One day last week the Cafe MP3 of the day was Robin Bullock playing Coleman's March and it reminded me of what a great tune it is but it's never come up in the SAW. It's great tune and a great story. Here's the story from The Fiddler's Companion: D. K. Wilgus, in his article "The Hanged Fiddler Legend in Anglo-American Tradition," has extensively researched this tune and legend, a variant of the hanged-fiddler legend of "MacPherson's Farewell." Joe Coleman, a shoemaker, was accused of stabbing his wife to death near the town of Slate Fork, Adair County, Kentucky, as recorded in the Burkesville Herald Almanac for 1899. Convicted on circumstantial evidence and the testimony of his sister-in-law who was living with them at the time, Coleman was tried in nearby Cumberland County and sentenced to death. While being driven to the place of execution in a two-wheeled ox cart, Coleman sat on his coffin and played a tune that has come down as "Coleman's March." Coleman protested his innocence to the last, and there several stories exist of a man confessing, or of "an old lady confessing on her death-bed she had killed Coleman's wife." One account (in the Burkesville Almanac) gives that Coleman's relatives quickly recovered the body, somehow managed to revive him and put him on a steamboat down the Cumberland River to Nashville, from which point he disappeared into the West. Also attached to the tune is the legend that before Coleman was hanged he offered his fiddle to anyone who could play the tune as well as he, and at least one source identified a Kentucky fiddler named Franz Prewitt as the recipient. Prewitt's descendants remembered him as having been indeed a fine fiddler, although they did not remember any tales connected with his receiving a fiddle. Bruce Greene introduced the tune to old-time “revival” fiddlers in the 1970’s, according to Seattle old-time music expert Kerry Blech who gives that Greene had the tune from an old Kentucky fiddler by the name of Gene Conner, who was recorded in January 1962 in Bowling Green, KY, probably by Lynwood Montell and Wilgus. Connor and played the tune in standard tuning, although Greene and Vermont fiddler Pete Sutherland play it in cross tuning (DDad). Sutherland’s version has been particularly influential in popularizing the tune in modern times. I play in a cross tuning of sorts on a 10 string mandolin tuned DADAE. Here's the abc's: X:1 T:Coleman’s March C:Traditional M:C L:1/8 K:D ||:F6 EF|G6 FG|A2 AB AFED|E6FG|A2 d2 c3 A|BcBA FE D2|E2 EF GF E2|D6DE:||D4 DEFA| ||:d6ed|c6dc|B2 Bc dc B2|A6FG| A2d2c3A|BcBA FE D2|E2 EF GF E2|D4DEFA:||
Thanks, David. That was really beautiful. Interesting story too.
Lovely tune and playing there David - hey is that the 10 string Sobell that was at Gryphon?
A very moving piece of music, beautifully played. Scott
That's a very beautiful song, and an interesting mandolin too. Is it usually played in alternate tunings, or will a standard tuning work as well?
David, exceptionally pretty. Nice job.
It's such a simple tune, but so beautiful. I couldn't resist learning it right away. Thanks for sharing it here.
Thanks for posting this tune, David. I believe it’s a must for your CD. And thanks for the ABC’s and the story. You 10 String sure sounds great.
Thanks so much all for the nice comments, it means a lot to me. Jill I didn't know Gryphon had a ten string Sobell, I got mine from a private party. Laura, you can tune a ten string mandolin however you want, most are tuned CGDAE but on a short scale length the C is a little weak so a lot of people tune the lower course to D to make it DGDAE. I tuned the G course up to A to maximize the drone sound in the key of D. Marcelyn I'll be looking forward to your video.
you're getting quite the Sobell collection going there sir, congratulations!
Okay, David, here it is. I'd have had it done a lot sooner, but I got hung up researching that story you posted. What a facinating tidbit of history. Here's a paper by the late D. K. Wilgus containing information on Coleman and several other convicts who fiddled their way to the gallows. http://www.bluegrassmessengers.com/t...r--wilgus.aspx
Nicely done Marcelyn, I thought this would be a tune you would like and it fits so well with your style of playing. I'm not so sure about the the link to the Star of Munster thread?
Woops, don't know how that happened. Here's the correct link, and I'll fix the one above too. http://www.bluegrassmessengers.com/t...r--wilgus.aspx Thanks for the compliment, David, and thanks for introducing the tune. It's a favorite.
Super job of playing this beautiful tune Marcelyn. Thanks!
That's a beautiful version of this tune, Marcelyn. Love your tremolo work on it.
Thanks for the encouragement, Michael and Don. Don's post reminded me that I forgot to mention I played this in GDGD tuning.
How did I miss the GDGD tuning?
