gentrixuk - Posted - 08/04/2023:  04:21:10

This week’s tune of the week is “Davy Dugger”. My source for the tune is a version by the great Kentucky source fiddler Clyde Davenport, who learned it from his father, Will Davenport. Clyde’s version can be heard on his “Puncheon Camps” recording, recorded by Jeff Titon in 1990, on Slippery Hill: Davy Dugger | Slippery-Hill



Clyde Davenport (1921-2020)



Clyde Davenport was a very important source of tunes from Kentucky. Although primarily a fiddle player, he also played banjo:



Clyde never “learned” to play the fiddle; he just picked it up and, with his father’s tunes in his head, immediately started playing. He said he did have to “fool with a banjo just a little bit” before he could play it.



Starting in his mid-teens, Clyde played for dances in the Mt. Pisgah region, traveling to play in homes for square dances every Saturday night. Often he went with one of his brothers and, because none of them played banjo, the job of banjo-playing fell to him.



Taken from Clyde Davenport - Field Recorders Collective



There is another version of the tune by Clyde on YouTube, from the album “Homemade Stuff” with W.L. Gregory and Gary Gregory: Old Davy Dugger - YouTube



Other Versions



The name of the tune has a few variations: “Old Davy Dugger”, “Go Shoot Old Davy Dugger”. The name is also sometimes spelled “Davie Duggar”.



“Davy Dugger” has also been recorded by Oscar and Eugene Wright, The Doc Watson Family and Delbert Hughes. The Field Recorders Collective also included a version on their Gaither Carlton release: Old Davy Duggar | Gaither Carlton | Field Recorders' Collective (bandcamp.com)



There is plenty of information on the Traditional Tune Archive here: Davy Dugger - Traditional Tune Archive



“Shoot That Turkey Buzzard”



Now, here’s where things get messy (as ever!). There are several alternative names listed on the online sources. The most common one seems be “Shoot That Turkey Buzzard” (but “Coon Dog/Old Coon Dog” and “Ned Went a’ Fishing” are also mentioned). Some sources refer to this as being a family of tunes. It’s also fair to say that this tune has a lot in common with “Seneca Square Dance” in some parts.



“Shoot That Turkey Buzzard” sounds really close to the same tune, and its virtually indistinguishable in some versions. However, in this audio clip, Clyde demonstrates the subtle main difference between the two tunes as he played them: SHOOT THAT TURKEY BUZZARD (brown.edu)



“Shoot The Turkey Buzzard” has been recorded by J.E. Mainer’s Mountaineers, Uncle Charlie Osbourne, Fiddlin’ Doc Roberts, John Hartford and The Holy Modal Rounders. There are also lots of alternative written versions of ‘Shoot That Turkey Buzzard’ mentioned in this link: Bluegrass Messengers - Shoot That Turkey Buzzard- Version 1 Kuntz



Lyrics



This tune also has some lyrics, which are sung to the high part of the tune.



Shoot old Davy Duggar dead,

Shoot old Davy Duggar dead,

Shoot old Davy Duggar dead,

He stole my wife and ate my bread



or



Shoot Old Davy Dugger

Shoot Old Davy Dugger

Shoot Old Davy Dugger

Catch his wife and hug her



There are also lyrics for “Shoot that Turkey Buzzard”:



Shoot that Turkey Buzzard

Shoot that Turkey Buzzard

Shoot that Turkey Buzzard

Come floppin’ down the holler (or Come flyin’ round the mountain)



You can see how easily interchangeable these are, and you can hear it on this recording from the Alan Lomax Kentucky archive, where they alternate cleanly between the two different sets of lyrics: Shoot That Turkey Buzzard · Alan Lomax Kentucky Recordings (omeka.net)



Tab and Video



It’s a fun tune to play, and also very flexible. People vary the order of the A and B parts and the number of repeats on the recordings, so play it how you like! I’ve started with the low part, based on the Slippery Hill Clyde Davenport recording. It’s in standard G tuning.



Enjoy!

Edited by - gentrixuk on 08/04/2023 07:32:44

VIDEO: Davy Dugger
(click to view)

Clyde Davenport

Davy Dugger

 

ndlxs - Posted - 08/04/2023:  05:52:05

It seems like most of the time it would not be worth the effort to explain to people the difference between those two tunes.  Sure, one can hear the difference...Neat tune, though!

The dots:

tunearch.org/wiki/Davy_Dugger

gentrixuk - Posted - 08/04/2023:  06:52:38

quote:

---

Originally posted by ndlxs

It seems like most of the time it would not be worth the effort to explain to people the difference between those two tunes.  Sure, one can hear the difference...Neat tune, though!

The dots:

tunearch.org/wiki/Davy_Dugger

---

Thanks Andy. Yes, I struggle to hear much of a difference. It's probably just a slight regional variation if the same tune with different lyrics.

Andyrhydycreuau - Posted - 08/04/2023:  13:20:53

I like this! Good choice, I'm going to learn it. Thanks Mark!

JanetB - Posted - 08/05/2023:  18:20:42

Great choice, Mark, good coverage, and nice video.



To keep my fingers down the neck more, I went with "guitar tuning", gDGBE. I liked Gaither Carlton's phrasing and may want to add his as a variation to the Clyde Davenport version offered on Slippery Hill.



For comparison, there are some resemblances to Lee Hammons' Greasy String, which I'd previously recorded in a medley with Seneca Square Dance. The third tune is Burl Hammons' Greasy String, quite different.

Edited by - JanetB on 08/05/2023 18:21:54

Greasy String (TOTW)/Seneca Square Dance medley

Davy Dugger

Davy Dugger (CH) tab

 

Bill Rogers - Posted - 08/05/2023:  19:54:33

I first heard lit live from Carlton and Watson in 1964 or ‘65.

carlb - Posted - 08/06/2023:  14:32:19

Good story; love your playing