Apologies. ER trip on Friday played havoc with my schedule. I’m ok, but the time was lost.
So, a quick and dirty post….This week’s tune (song, actually) is Boston/Louisville Burglar—and a couple of links to examples of how to accompany a ballad with the 5-string. Boston Burglar is one of the first songs I learned as I began to play banjo—long abandoned because I can’t sing. I learned it from Harry West’s rendition on “Banjo Songs of the Southern Mountains,” a now-classic Riverside LP from the. Late ‘50s. (If you’re not familiar with it, the entire record is posted to YouTube and well-worth the listening. Traditional playing from before the ascent of Round Peak style.). West's version starts at about 19:50. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6n2_reQrDIA&list=RD6n2_reQrDIA&start_radio=1
Boston Burglar is an American Version of an Irish song of the same name. More commonly it's rendered as Louisville Burglar in the U.S. The main difference between the U.S. and Irish versions seems to be the time signature.
Two more from YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9c64GERioc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvG0FO0Lpis
Edited by - Bill Rogers on 10/17/2026 22:23:39
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