Rural Life and Folk Traditions
It's time again for Three Tune Tuesday, that day of the week where members of the Hive community shares three songs of their liking with the rest of the community.
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I take a slow, relaxing approach to Three Tune Tuesday: I like to share pre-1924 78rpm songs from my collection, and record them while playing on an appropriate time-period windup phonograph. I encourage you to take a few moments and slow down with me. Settle down, close your eyes, and take yourself back.. way back.. in time, to a distant uncle's parlour in the early 1920's. There are comfortable seats, pleasant conversation, and old music.
Today I'm delving into the rich tapestry of rural life and folk traditions, as preserved and reflected in the songs of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This was a time of great change in America; cities were growing, factories were springing up, and more and more people were leaving their rural homes for the promise of urban opportunities. Yet, as is usual during times of change and strife, there was a strong current of nostalgia and a desire to hold onto the simpler ways of rural life. This is what we have today.
Old Dan Tucker
Old Dan Tucker can trace it's history back to the 1830s and is attributed to Daniel Decatur Emmett. The song tells the tale of a hard-drinking, rough-and-tumble character who's become a staple of American folklore.
This version was recorded by Harry C. Brown in 1916 on the Columbia label, and is a perfect example of the lively spirit of rural folk music. Lines like "Old Dan Tucker was a fine old man, washed his face in a frying pan" speak to the humorous, often exaggerated storytelling that was a hallmark of rural entertainment.
The Arkansas Traveler
"The Arkansas Traveler," recorded in 1922 by Steve Porter and Ernest Hare on the Edison label, is a song that has been entertaining audiences for nearly two centuries. This tune is believed to have originated in the 1840s by Colonel Sanford C. Faulkner, a colorful character in his own right who served as the State Treasurer of Arkansas. The song tells the story of a sophisticated traveler who encounters a rustic fiddler, setting the stage for a humorous exchange that cleverly plays on the contrast between rural and urban sensibilities.
The Old Oaken Bucket
The Old Oaken Bucket is a ballad penned by Samuel Woodworth in 1817 and typically set to a traditional English melody. Woodworth was a New York City printer and aspiring writer who wrote the poem after taking a sip of Schenectady spring water, which reminded him of the well at his childhood home in Massachusetts.
This version of the song was recorded in 1905 by 4 unnamed male singers - a quartet - on the Harvard Disc Records label.
Three Tune Tuesday (TTT) is initiated by @ablaze.
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Older songs definitely something different, first very upbeat the other two more dramatic story telling. Oh got to love the old labels!
I love how rhythmic older songs are. They seem to achieve but great tuning and great lyrics as well. Love your song picks.🌺
Amazing that you can even find some of these. I guess it's like everything else anymore, the world moves on and forgets much of the past...
Old Dan Tucker is funny, with a hillbilly feel to it! The second to an extent too. The last quartet really sounded like a barber shop quartet, they were good. It must take you some serious research finding some of these songs!
One of the first things I notice on these recordings is how quiet they are compared to today. The music is louder, obviously technology has much to do with it, but only to an extent. Things are just louder!