacLeod & His Band ‑ "Scottish Dances: Jigs, Waltzes and Reels" (1979).

                       

FORREST, THE.  See “The Forest.”

 

FORT AT KINCORA, THE. AKA and see “The Ballinakill Hornpipe,” “Galway Hornpipe [3],” “Joe Burke’s Hornpipe,” “Sherlocks.” Irish, Hornpipe. G Major. Standard tuning. AA’BB’. The tune appears in Bulmer and Sharpley under the “Sherlocks” title. Associated with County Galway (Joe Burke and Mike Rafferty are from County Galway; Joe from Kilnadeema, Mike from Ballinakill). Source for notated version: New Jersey flute player Mike Rafferty, born in Ballinakill, Co. Galway, in 1926 [Harker]. Harker (300 Tunes from Mike Rafferty), 2005; No. 274, pg. 85. Green Linnett GLCD1045, Joe Burke - “The Tailor’s Choice.”

See also listings at:

Jane Keefer’s Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources 

Alan Ng’s Irishtune.info

X:1

T:Fort of Kincora

M:4/4

L:1/8

R:Hornpipe

K:G

(3DEF|:GA (3GFE DG,B,D|GFGA Bdgf|edcB (3ABA GA|BAGF E2 (3DEF|

GA (3GFE DG,B,D|GFGA (3Bcd gf|edcB (3ABA GA|1 BG{A}GF G2 (3DEF:|2 BG{A}GF GABc||

|:d^cde dBGD|GBd^c dgfg|ef (3gfe dBGB|(3cBA BG ADEF|GA (3GFE DG,B,D|

GFGA Bdgf|edcB (3ABA GA|BG{A}GF GABc:|2 BG{A}GF G2||

                          

FORT CHARLOTTE. Shetland, March (2/4 time). D Major. Standard tuning. AABB. Composed by Gideon Stove, the tune is used in Shetland for dancing two‑steps. Anderson & Georgeson (Da Mirrie Dancers), 1970; pg. 29.

                       

FORT GARY JIG. American, Jig. D Major. Standard tuning. AABB'. Source for notated version: Stuart Williams and Al DeLorme [Phillips]. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), vol. 2, 1995; pg. 365.

                       

FORT GIBSON. Rounder 0436, Bill Graves – “Traditional Fiddle Music of the Ozarks, vol. 2: On the Springfield Plain.”

                       

FORT MOUNTJOY. Irish. Composed by harper Tadhg MacDonal MacRory in the first half of the 17th century in honor of the new fort built by his patron, Lord Mountjoy.

                       

FORT OF KINCORA. See “Fort at Kincora.” Irish, Hornpipe. G Major. Standard tuning.

See also listings at:

Jane Keefer’s Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources 

Alan Ng’s Irishtune.info

                       

FORT SMITH [1]. AKA and see "On the Banks of the Cane." Old‑Time, Breakdown. USA; Arkansas, Kentucky. G Major. Standard. AABB. 'B' part similar to 'A' part of "Fort Smith Breakdown" notated by both Brody and Phillips. Thede says: "There are two suppositions as to the origin of the tune 'Fort Smith'...One conjecture is that the beginning of this melody goes back to the time when a cavalry division of the United States Army was stationed at Fort Smith, Arkansas, as an outpost to the Indian Territory to the west....On the other hand, I have information through the late E.M. Hooper of Shawnee, Oklahoma, who was an early day musician, that this tune was brought from Sweden and renamed 'Fort Smith' by an immigrant the name of Bottefur, who formed a musical organization in the town around 1843." Source for notated version: William Crane (Creek County, Oklahoma) [Thede]. Thede (The Fiddle Book), 1967; pg. 104. County CD2712, Art Stamper (Ky.) - "The Lost Fiddler" (c. 1982). Marimac 9017, Vesta Johnson (Mo.) ‑ "Down Home Rag."

 


FORT SMITH BREAKDOWN [2]. Old‑Time, Breakdown. USA, Arkansas. G Major. Standard tuning. AABB. There are some similarities to the Kentucky tune “Across the Plains,” aka “Old Red Rooster.” Source for notated version: Luke Highnight's Ozark Strutters (of Hotsprings, Ark., who originally recorded the tune in 1928) [Brody]; Chuck Silberstein [Phillips]. Brody (Fiddler’s Fakebook), 1983; pg. 111. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes, vol. 1), 1994; pg. 91. County 519, Luke Highnight's Ozark Strutters‑ "Echoes of the Ozarks, vol. 2." Folkways 31062, Ship in the Clouds‑ "Old Time Instrumental Music" (1978). Voyager 301, Fay Sneed‑ "Fiddle Jam Session."

           

FORT WARREN. American, Hornpipe. D Major. Standard tuning. AABBCC. Fort Warren is situated on an island in the middle of Boston harbor, where it protected the shipping lanes for the port city from the time it was completed in 1850. During the American Civil War it was the site of a prison for Confederate prisoners. Howe (1000 Jigs and Reels), c. 1867; pg. 56.

X:1

T:Fort Warren

M:4/4

L:1/8

R:Hornpipe

S:Howe – 1000 Jigs and Reels (c. 1867)

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:D

AF | D2F2F2A2 | A3A BAGF | E2D2G2F2 | B2A2c2d2 | D2F2F2A2 | Bdcd BAGF |

E2 CE GEDC | E4 D2 :: DF | A2 FA d2 Ad | fedc BAGF | G2 EA c2 Ac | edcB AGFE |

D2F2F2A2 | Bdcd BAGF | e2 ce gecA | e4 d2 :: A2 | d3d dfaf | efec cdcB |

BAdB BAAG | G4F4 | F2G2A2B2 | c2d2e2f2 | gfed cdec | cBAG GVAF :|

                       

FORT WORTH. AKA and see "Jack of Diamonds [1]." Old‑Time, Fiddle Tune. The tune was recorded for the Library of Congress by folklorist/musicologist Vance Randolph in the early 1940's from Ozark Mountain fiddlers.

           

FORT WORTH RAG. AKA and see "Texas Serenade."

           

FORTH BRIDGE [1], THE. Scottish, Strathspey. D Major. Standard tuning. AB. A strathspey and reel set composed by Williamson Blyth (1821‑1897) in celebration of the 1890 opening of the cantilever bridge designed by Sir Benjamin Baker (which cost 3,200,000 pounds at the time).

***

Firth of Forth Bridge, and, lest anyone not know where that might be….

***

Hunter (Fiddle Music of Scotland), 1988; No. 97.

 

FORTH BRIDGE [2], THE. Scottish, Reel. D Major. Standard tuning. AB. The companion reel to version #1, also composed by Williamson Blyth (1821-1897), a Edinburgh violinist and violin maker who turned out quite a number of fine instruments. An 1806 violin by Blyth went for about $5,000 at auction in 1999. The Forth Bridge, spanning the Forth of Firth from South Queensferry to North Queensferry, was completed in 1890. The chief engineer for the project was Benjamin Baker, who used a novel design for the time: triangular structures reaching from opposite sides to hold the central spans in place. This cantilever construction was still quite radical in 1881, when the project was begun, and was made possible by a design employing a striking array of massive tubular steel members. See also J. Scott Skinner’s musical commemoration on the opening of the structure, a hornpipe called “The Forth Brig.”

***

The Forth Bridge, under construction.

***

Henderson (Flowers of Scottish Melody), 1935. Hunter (Fiddle Music of Scotland), 1988; No. 213. Culburnie Records CUL 121D, Alasdair Fraser & Natalie Haas – “Fire and Grace” (2004). Rounder 82161-7032-2, Bill Lamey – “From Cape Breton to Boston and Back: Classic House Sessions of Traditional Cape Breton Music 1956-1977” (2000).

 

FORTH BRIDGE [3], THE. Scottish, Strathspey. A composition of James Young (1815-1851). Henderson (Flowers of Scottish Melody), 1935. Lowe’s Collection, 1844-45.

           

FORTH BRIG [1], THE. AKA and see "Captain Hay" (?). Scottish, Canadian, Shetland; Reel. Shetland, Mainland district. Canada, Cape Breton. D Major. Standard tuning. AABB’. Cranford (Jerry Holland’s), 1995; No. 88, pg. 26. Boot Records, Jerry Holland - “Master Cape Breton Fiddler” (1982).

See also listing at:

Alan Snyder’s Cape Breton Fiddle Recording Index

 

FORTH BRIG [2], THE. Scottish, Hornpipe. G Major. Standard tuning. AABB’ (Skinner): AA’BB’ (O’Malley). Composed by J. Scott Skinner (1843-1927) in commemoration of the opening of the railway bridge over the Forth of Firth in 1890. O’Malley (Luke O’Malley’s Collection of Irish Music, vol. 1), 1976; No. 148, pg. 74. Skinner (The Scottish Violinist); pg. 46. Skinner (Harp and Claymore), 1904; pg. 129.

X:1

T:Forth Brig, The [2]

M:2/4

L:1/8

R:Hornpipe

S:Skinner – The Scottish Violinist

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:G

d/>c/ | B/>c/^c/>d/ g/>f/e/>d/ | c/>d/^d/>e/ a/>g/f/>e/ | f/>(c’/b/)>(a/ g/)>(f/e/)>(f/ |

(3g/).b/.a/ (3.g/.f/.e/ .d.d/.c/ | B/>c/^c/>d/ g/>f/e/>d/ | c/>d/^d/>e/ a/>g/f/>e/ |

f/>(c’/b/)>(a/ g/)>(f/e/)>(f/ | (3/g)d/b/ (3g/d/B/ [B,G] :: (B | b/>)(g/f/>)(e/ ^d/)>(f/B/>)(c’/ |

b/)>(ag/>)(f/ e/>)(f/g/>)(^g/ | a/>)(f/e/>)(d/ ^c/>)(e/A/>)(g/ |

 f/>)(e/d/>)(^c/ d/>)(^d/>e/)(f/ | g/>)(d/B/>)(G/ F/)(G/=F/)(G/ |

E/>)(G/c/>)(e/ g/>)(e/d/>)(c/ | B/>)(c/^c/>.d/) D/>(_E/=E/>.F/) |1

(3G/D/B/ (3G/D/B,/ G, :|2 G[DB][B,G] ||

           

FORTINGALL FAIRS. Scottish, Strathspey. E Minor. Standard tuning. AAB. The tune appears in Malcolm McDonald's 1788 collection, a volume dedicated to Mrs. Baird of Newbyth. Fortingall is in Perthshire. The 3,000 year old Fortingall Yew is Europe’s oldest tree. Glen (The Glen Collection of Scottish Dance Music), vol. 1, 1891; pg. 47. MacDonald (A Collection of Strathspey Reels, vol.1), c. 1788; pg. 22.

X:1

T:Fortingall Fairs