The Fiddler’s Companion

© 1996-2008 Andrew Kuntz

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[COMMENT1] [COMMENT2] 

HJ - HONOL

[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] 

HJOGROVOLTAR. Shetland, Shetland Reel. Shetland, Fetlar. D Major. Standard tuning. AB. An assymetrical Shetland reel with a Scandinavian name indigenous to the island of Fetlar, which was still used for dancing there in the 1970's. Source for notated version: Joe Jamieson (Fetlar, Shetland) [Cooke]. Cooke (The Fiddle Tradition of the Shetland Isles), 1986; Ex. 10, pg. 61.

                       

HO! AWAKE. AKA and see “Cat that ate the sidecomb,” "Kate Kelly's Fancy,” Killoran’s Reel [2],” “Nellie Donovan,” “Ravelled Hank of Yarn [1],” “Twin Katy’s."

                       

HO BABE. AKA and see "Went to the River and Couldn't Get Across."

                       

HO CHA CHEILLINN NACH TU B' FHEARR LEAM. AKA and see "I Can't Conceal that I Prefer You."

                       

HO CHA-N E'IL MULAD OIRNN. AKA and see "The Emigrant's Adieu."

                       

HO CUIR A NALL AM BODACH. AKA and see "Pass Around the Flagon."

                       

HO GUR COMA LEAM H'-UILE NI TH' ANN. AKA and see "What Care I For Anything Now."

           

HO RO AN CLÒ DUBH. Scottish, Air (4/4 time). G Mixolydian. Standard. AB. Morison (Highland Airs and Quicksteps, vol. 2), c. 1882; No. 14, pg. 7.

X:1

T:Ho ro an clò dubh

M:C

L:1/8

R:Air

N:”briskly”

S:Morison – Highland Airs and Quicksteps, vol. 2, No. 14 (c. 1882)

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:G Mixolydian

G2 AB D2 EG | G2 Ge dB AG | G2 AB D2 EG | G2 Be dB AG ||

dd de G2 AB | d2 dd ed BG | AB ed B2 AE | G2 AB AG GE ||

 

HO! RO! GUM B’AOIBHINN LEAM (Ho! Ro! How pleasant to me). Scottish, Air (4/4 time). A Major. Standard. AB. Morison (Highland Airs and Quicksteps, vol. 1). No. 18, pg. 8.

X:1

T:Ho! Ro! Gum b’aoibhinn leam

T:Ho! Ro! How pleasant to me

M:C

L:1/8

R:Air

S:Morison – Highland Airs and Quicksteps, vol. 1

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:A

c2 c>B A>F E>F | A>A B>c A>F F>e | f>e c>B A>F E>F | A>c {c}BA F2F2 ||

{E} A>B c>d e>c c>f | e>c c/B/A c>B B>E | A>B c>d e>c c>f | e>c {c}BA (F2F2) ||

           

HO RO MO BHOBAN AN DRAM. AKA and see "The Favorite Dram," "A Highland Bumpkin."

 

HO RÒ MO NIGHEAN DÒNN BHOIDHEACH. AKA and see "My Bonny Brunette." AKA – “My Pretty Brown Girl.”

 

HOB DIE. See “Hobb Dye.”

 


HOB OR/A NOB.. AKA and see "The Campbells Are Coming [1]," “The Burnt Old Man [1],” "The Old Man [1]," "An Seanduine" (The Old Man), "Robi Down/Donn." English, Scottish, American; Country Dance Tune (6/8 time). England, Northumberland. USA, Connecticut, Pennsylvania. G Major. Standard. AABB. To hob-nob with someone is to associate with them, or to keep their company. The term derived from the old term hab-nab, used as a call in drinking; supposedly derived from the Anglo-Saxon habban, “to have,” and nabban (for ne habban), “not to have.” The ritual at hobnobbing is variously described as that of clinking cups together before drinking to each other (Hawkwood, 1909), or to give and take of drinks. An 1811 source gives that it was common to inquire “Will you Hob or Nob with me?” If the party so questioned responded “Nob” they were deemed to have agreed to have a drink of wine with the questioner, and had to choose red or white wine. It was also at one time thought that the origin of the term derived from Elizabethan times when great chimneys were fashionable. On each corner of the hearth or grate was a small projection called the hob, on which was customarily set items, such as a pipe. In winter beer was warmed on the hob, and cold beer set on the table, said to have been called a nob. Thus to ask “will you hob or nob with me” was to invite one to partake of either warm or cold beer.

***

The melody is recognizable to modern ears as the Scots air "The Campbells are Coming." It first appears (as “Hob or Nob”) in country dance collections in England, including Walsh’s Caledonian Country Dances (4th book, c. 1745) and Johnson’s Collection of 200 Favourite Country Dances (1748). A few years later the “Campbell” title appeared in print in Oswald’s Caledonian Pocket Companion, followed soon after by a printing in Bremner’s Scots Reels. Gratten Flood (1906), in typical form, identifies the melody as having Irish provenance, and says that it was a Jacobite era song (early 18th century) annexed by the Scots and used as the vehicle for the song "The Campbells are Coming." Despite this assertion words to “The Campbell’s are Coming” do not appear in print until Johnson’s Scots Musical Museum, vol. iii (1790). Frank Kidson says that one unnamed account maintains that the melody was used for a song, composed on and at the period of Mary Queen of Scots' imprisonment in Loch Leven Castle, although what this song might have been is apparently lost. Kidson also believes it likely that the tune originated in the 1715 Jacobite rebellion as a gathering tune for Clan Campbell.

***

An American, Daniel Burnap, included it in several of his chime clocks, which he manufactured in the late 18th century at East Windsor, Connecticut.  The melody under the "Hob" title is also contained in Timothy Swan's Suffield, Connecticut, MS of 1777, and indeed, it appears in a number of American music manuscripts, such as that of Henry Livingston, Jr.  Livingston purchased the estate of Locust Grove, Poughkeepsie, New York, in 1771 at the age of 23. In 1775 he was a Major in the 3rd New York Regiment, which participated in Montgomery’s invasion of Canada in a failed attempt to wrest Montreal from British control. An important land-owner in the Hudson Valley, and a member of the powerful Livingston family, Henry was also a surveyor and real estate speculator, an illustrator and map-maker, and a Justice of the Peace for Dutchess County. He was also a poet and musician, and presumably a dancer, as he was elected a Manager for the New York Assembly’s dancing season of 1774-1775, along with his 3rd cousin, John Jay, later U.S. Chief Justice of Governor of New York. A related air, which Bayard (1981) says is "doubtless a descendant of the original melody," is "Robi Down/Donn." When played in duple time several writers have noticed similarities with “Miss McLeod’s Reel” and even “The White Cockade.” Howe (c. 1867) printed dance instructions with the melody, which he placed in his section of Contra Dances.

***

Aird (Selections), vol. 1, 1778; No. 21. American Veteran Fifer, 1927; No. 58. Ford (Traditional Music in America), 1940; pg. 110. Gow (Complete Respository), vol. 1, 1784; pg. 15. Graham, 1908; pg. 169. Harding's Original Collection, 1928, and Harding Collection, 1915; No. 186. Harding's All‑Round Collection, 1905; No. 189. Howe (School for the Violin), 1851; pg. 35. Howe (Complete Preceptor for the Accordeon), 1843; pg. 34. Howe (Diamond School for the Violin), 1861; pg. 41 and pgs. 60‑61 (as part 2 of Caledonian Quadrilles). Howe (1000 Jigs and Reels), c. 1867; pg. 75. Jarman, 1951; pg. 63. Kerr (Merry Melodies), vol. 1; pg. 32. Johnson (Scots Musical Museum), vol. 2, 1788; No. 299. O'Malley, 1919; pg. 11. Oswald, (Caledonian Pocked Companion), vol. 2, 1780?; pg. 24. Robbins, 1933; No. 32. Seattle (William Vickers), 1987, Part 3; No. 443. Smith (Scottish Minstrel), vol. 1, 1820; pg. 32. Sweet (Fifer’s Delight), 1964; pg. 37. White's Excelsior Collection, 1907; pg. 74.

X:1

T:Hob or Knob (sic)

M:6/8

L:1/8

R:Jig

S:Howe – Complete Preceptor for the Accordeon (1843)

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:C

G, | CEG GEC | EFE E2D | CEA GEC | DED DB,G, | CEA GEC | E2G c2d |

edc AcA | GEE E2 G | c2c cde | G2G GFE | c2c cde | A2A A2A | GAB cBA |

GEG c2e | edc AcA | GEE E2 ||

X:2

T:Hob or Nob

M:6/8

L:1/8

R:Jig

S:Henry Livingston’s manuscript copybook, late 18th century

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:G

A | GBe dBG | B2B B2A | GBe dBG | ABA A2B | GBe dBG |

B2d g2a | bag fed | B2B B2 :: d | g2g gab | d2dd2B | g2g gab | e2e e2f |

Gfe gab | d2B g2a | bag fed | B2B “tr”B2 :|

                       

HOBART'S TRANSFORMATION. AKA – “Feldman’s Haircut”??  Old‑Time, Breakdown. USA. A Mixolydian. Standard tuning. AABB. A hybrid tune, the first part of which is melodic material from the tune usually known as “Salt River” (recorded by Hobart Smith as part of the “Pateroller Song”) while the second part is the coarse part of Henry Reed’s “Kitchen Girl.” Source for notated version: "Dennis Tang, who assembled it" [Spandaro]. Brody (Fiddler’s Fakebook), 1983; pg. 136. Spandaro (10 Cents a Dance), 1980; pg. 49. Front Hall 010, Fennigs All Stars‑ "The Hammered Dulcimer Strikes Again" (1977).

 

HOBB DYE. Old Time, Country Rag. G Major. Standard tuning. AABB'. A “slightly crooked” tune rom the playing of California mandolin player Kenny Hall, who said he had the tune from a Texas piano player by the name of Clara Desmond, who had learned it from sheet music (although she may have had it from a Texas fiddler). Desmond had moved to Oakland sometime in the 1930’s, a city where Hall worked in a broom factory while playing music and collecting 78 RPM records in his spare time. Hobs and dies are terms from the machine trade (i.e. ‘gear hobber’), although the lore attached to the tune has it that the tune was composed after one Hobb Dye, who was a bootlegger from Texas. Source for notated version: Tony Marcus [Phillips]. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), vol. 2, 1995; pg. 64.

See also listing at:

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

 

HOBBIE ELLIOT. Northumbrian. Title appears in Henry Robson's list of popular Northumbrian song and dance tunes ("The Northern Minstrel's Budget"), which he published c. 1800.

                       

HOBBLE ABOUT. Scottish, Jig. D Major. Standard tuning. AABB. John Glen (1891) finds the earliest printing of the tune is Robert Bremner's 1757 collection. Bremner (Scots Reels), c. 1757; pg. 59 (appears as “Hoble about”).

X:1

T:Hobble About

M:6/8

L:1/8

R:Jig

S:Bremner – Scots Reels (c. 1757)

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:D

G | (F/G/)AA d2A | d>ed “tr’c2A | (B/c/dB) AFD | GEE E2G | (F/G/)AA d2A |

d>ed “tr”c2A | (B/c/d)B AFd | AFD D2 :: f/g/ | afd afd | efd “tr”c2A |

(G/A/B)G (F/G/A)F | BGE E2f/g/ | afd afd | efd “tr”c2A | (B/c/d)B AFd | AFD D2 :|

                       

HOBBLE THE BOUTCHES. Irish, Reel. C Major. Standard tuning. AABB. Cole (1000 Fiddle Tunes), 1940; pg. 40. Ryan’s Mammoth Collection, 1883; pg. 66. Drumlin Records BMNCD2, Brian McNamara – “Fort of the Jewels” (2004. Learned from the Reilly family of Drumreilly, County Leitrim).

 

HOBB'S FAVORITE. AKA and see "Boston Rattlers’,""Colonel McBain's," “Connemara Stockings,” "Miss Abercrombie's Reel," “Winter Apples [1].”  American, Scottish (originally) Reel. D Major. Standard tuning. AABB. Cole (1000 Fiddle Tunes), 1940; pg. 14. Ryan’s Mammoth Collection, 1883; pg.

X:1

T:Hobb’s Favorite

M:2/4

L:1/8

R:Reel

S:Ryan’s Mammoth Collection (1883)

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:D

(3A/B/c/|.d(c/A/) .B(A/F/)|(D/C/).D/.F/ (E/B,/).B,/.E/|D/F/A/F/ D/F/A/d/|c/A/B/c/ d/A/B/c/|

.d(c/A/) .B(A/F/)|(D/C/).D/.F/ (E/B,/).B,/.E/|D/F/A/F/ D/F/A/d/|1 c/A/B/c/ d:|2 c/A/B/c/ d(B/c/)||

|:(d/f/).B/.c/ d/B/f/d/|(c/A/).A/.B/ c/A/e/c/|(d/f/).B/.c/ d/B/f/d/|(c/e/).A/.c/ (3B/B/B/.B/.c/|

(d/f/).B/.c/ d/B/f/d/|(c/e/).A/.B/ c/A/e/g/|(3f/g/f/.e/.c/ (3d/e/d/.c/A/|1 B/A/B/c/ dB/c/:|2 B/A/B/c/ d||

 

HOBO('S) JIG. Canadian, Jig. Canada; Eastern Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia. A Major ('A' part) & D Major ('B' part). Standard tuning. AA'BB. "Composed by the late Ward Allen, an old‑time fiddler from Eastern Ontario" (Gibbons). Phillips' sections are reversed from Gibbons'. Source for notated version: Frank Lowery (Prince George, British Columbia), who learned it from Robert Montgomery (Oyama, B.C.) and Calvin Vollrath (Edmonton, Alberta) c. 1980 [Gibbons]. Gibbons (As It Comes: Folk Fiddling From Prince George, British Columbia), 1982; No. 2, pgs. 12‑13. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), vol. 2, 1995; pg. 367.

 


HOCH HEY JOHNNY LAD. AKA and see “Hech How Johnnie Lad,” “Oh Hey, Johnny Lad.” Scottish, Canadian; Reel or Strathspey. Canada, Cape Breton. A Major. Standard, ADae or AEae tunings. AABB'. “Hoch Hey Johnny Lad” (sometimes “Hech How…” or “Hey How”…) is a line from the chorus of a song to the tune. Scottish versions are usually set as a reel, though MacDonald, in his Skye Collection notes the tune is sometimes played as a strathspey. The ‘high-bass’ or ADae and AEae tunings are employed on Cape Breton where the melody is rendered as a strathspey. John Glen, in Early Scottish Melodies, notes that this tune is the same as “Lasses/Lassies of the Ferry” in Stewart’s Reels (1761-63, pg. 33) and “The Lads of Saltcots.” Sources for notated versions: Donald MacLellan and Donald Campbell (Cape Breton) [Dunlay & Greenberg]. Dunlay & Greenberg (Traditional Celtic Violin Music from Cape Breton), 1996; pg. 121. Kerr (Merry Melodies), vol. 2; No. 24, pg. 6. Kohler (Violin Repository). MacDonald (The Skye Collection), 1887; pg. 14. Stewart-Robertson (The Athole Collection), 1884; pg. 26. Celtic CX 35, “Donald MacLellan” (c. 1950's. Unlisted after “Old Traditional Strathspey”). Celtic CX 049, Donald and Theresa MacLellan/The MacLellan Trio. IMS WRC1 759, Winnie Chafe - “Cape Breton Scottish Memories” (1979). Rounder 7059, Alex Francis MacKay with Gordon MacLean – “Gaelic in the Bow” (2005). Smithsonian Folkways Records, SFW CD 40507, The Beaton Family of Mabou – “Cape Breton Fiddle and Piano Music” (2004). 

X:1

T:Hoch Hey Johnnie Lad

M:C|

L:1/8

R:Reel

B:Stewart-Robertson – The Athole Collection  (1884)

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:A

A3 c BABc|AFEF B/B/B B2|A3c BABc|AFEF A/A/A A2:|

|:e/f/g ac BABc|e/f/g ae f/f/f f2|1 e/f/g ac BABc|AFEF A/A/A A2:|2

efec BABc|AFEF A/A/A A2||

 

HOCKEY MOUNTAIN REEL. Old‑Time, Fiddle Tune. The title appears in a list of traditional Ozark Mountain fiddle tunes compiled by Vance Randolph, published in 1954.

 

HOCKLEY IN THE HOLE. English, Country Dance Tune. The tune was published in Playford’s English Dancing Master (1651). The title refers to a ‘hole’, a well and public pleasure-garden of ill-repute north of old London near Clerkenwell Green, once in a marshy district in modern times absorbed by the city sprawl. “There assembled on Sundays and holidays, the Smithfield butchers, the knackers of Turnmill Street, and the less respectable citizens of Field Lane, for dog-fights and pugilistic encounters. ‘That men may be instructed by brutes, Aesop, Lemuel Gulliver, and Hockley-in-the-Hole, shew us’ says the author of The Taste of the Town, 1731; adding with satiric slyness: ‘Who can view dogs tearing bulls, bulls goring dogs, or mastiffs throttling bears, without being animated in their daring spirits.’ It became the very type of low blackguardism, and was abolished by the magistracy at the close of the last century” (R. L. Chambers, Book of Days, vol. 2, 1863).

***

The Cockpit (1759). William Hogarth (1697-1764)

***

The place is mentioned in one of Gay’s Fables:

***

Both Hockley-hole and Marybone

The combats of my dog have known.

***

Raven (English Country Dance Tunes), 1984; pg. 45 (facsimile reprint of Playford).

 

HOD CARRIER, THE. AKA and see “Anderson’s Reel [3],” "The Flowers of Redhill [1]," "Don't be Foolish," "Jilly Neary's Favourite,” “Wild Irishman [6].”

 

HOD THE LASS (WHILE I RUN AT HER).  AKA and see “Haud the Lass Till I Come at Her.”

 

HODDOM/HODDAM CASTLE. Scottish, Slow Air (6/8 time). B Flat Major (Carlin): G Major (Gatherer). Standard tuning. AABB. Gatherer notes it was composed by Mr. (Charles) Sharpe of Hoddam as a slow air, although the tune is un-attributed in the Gows’ 3rd Collection (1792), in which other tunes are attributed to Sharpe (for more on whom see “Mr. Sharpe's Delight”). Hoddam Castle is in the vicinity of Lockerbie, Dumfriesshire, southwest Scotland. It was sold in 1690 to John Sharpe and remained in the family for several generations.

***

Hoddam Castle

***

Carlin (The Gow Collection), 1986; No. 333. Gatherer (Gatherer’s Musical Museum), 1987; pg. 22. Gow (Third Collection of Niel Gow’s Reels), 1792; pg. 6 (3rd ed.).

X:1

T:Hoddom Castle

M:6/8

L:1/8

R:Sow Air

N:”Slow”

B:Gow – 3rd Collection of Niel Gow’s Reels, 3rd ed., pg. 6  (orig. 1792)

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:B Flat Major

F|B2B “tr”B>cd|{c}e2 c/B/ {B}AGF|B>cB (Bd).f|f>gf {f}ed”tr”c|(dB).B (BG).G|

(ec).c (cA).A|B>cd {d}cBA|[DB][DB][DB] [D2B2]:||:”tr”d/e/|(fd).d (dB).B|(ec).c (cA).A|

“tr”B>cd cc/d/c/B/|AFF FGA|BBB (Gc)c|(Ad).d (Be).e|(cf)e {e}dcB|1 cFA (B/A/)B/c/:|2 cFA [D2B2]||

 

HOE CAKE. Old‑Time, Breakdown. A Major. Standard tuning. AABB. A variant of "Davy Knicknack" or "Bonnell's Quickstep." A hoecake or johnnycake is a food item that dates to the early 1700’s and is thought to be a precursor of the modern pancake. The ingredients were cornmeal, salt and either boiling water or cold milk. In modern times johnnycakes are also made with eggs, oil or melted butter and leavening (e.g. baking powder). Some bake these in the oven rather than on a griddle, more like traditional cornbread. Ford (Traditional Music in America), 1940; pg. 40.

 

HOE THE CORN MOSES. AKA and see "Razors in the Air," "Moses Hoe Your Corn." Old-Time, Breakdown. D Major. Standard tuning. AB (Silberberg): AA'AA' BB (Phillips). The title comes from the chorus of the minstrel-style song "Razors in the Air," originally a three-part melody by singer-banjoist Harry C. Browne and His Peerless Quartet, who recorded it for Columbia prior to 1930. Vernon Dalhart also recorded an early version of the song. As a tune it was paired to two parts, modified and played by Marion Slaughter, the Otis Brothers (fingering in the key of ‘G’ but tuned down to E), Major Contay and others. Sources for notated versions: Paul Elliot [Phillips]; Greg Canote (Seattle) [Silberberg]. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes, Vol. 1), 1994; pg. 113. Silberberg (Tunes I Learned at Tractor Tavern), 2002; pg. 103 (appears as “Moses Hoe Your Corn”).

 

HOEDOWN IN HICKMAN COUNTY. AKA and see "Hickman County."

 

HODI CAKE. Old-Time, Breakdown. A Major or A Mixolydian. Standard tuning. AABB. No relation to Ford's "Hoe Cake." Source for notated version: Owen Chapman [Phillips]. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes, vol. 1), 1994; pg. 113.

 


HOG EYE [1]. AKA – “Hog-Eyed Man.” AKA and see "Betty Martin," “Brad Walters,” “Chippy/Gippy/Hippy Get Your Haircut,” "Fire on/in the Mountain [1]," “Granny, Will Your Dog Bite? [1],” “High, Betty Martin,” "Old Mother Gofour," “Pretty Betty Martin,” "Sally in the Garden [1]," “Tip Toe Fine,” etc. Old‑Time, Breakdown. USA; Kentucky, Mississippi, Arkansas. A Mixolydian (Phillips): A Dorian (Kaufman). Standard tuning. AAB (Brody): AABB (Kaufman, Phillips). This melody seems to have been played as much in the major mode as in the mixolydian.

***

The term 'hog‑eye' means perhaps 'wall‑eyed' (i.e. eyes that diverge outwards, the opposite of cross-eyed), according to Thede, and indeed it is confirmed that that usage is heard in parts of the United States. Apparently ‘hog-eye’ was a slang term (for some unknown reason) for a type of barge employed by 49ers in the California gold fields in the mid‑1800's. An 1870 publication called Whall Sea Songs says that “[Around San Francisco] there was a great business carried on by water, the chief vehicles being barges, called 'hog-eyes.’” (Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang). Reginal Nettle, writing in his book Sing a Song of England (1954), assumes that ‘hog-eye’ is associated with ‘ditch-hogs’, or river sailors, who were held in contempt by blue-water men, “but the river traffic of the Mississippi-Missouri Valleys nevertheless opened up the Middle West of the U.S.A., and provided the quick transport necessary for the economic expansion…Railways and aircraft are merely carrying on there the work the ‘ditch-hogs’ started” (pg. 116). ‘Hog-eye’ also appears to have been a euphemism for female genitalia (see note for Bayard’s “Hog Eye an’ a ‘Tater”), as documented by Gerson Legman in Roll Me in Your Arms, vol. 1 of Vance Randolph's "unprintable" Ozark folksongs and folklore:

***

...a 'Hog-Eye Man' means a wharf roustabout or idler, usually Negro, who

is always 'just hangin' around,' looking for appetizing kitchen hand-outs

and especially for sexual opportunities; often called 'Jody' (the

adulterer) in and since World War II, in Negro 'toasts' and brag-songs.

*Hog-Eye* means, gallantly, the vagina, not to be confused with

'dead-eye,' meaning the anus.

***

Musicologist Samuel Bayard, prints the following stanza, also commenting that "Hog Eye" has an indecent meaning:

***

As I was going down the street

A pretty girl I chanced to meet,

I stepped right up and kissed her sweet,

And asked her for some hog-eye meat.

***

There are several tunes that are quite similar to each other and to this one: "Betty Martin," "Old Mother Gofour," "Granny Will Your Dog Bite," and "Fire on the Mountain." See Bayard's (1981, No. 60, pg. 43). The melody was in the repertoire of Ky. fiddlers Luther Strong and Bill Stepp as "Hog‑Eyed Man," and was recorded under this title in 1939 by Herbert Halpert for the Library of Congress from the playing of Lauderdale County, Mississippi, fiddler Stephen B. Tucker.

***

Sally's in the garden sifting, sifting,

Sally's in the garden sifting sand;

Sally's in the garden sifting, sifting,

Sally's upstairs with the hog‑eyed man.

***

Sally will your dog bite? No, sir, no,

Daddy cut his biter off a long time ago.

***

Chicken in the bread pan kicking up dough,

Sally will your dog bite? No, sir, no;

Sally in the garden sifting sand,

Sally upstairs with the hog‑eyed man.

***

Sources for notated versions: The Arkansas Sheiks (Kuntz); Tony Marcus [Phillips]. Brody (Fiddler’s Fakebook), 1983; pg. 136. Kaufman (Beginning Old Time Fiddle), 1977; pg. 93. Kuntz (Ragged but Right), 1987; pg. 299‑300. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), vol. 1, 1994; pg. 113. Bay 204, The Arkansas Sheiks‑ "Whiskey Before Breakfast." County 518, Pope's Arkansas Mountaineer's‑ "Echoes of the Ozarks, vol. 1." County 2730, Rafe Stefanini – “Glory on the Big Spring.” Folkways FA 2398, New Lost City Ramblers‑ "Vol. 3." Kanawha 311, "Hollow Rock String Band." Victor 21295 {78 RPM}, Pope's Arkansas Mountaineers.

X:1

T:Hogeye [1]

M:2/4

L:1/8

S:Kuntz – Ragged but Right

K:A

e/f/e/d/ c/B/A/c/|B/A/=G/F/ E/F/G/A/|e/f/e/d/ c/B/A/c/|B/A/G/B/ A/B/c/d/:|

e/f/e/d/ c/A/c/d/|e/f/e/f/ =g/a/g/f/|e/f/e/d/ c/B/A/c/|B/A/G/B/ A/B/c/d/|

e/f/e/d/ c/A/c/d/|e/f/e/f/ =g/a/g/f/|e/f/e/d/ c/B/A/c/|B/A/G/B/ A f/g/||

a/b/a/g/ f/g/f/d/|[d/f/][d/e/][d/f/][d/f/] [dg]>g|f/g/f/d/ e/f/e/c/|d/c/d/f/ ef/g/|

a/b/a/g/ f/g/f/d/|[d/f/][d/e/][d/f/][d/f/] [dg]>g|f/g/f/d/ e/f/e/c/|d/c/d/f/ e>(^d|

e/)[e/f/][e/e/][d/e/] [c/e/][B/e/][A/e/][c/e/]|[B/e/]A/^G/B/ A2||

 

HOG EYE [2]. AKA and see "Hog Eye an' a 'Tater."

HOG EYE [3]. American, March (2/4 time). USA, southwestern Pa. D Major. Standard tuning. AABB. Not related to versions #1 and #2, which do appear related. From southwestern Pa. fifer Frank Ditto, once a renowned musician, via the Hoge MS. Bayard (Dance to the Fiddle), 1981; No. 160, pg. 98.

 

HOGEYED MAN [4].  Old-Time, Breakdown. A Dorian. Standard tuning. AAB. Source for notated version: Kentucky fiddler Bruce Greene [Lamancusa].

X:1

T:Hogeyed Man [4]

M:C

L:1/8

R:Reel

S:Bruce Greene

N:From a transcription by John Lamancusa, by permission http://www.mne.psu.edu/lamancusa/tunes.htm

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:A Dorian

AcAG E3B | c2A2B2G2 | ABAG EGAG | E2 EG A4 |

AcAG E3B | c2d2e4 | c2A2 GEAG | EDEG A4 :|

|| A2 AB cBAB | c2d2e4 | e2 ef g2 ag | eged c2A2 |

A3B cBAB | c2d2 e4 | e2 ef g2 ag |

M:6/4

L:1/8

eg ed c2A2 A4 ||

                       


HOG EYE AN' A 'TATER. AKA and see "Hog Eye('d Man) [2]," "Granny Will Your Dog Bite? [1]" (Pa. floating title), "Fire on the Mountain" (Pa. floating title), "Boating Up Sandy [3]." Old‑Time, Breakdown. USA, southwestern Pennsylvania. A Dorian ('A' part) & A Major ('B' part). Standard tuning. AB. Related to "Hog Eye [1].” "This is not the melody which accompanies the well known and often recorded sea shanty called 'Hog Eye', nor is it the playparty song tune with a similar name known farther south (see Sharp‑Karpeles, English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians, II, No. 250). A somewhat different version, with the parts in reverse order, is in Bayard Coll., No. 288, from Greene County, where the title is simply 'Hog Eye', and has an indecent meaning. In Fayette County, this tune has the following associated rhyme:

***

I went down to Sally's house

'Bout ten o'clock or later;

All she had to give to me

Was a hog‑eye and a tater.

***

The rhyme accompanying the set known in Greene County is:

***

As I was going down the street,

A pretty little girl I chanced to meet;

I stepped right up and kissed her sweet,

And asked her for some hog‑eye meat.

***

(Bayard, 1944). Source for notated version: Irvin Yaugher Jr., Mt. Independence, Pennsylvania, October 19, 1943 (learned from his great‑uncle). Bayard (Hill Country Tunes), 1944; No. 75.

 

HOG EYE SALLY. Old‑Time, Breakdown. Probably "Hog Eye." The title appears in a list of traditional Ozark Mountain fiddle tunes compiled by Vance Randolph, published in 1954.

 

HOG EYED MAN. AKA and see "Hog Eye."

 

HOG HOUSE RAG. Old‑Time, Country Rag. USA, Mo. Marimac 9017, Vesta Johnson (Mo.) ‑ "Down Home Rag."

 

HOG IN THE CANE-BRAKE. AKA and see "Wild Hog in the Cane Break." Old‑Time, Breakdown. USA, Ga. Played by Bob Young (Newton, Ga.) in a 1913 Atlanta, Ga., fiddling contest.

 

HOG IN THE CORN PATCH. Old‑Time. Tune mentioned as being played in a 1931 account of a LaFollette, N.E. Tenn., fiddlers' contest.

 

HOG JOWLS AND BACK BONE