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Please note this is an archived topic, so it is locked and unable to be replied to. You may, however, start a new topic and refer to this topic with a link: http://www.banjohangout.org/archive/408816
S_D - Posted - 05/29/2026: 18:58:14
Has anyone seen or made clawhammer banjo tabs for “Fare Thee Well (Dink’s Song)”? I haven’t been able to find a clawhammer arrangement and I’m not sure how well it naturally fits the style, but it seems like it could work as a simple, slower piece.
It's one of the earliest documented American folk songs collected in 1909 by folklorist John Lomax. It had a local oral tradition at that point, but Lomax’s was likely the first recording. It was on a wax cylinder, which was later damaged. So the only surviving recording is a version of it sung by Lomax’s son, who remembers his dad singing the song to him when he was young.
Alan Lomax’s field recording efforts traveling across the United States to capture traditional music helped preserve an enormous amount of early American folk songs that might otherwise have been lost. If anyone is not already familiar, it is a fascinating story for anyone interested in early American folk music (as I suspect many of us clawhammer players are).
Mumford and Sons:
youtube.com/watch?v=ajZC1RZSR44
Dave Van Ron:
youtube.com/watch?v=ZDmkZc9YHzw
John A Lomax Jr:
youtube.com/watch?v=Nzzu2M5TY-A
dbrooks - Posted - 05/30/2026: 14:43:20
Hedre's a PDF and MP3 for a version in G.
The first version of this song that was was by the Big 3, featuring Mama Cass, in about 1974. My high school folk group promptly added it to our tune list. (That's not the version I tabbed.)
Dink's Song (Fare Thee Well) Tab - Details and Ratings - Banjo Hangout
David
Edited by - dbrooks on 05/30/2026 14:43:45
dbrooks - Posted - 05/30/2026: 16:10:54
Oops, I meant to say I learned the Big 3 version in or about 1964
David
S_D - Posted - 05/31/2026: 13:40:44
Hi David,
Thank you! I found your tab and have been working through it. It's a beautiful arrangement and exactly the kind of clawhammer version I was hoping to find.
Thank you for posting this!
- Sam
quote:
Originally posted by dbrooksHedre's a PDF and MP3 for a version in G.
The first version of this song that was was by the Big 3, featuring Mama Cass, in about 1974. My high school folk group promptly added it to our tune list. (That's not the version I tabbed.)
Dink's Song (Fare Thee Well) Tab - Details and Ratings - Banjo Hangout
David
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