I learned this tune from a clawhammer banjo player who said it was called "The State of Arkansas". I can't find a tune with that title that's remotely similar to this one, does anyone know of another title for this tune? It's a great modal G tune so I tuned both my octave and my mandolin to GDGD for this, to give it more of a droney sound. Here's abcs if anyone is interested: X:1 T:The State of Arkansas M:4/4 L:1/8 K:F |G2G2B2c2|d4dcB2|G2GBG2F2|G8| d2d2d2f2|g2gf gfdc|dfgf dcBc|d8| d2d2d2f2|g2gf gfdc|dfgf dcBc|d4dcB2| G4B2c2| d4dcB2|G2GBG2F2|G8|
That's a great one, David, I think you're gonna land a job doing movie soundtracks soon. That's a big sound.
The State of Arkansas sounds a lot like the old folk song Joe Bowers. My name it is Joe Bowers I have a brother, Ike I'm just from ole Missouri An' all th way from Pike Perhaps you wonder how I left there An' how I came to roam To leave my kind ole Mother So far away from home... (many verses follow this one.) Great arrangement David!
Great professional sound and nice pictures, David.
That certainly is an amazing sound David. I've heard the tune before and looking for what I recalled of the words lead me to the Ozark Echos site -- here is what they have about the "State of Arkansas": In 1927, a Virginian textile mill worker named Kelly Harrell traveled to Camden, New Jersey to record some songs for Victor Records. It was his third time recording for Victor; his last two (in 1925 and 1926) garnered enough interest for six new cuts with his own backing band, the Virginia String Band. He was an unlikely pioneer of country music considering he couldn’t play an instrument, but his short career predated Jimmie Rodgers (who Harrell wrote a few songs for) and the Carter Family’s. One of the songs Harrell recorded in 1927 was “My Name is John Johanna,” a traditional ballad about the state of Arkansas. Harrell’s cut might have been the first time the ballad was recorded. “My Name is John Johanna” (or Jo Hannah) is also known as “The State of Arkansas” (or Arkansaw), “Bill Stafford,” “Stanford Barnes,” and “Misery in Arkansas” among others. Like most folk songs, versions of “The State of Arkansas” vary lyrically and musically but rarely thematically. The song tells the tale of a man (with varying names) who travels to Arkansas looking for work but instead encounters hunger and despair. In most versions, the man stays in the “best hotel in the state of Arkansas” for one night, which compels him to leave the entire state early the next morning. But before he can hop on a train, he is persuaded to do some work, usually either draining swamp land or laying railroad. “Walking skeletons,” who only eat “corn dodgers” and drink “sassafras tea,” are a common motif. The narrator ends multiple stanzas with the gloomy phrase, “I never knew what misery was ‘til I came to Arkansas.” Thanks for the abc.
Here are some lyrics from Pete Seeger's "State of Arkansas" Lyrics to State Of Arkansas : My name is Terry Roberts, From Little Rock I come. I went down to the schoolhouse, The place they kept me from. I went down to that schoolhouse, And this is what I saw... State troopers with steel helmets In the State of Arkansas. I went up to the troopers And said, "Please let me in." And all their guns were pointed At the color of my skin. They kept me from that schoolhouse Where I'd be by law. And that's what they call justice In the State of Arkansas. Now his name is Orval Faubus, The governor of the state, He sent his army charging down, Nine kids at the gate. Three hundred National Guard were there Dressed up to fight a war, And that is why I'm late for school In the State of Arkansas. Oh listen, Mr. Governor, And Mr. President, too. Give me that constitution That's what you've got to do. Give me that constitution I ask for nothing more. Yes, that's what I want to study In the State of Arkansas. I've traveled this wide world over, Some ups and downs I've saw, But I never knew what misery was Til I hit old Arkansas
Found these lyrics on Mudcat.org THE STATE OF ARKANSAS I landed in Saint Louis, six dollars an' no more, I read the daily papers until my eyes was sore; A-readin' advertisements, it was my chance, I saw, They needed daily lab'rers in the state of Arkansas. Bill Hughes was the agent, straightway to him I did go, He says there was five dollars in money I must pay; I paid him down the money, a ticket I did draw, Which carried me over the railroad in the state of Arkansas. I paid him every dollar, I never received a show, Until I was safely landed in the town of Little Rock, I had neither friend or relative to extend to me their paw Or tell me I was welcome in the state of Arkansas. While walkin' on the platform I thought I had met a friend, He was a man-catcher, he said his name was King; He says, "You are a stranger, this idea I do draw; On yonder hill is my hotel, the best in Arkansas." I followed my conductor to his well-respected place, Where hunger an' starvation was pictured in its face; His bread it was corn-dodger, his beef I could not chaw, He charged me fifty cents a meal in the state of Arkansas. Next mornin' so early I set out for Ozark, A-feelin' low in spirit, an' hungry as a shark; I bought a pint of whiskey my feelings for to thaw An' trudged along the railroad in the state of Arkansas. It would make your heart melt with pity to see me walk the track, Or to meet a charter bummer with a turkey on his back, Plenty stout an' able to work his under jaw Around a scanty table in the state of Arkansas. There's another grand connection located with the camp. Where every accommodation is waitin' for a tramp, A-sleepin' round a campfire without sheet, bed, or straw, A-scratchin' ticks an' chiggers in the state of Arkansas. Workin' on the railroad at four bits a day, These kind of wages they do not like to pay; I'm goin' out to the Nation an' marry me a squaw, I'll bid farewell to all the roads in the state of Arkansas as sung by Emma L. Dusenbury, Mena, Arkansas, Nov 7, 1930 From Ozark Folksongs (abridged), Vance Randolph/Norm Cohen, 1982 Other versions there as well. http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=8085
right up my street that David, thanks for sharing... i'm away to listen again !
