Editor's note: this article originally ran in Banjo Newsletter's November 1982 edition. It is re-published here by permission from the author and the Banjo Newsletter.
The Boys picked Bury Me Beneath The Willow early one morning on Martha White cornbread time. My tape has radio static and whistling on it, but Earl and the Granada cut through most of it. The song moves briskly at about the same clip as Cabin In Caroline, Down The Road, I'm Gonna Settle Down And Doin' My Time.
The opening break is as typical a Scruggs break as you will ever find - pure Earl and simply great. The back-up is a perfect example of what Earl is often doing down-the-neck behind another instrument, as he supplies unobtrusive support and encouragement. Semanticist S.I. Hayakawa says the best way to define a fire hydrant is to point at one. If I were asked to define Scruggs-style down-the-neck back-up, I would point to this example. So many million notes of superfluous tablature exist in the world that the important can get lost among the unimportant. This stuff is important. Learn those G, C and D measures and you can use them in many, many songs.
Now for a few particulars. I have indicated thumb in the first measure to remind you that you should play those four notes in the official I M T M manner, rather than I M I M. The second C measure contains a genuine but not unique (because he does it elsewhere) curiosity: The Great One picks one string and hammers another. In the second D measure (and the first D measure of the back-up), hammer-on if you can't manage two thumbs in a row. I consider the second set of C measures to be gorgeous. The break ends with a typical Scruggs tail-off, waiting for the vocal to start.
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Privacy Consent (EU/GDPR Only)
Copyright 2026 Banjo Hangout. All Rights Reserved.
