Stephen Rapp - Posted - 06/06/2019:  15:29:11

Thanks to Janet Burton for suggesting I post this tune.

Kiss Me Quick, My Papa’s A Comin’ is a lively tune associated with the playing of Sammie Walker (1910—1987). Bruce Greene recorded a version on his CD Five Miles of Elum Wood. 

Bruce Greene CD 

It’s another Cross A tune which we tuned down to F for the video. For banjo I simply tuned down a couple spots from open G to Open F. Even in F it sounds bright and lively.

Here is the TuneArch page for it:  

tunearch.org/wiki/Annotation:K..._A-Coming

David Bragger has a fiddle tutorial in Cross G. 

youtu.be/YQRPeN7dSt8

If you’re not familiar with Cross tunings in fiddle Cross A has the fiddle tuned AEAE for A tunes. This allows not only rich drones to accompany the melody, but also makes switching octaves easy using the same finger patterns. Old Time fiddlers often tuned like this in intervals even if there tuning was lower in pitch. So Cross G is common or any pitch that the fiddle happened to be in.

A note about the video from Paul and myself: Unlike recordings of Bruce Greene and David Bragger, we play the B part crooked as the source, Kentucky fiddler Sammy Walker did. Walker plays the short B twice. Bragger and Greene play the B 4 times. We play it three times. Feel free to play square the tune if you want. If you click the YouTube logo on the video you can see it on YouTube and read the biography of Kentucky fiddler Sammy Walker.

Sammy Walker on Slippery Hill: 

slippery-hill.com/recording/ki...as-coming

My sound file from a jam at Black Creek Fiddler's Reunion is in G. 

The Video with myself, Paul Kirk Jr., and Sean Fen has us tuned down to F.

The tablature PDF is a handwritten one. We play the B part 3 times and crooked as noted above. Just add a couple note at the end of the B-part if you want to square the tune.

Kiss Me Quick, My Papa's A Comin'

VIDEO: Kiss Me Quick My Papa's A' Comin'
(click to view)

Kiss Me Quick, My Papa's A Comin'

 

RG - Posted - 06/07/2019:  19:18:26

Love playing this tune, one of my favorites! Great choice and great playing. Jim Bowles played a fine version as well, but I actually like Sammie's a bit more...

JanetB - Posted - 06/07/2019:  20:08:51

Thanks for showcasing this tune, Stephen. You and your fiddling buddy and guitarist do a great job on it. You three have presented lots of good tunes, and you do different ones every week, just like we do on BHO. How do you learn them so fast for the recordings you fellows have been doing?

I think the melody tells the story well of the young couple saying good-night at her parents house.

The history of Kiss Me Quick, My Papa's A-Comin' and its fiddler is a bit sparse, other than Sammie Walker learned from his father and that he played at dances in his region of Kentucky. I've written to Bruce Greene to learn more, since I used his recording to learn and know that he recorded Sammie. Bruce's CD, "Five Miles of Ellum Wood" is absolutely full of such captivating Kentucky tunes, so I thank you for giving me a good reason to listen more and keep learning.

VIDEO: Kiss Me Quick, My Papa's A Comin' (TOTW)
(click to view)

 

Stephen Rapp - Posted - 06/07/2019:  21:54:11

Thanks RG. I haven't heard Jim Bowles version, but I can imagine it being good as well. Got a chance to jam with Jake Blount and Paul this week and Jake pulled out a version of Christmas Eve which I learned from Bowles playing. Hoping to play that again this weekend.

Janet, thanks again for suggesting I post this one. It really is a fun tune to play and I'm amazed at how quickly you got it down. I have had to learn quite a few new tunes since Paul started his TOTW series. I used to be the one who hounded him to learn tunes I played. That has since reversed and I end up learning loads of new tunes. There are a few of his TOTW picks that I literally learned minutes before he recorded. Having played tunes with him so much though, I think it's easier to hear what he's doing. As for Kentucky tunes, I am partial to them. Some of them are driving dance tunes, but others just have such sweet melodic phrasing I'm happy to just play them with banjo alone.

Tamarack - Posted - 06/09/2019:  19:44:17

Another fine tune new to me, and some fine recordings of a tune perfect for a Sunday afternoon on the back porch.