Dean-O-Craft - Posted - 12/27/2012: 22:34:05
Give Me A Chaw of Tobacco. My wife and I learned this from the recording of the Carter Brothers
and Son, a raucous string band from northeast Mississippi. The band consisted of two brothers,
Andrew and George Carter, both on fiddle, and George's son, Jimmie, on guitar.
The Fiddler's Companion considers this to be the same tune as “Bear Creek's Up”, and considers both
to be a variant of “Sally Goodin”, although in a different key. “Give Me A Chaw of Tobacco” and
“Bear Creek's Up” are in G, whereas “Sally Goodin” is normally played in A:
BEAR CREEK'S UP. AKA and see “Bear Creek,” "Sally Goodin'," "Give me Chaw of Tobacco."
Old Time, Breakdown. USA, Mississippi. G Major. Standard tuning. A regional variant of the
well known "Sally Goodin" (according to Tom Carter & Gary Stanton) with similar lyrics to
Thede's "Bear Creek." This version goes:
***
Bear Creek's up and Bear Creek's muddy
When a man gets drunk he can't stand steady.
***
The source for the tune, W.E. Claunch, also played "Sally Goodin,'" and for him it was a different tune,
played in a different key. A Bear Creek does flow through Tishomingo County, Mississippi, into the
Tennessee River, though it is likely, says Tom Rankin, that the title derives from the lyrics, not the
location. Mississippi Department of Archives and History AH 002, W.E. Claunch "Great Big Yam
Potatoes: Anglo American Fiddle Music from Mississippi" (1985?).
I have attached a video of my wife Judy on fiddle and me on banjo playing “Give Me a Chaw of Tobacco”. Fiddle is
tuned GDAE, and the banjo is tuned gDGBD:
Here is a link to the Carter Brothers and Son version:
And here is a link to Ernest Claunch's “Bear Creek's Up” (Ernest was also from NE MS):
Soundwagon with fiddler Jack Magee and banjo player Richie Stearns recorded both tunes on their
album – you can listen to samples here:
Whatever you call it, it's a fairly easy, rocking tune in the key of G. Enjoy!
