EggerRidgeBoy - Posted - 06/15/2012:  15:53:01

Well it seems that neither the originally scheduled TOTW volunteer nor his substitute is going to be able to post a tune today, so I'll use one of my emergency back-up tunes. That tune is The Hog Got Through the Fence With the Whole Yoke On, an A tune that comes from Kentucky fiddler Luther Strong. (Also known as The Hog Got Through the Fence Yoke and All, The Hog Got Through the Fence, and Pa Fell Asleep and The Hog Got Through the Fence With the Whole Yoke On.)  It seems to bear some resemblance to Cluck Old Hen, with some people even considering it to be basically a member of the Cluck Old Hen variations family. 

Edited by - EggerRidgeBoy on 06/21/2012 18:50:14

LyleK - Posted - 06/15/2012:  20:01:25

Here's a tab based on Titon's transcription in "Old Time Kentucky Fiddle Tunes." (and see BHO tab archives for tabledit version)

Hog Went

EggerRidgeBoy - Posted - 06/15/2012:  20:53:10

quote:

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Originally posted by LyleK

Here's a tab based on Titon's transcription in "Old Time Kentucky Fiddle Tunes." (and see BHO tab archives for tabledit version)

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 Thanks very much, Lyle.

vrteach - Posted - 06/16/2012:  09:18:22

There is a page about hog yoke at the New York Historical Society. I bet there are some illustrations out there of them in use.

vrteach - Posted - 06/16/2012:  09:30:27

Oh, and here is a page for a 1910 patent for a Hog-Yoke; far more sturdy than the New York one.

RG - Posted - 06/16/2012:  11:43:41

Great tune choice, big fan of Luther Strong's fiddling...this is a good one!

blanham - Posted - 06/16/2012:  12:30:45

Yes, good choice!  It never occurred to me that it is in the "Cluck Old Hen" family of tunes.  Here's how I play it in the band "Streak of Lean," except the band usually does it in G.  I capoed up to A modal tuning to make this recording.

The Hog Went Through the Fence, Yoke and All

vrteach - Posted - 06/16/2012:  13:01:37

Well, I got caught up in this, even though I still don't quite get the tune. Here is an in-progress version, although who knows if I'll play it again. The A part is OK-ish, but the B/C (or whatever is going on) is kind of a mish-mash of my generic stuff in A-modal.

I don't hear much "Cluck Old Hen." To me it is like "Mike in the Wilderness" meets "Greasy Coat." Kinda-sorta.

The Hog Got Through the Fence With the Whole Yoke On

hendrid - Posted - 06/16/2012:  16:09:56

Fiddlinred say the tune is in Aminor, and  ABBB  The A part is played once the the B part 3 times, though going through several versions on youtube.com,  some seem to play it AABB. Hard to tell.  Another fiddle version is by Fiddle John,  posted on youtube.com by gbfowler. His version is different also and has a C part?   Don

youtube.com/watch?v=BmjMn_XS9S...e=related

Edited by - hendrid on 06/16/2012 16:11:52

janolov - Posted - 06/17/2012:  01:05:38

I don't hear it as "modal". Luther Strong seems to play a neutral third (between C-C#) and a neutral seventh (between G-G#). In my opinion that is neither major,  minor or modal (since modes are based on the major scale). This makes it difficult to play on a fretted banjo to get the right flavor. My approach is the play the thirds and sevenths as slides between the two notes. I have tried both major tuning and sawmill and I don't know yet which one works best.

Edited by - janolov on 06/17/2012 01:07:54

JanetB - Posted - 06/20/2012:  11:51:49

Thanks for bringing another Kentucky fiddle tune to our attention.   I listened mostly to Luther Strong and Bob (blanham)'s exceptionally nice clawhammer interpretation.  Here I 3-finger pick in open G.  The key is close to an A minor, but I choke on the C note.

The Hog Went Through the Fence, Yoke and All

atleson - Posted - 06/20/2012:  18:45:37

JanetB: just lovely. If only i had an idea how to do three-finger. You present a strong incentive though.

jim

EggerRidgeBoy - Posted - 06/21/2012:  18:47:46

quote:

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Originally posted by vrteach

There is a page about hog yoke at the New York Historical Society. I bet there are some illustrations out there of them in use.

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Thanks for those images.

Here are a couple of the photos I noted in my post:

Philippines:  delahyde.com/lubang/pagesl/Cab...land.html  (scroll to the bottom)

Laos: travelblog.org/Photos/858441

While I was researching the tune, I also thought for sure I had come across a reference to chickens sometimes wearing yokes.  That surprised me, since I figured chickens would generally head back to the roost on their own at night even if allowed to wander around the barnyard by day.  But when it came time to write the TOTW, I couldn't find that half-remembered (or perhaps imagined) reference, and so left out any mention of chicken yokes in my account.

Then, just a couple of hours after posting the tune, I found myself going through some of my grandfather's books, as I was staying in his old house, which is still in the family.  The last one I perused was "A Museum of Early American Tools" by Eric Sloane, published in 1964.  Just as I was about to put it back on the shelf, I glanced at the final page, entitled "Found in a Barn".  There, amidst images of lard squeezers and silage cutters, was a drawing of a goose yoke.  It looked pretty much like the hog yoke from New York, just a lot smaller.  Of course, a goose is not a chicken, but I did feel a bit better knowing that some types of poultry occasionally wear yokes.

Edited by - EggerRidgeBoy on 06/21/2012 18:51:02

EggerRidgeBoy - Posted - 06/21/2012:  18:49:24

Thanks to all for your comments, insights, and versions of the tune.