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stigandr5 - Posted - 07/05/2013: 08:11:19
Grasshopper Sitting On A Sweet Potato Vine
Well, before I get too far into it, let’s consult the Fiddler’s Companion, shall we?
Old‑Time, Breakdown. D Major. Standard tuning. AB (Silberberg): AABB (most versions). Galax, Grayson County,Virginia, area fiddler Luther Davis (1887-1986) is usually credited for most versions of this tune. African-American collector Thomas Talley printed a song by this title in his 1922 work Negro Folk Rhymes (reprinted in 1991, edited by Charles Wolfe). His lyric (which seems to scan with the abc tune below) goes:
***
Grasshopper a settin’ on a sweet tater vine,
‘Long come a Blackbird an’ nab him up behind.
***
Blackbird a-settin’ in a sour apple tree,
Hawk grab him up behind; he “Chee! Chee! Chee!”
***
Big hawk a-settin’ in de top of dat oak,
Start to eat dat Blackbird an’ he git choke.
***
Some see similarities to the Irish melody "(An) Comhra Donn” (The Brown Box/Casket/Coffin). Also melodic similarities in parts of some versions to “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.” Sources for notated versions: Luther Davis (Galax, Va.) via Liz Slade (Yorktown, New York) [Kuntz]; Jere Canote [Phillips]; Greg Canote (Seattle) [Songer]; Stephanie Prausnitz [Silberberg]. Johnson (The Kitchen Musician No. 2: Occasional Collection of Old‑Timey Fiddle Tunes for Hammer Dulcimer, Fiddle, etc.), 1982 (revised 1988 & 2003); pg. 14. Kuntz, Private Collection. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), Vol. 1, 1994; pg. 102. Silberberg (Tunes I Learned at Tractor Tavern), 2002; pg. 55. Songer (Portland Collection), 1997; pg. 88. Dean StreetMusic 101, Grand Picnic - “Grand Picnic.” Marimac 9009, Liz Slade ‑ "Old Time Friends" (1987).
This old gem was one of the first fiddle tunes I learned for banjo, so it has a special place in my heart.
I’m sorry to say that I didn’t find a whole lot more information on the tune than what was presented above. Most other places just link to the same string of people, places, and dates.
Here are some of my favorite versions of the tune:
youtube.com/watch?v=LKFC45JWg7o (Don Borchelt & Ed Britt)
youtube.com/watch?v=zozpuQnaYPE (Dave Hum)
youtube.com/watch?v=zgmbq2qRQpw (Michael Neverisky)
And in case any of you want to learn it on fiddle:
youtube.com/watch?v=1huVWnjqwoE
Lastly, in homage to its black roots, I recorded a version with an added first verse in Haitian Creole. It fit in surprisingly easily!
Chwal Bondyè ap chita sou yon fèy,
Zwazo vin; gade’l manje’l, “Bye-bye!”
Grasshopper sittin’ on a sweet potato vine,
Up come a blackbird and nab him from behind.
Blackbird sittin’ in a sassafras tree,
Up come a hawk, and he “Chee! Chee! Chee!”
Hawk a-sittin’ at the top of the oak,
Tried to eat the blackbird and he got choked.
What will you do with this standard to make it your own? Enjoy!
youtube.com/watch?v=ui6rYSOZb8s
-Nathan
mrphysics55 - Posted - 07/05/2013: 09:26:34
Nathan ...
Most Excellent!
bhniko - Posted - 07/05/2013: 09:57:01
Enjoyable post...Borchelt and Hum...two great ones playing a great old song.
Nathan, enjoyed your play...can't take music out of the soul.
JanetB - Posted - 07/05/2013: 10:20:37
Nathan, you've made it your own. Bravo! My husband, Kit, and I got to learn it recently at a music camp (you're never too young or old to attend one) and we may have a duet of it soon. Here's what I've got so far, plus couldn't resist adding the photo.
Edited by - JanetB on 07/05/2013 10:24:56
RG - Posted - 07/05/2013: 12:18:51
Nathan...real nice and extra credit for that verse in Haitian Creole, sounded great!
strokestyle - Posted - 07/06/2013: 22:17:39
Nathan wonderful to hear and see you play this tune:)
SCclawman - Posted - 07/07/2013: 14:05:04
Nathan,
That sounds awesome on that 'jo! Lovely.
This is at the top of the list of my favorite songs to play. I probably enjoy it more on the mandolin, and have been working hard on it with the fiddle, but it's still sounding pretty rough.
Here's a little banjo/mando duet that I recorded a while back.
Great pick for TOTW, and great video!
Heath Curdts - Posted - 07/07/2013: 15:55:14
Good old tune. Paul Brown learned this from Luther Davis and recorded a fine banjo version of it on the Heritage LP, "Old Five String." Here's a link to Luther playing it on fiddle; he was 93 when I recorded this. Luther learned most of his music from players born in the mid-19th century, and while his age was starting to show, his playing still carried the graceful elegance of his earlier days.
I'm glad you linked to Don Mussel's wonderful page on Luther; he was a remarkable man. With a little help from his folks, Luther made his first banjo at the age of 7. The rim was cut from the bottom of an old tin bucket, the neck whittled from poplar. For strings, his mother took hairs from the long, black tail of their mare and twisted them together with beeswax.
In 1981, Luther still drove his 1959 Studebaker V-8 for local errands and grew just about all his own food. He had a cellar full of vegetables and pickles that he put up each year, and he loved to bake enormous, fluffy biscuits in his wood cook stove (splitting the wood for it). He had about a dozen laying hens but had recently sold his last cow: "She just got to be too darned much trouble."
Heath
RG - Posted - 07/07/2013: 20:55:35
Wow Heath, that was great! Thanks for posting...
Heath Curdts - Posted - 07/07/2013: 23:46:04
Glad you liked it, RG. When I posted, I didn't see ramjo's post with the link to the Slippery Hill recording. That sounds like a cut from a wonderful 1986 Heritage LP produced by Andy Cahan and Alice Gerrard, called "The Old Time Way." One side was Luther Davis (with occasional accompaniment; in this case, AC on banjo and AG on guitar) and the other side was Roscoe and Leone Parish. The notes are amazingly deep, with over 50 pages of interviews and detailed information about the musicians and their music. A real labor of love, it's long been out of print. Well worth searching for.
Heath
Edited by - Heath Curdts on 07/07/2013 23:59:45
stigandr5 - Posted - 07/08/2013: 04:59:08
Thanks to everyone who's contributed to this topic. Sorry for not being a bit more active, but I was travelling for the holiday.
Heath, wow, I sure hope I can make music that sounds that good at 90+!
ZEPP - Posted - 07/08/2013: 08:52:41
Hmmm, I guess I should respond to this "Tune of Last Week." Better late than never? 
I recorded this in 2004 when Deering introduced their Senator model. I was tuned near aCGCD and capoed 2 frets so's it came out in 2D: aDADE.
I had completely forgotten about this tune (and haven't played it in years!). I learned it at some local jams, and always liked its noteyness.
Good stuff, folks--thanks for the reminder.
Cheers,
ZEPP
Edited by - ZEPP on 07/08/2013 08:53:20
Dock Jekel - Posted - 07/08/2013: 09:19:29
Nathan- nice work on the fretless and voice! Real cool tune that gets played occasionally in my neck of the woods by competition/contra-dance fiddlers. Heath- thanks for the stories!
Banjowik - Posted - 07/08/2013: 19:35:25
Great tune Nathan, a fun one to play! Will try and post a recording of my take if I get a chance in the next few days!
For some reason, on hearing this tune the lyrics "Hang Jim Davis from the sour apple tree" sprang into my head, can anyone explain why, I know this is a different tune but I'm not sure which. Probably related in some way as many tunes are!!
'I'm Liberated!' 3 hrs
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