First Song?

[MikeZito]

Just a general curiosity:

What was the first song you ever learned to play on the mandolin?

If I remember correctly, mine was 'Rolling In My Sweet Baby's Arms'

You?

[Paul Busman]

Mine was the Irish tune "Boys Of Bluehill". I had a relatively easy time of it since I already knew the tune well from playing it on penny whistle. It's still one of my favorites.

[yankees1]

The first song of substance that I could play ( not a Twinkle, Twinkle type song) was Harvest Home !

[Roger Moss]

The first thing I did after learning the big three open chords was puzzle out the mandolin riffs on Maggie May and Gasoline Alley.

[Timbofood]

“The Gold Rush” as Mr. Bill would call it! Was the first thing I actually had someone teach me to be honest.
I’d figured out a couple of fiddle tunes like Old Joe Clark on my own but, I’d heard Bill Halsey play a fiddle tune medley with “The Rimfire Ramblers” and it just struck me as one I had to learn then, had to learn the rest of the medley, Bill Cheatham and Blackberry Blossom.
It’s been a tune I still really enjoy playing!

[G7MOF]

Mine was Banish Misfortune.

[farmerjones]

Bile the Cabbage. But Soldier's Joy was probably next. Redwing, Liberty, they all were kind of there together.
Yes, Bill Cheatham, Campbell's Farewell to Redgap, and St. Anne's Reel, they were there too.

[UsuallyPickin]

Soldier's Joy was the first tune in my early mandolin book. I then worked out Salt Creek in G< sigh. R/

[DavidKOS]

Although my Italian grandmother bought me a mandolin in the early 1970's and the first musical style I played was Italian music, I have to confess that the very first thing I learned to play was the mandolin ending lick on "Maggie May".

[THart]

I can't recall from my first attempts back in the 80's but on my recent 2nd attempt, Take Me Out To The Ball Game. Been a few years, still working on it :P

[ukenukem]

First I got used to the fifths tuning, then open chords, then basic movable chords, then R.E.M. Losing My Religion. Also interspersed with scale noodling.

[Ian Young]

I think I picked out the tune from Flogging Molly's "Drunken Lullabies" but first official song was Swallowtail Jig

[Kevin Stueve]

My Grandfather's Clock.

[Steve Ostrander]

I can't really remember. It was probably "Losing my Religion."

[doublestoptremolo]

You Are the Everything

[Mike Scott]

Angeline the Baker. Still play it every day!

[Willie Poole]

I still remember it like it was yesterday...My first song was an old Roy Acuff song called "Low And Lonely"...Funny thing is about 6 months ago I got a request to play it at one of our shows and I couldn`t remember how it went, it`s been over 60 years since I learned it....

Willie

[Denny Gies]

Willie, you know there are two things about getting old that are problematic. The first is you can't remember anything and the second one is................................................ .oh well, I'm old.

[RandyC]

Fat Bottom Girls by Queen for me. I was learning it on guitar when I bought my first mandolin.

[Joseph Baker]

The first song that I learned on mandolin was Old Joe Clark, out of Jack Tottle's Bluegrass Mandolin bokk.
The first song that I played on mandolin in public was Goodnight Irene - at a coffeehouse show in the basement of St Thomas Aquinas Church at Purdue University back in 1978.

Joseph Baker

[Todd Bowman]

Probably Soldier's Joy from Jack Tottle's book or maybe Kesh Jig from a Frets magazine before I got Jack's book.

[Willem]

Shady Grove (Garcia/Grisman version) was the first I committed to learning in it's entirety. I was strumming an open chord Wagon Wheel within a day or two though.

[Br1ck]

Angeline the Baker. Still play it every day!

Me too. I think I had an alphabetized list of fiddle tunes.

[MikeZito]

Fat Bottom Girls by Queen for me. I was learning it on guitar when I bought my first mandolin.

Wow - I never saw THAT one coming!

[mee]

Falling Leaves