Prairie Musicians: Ogg Creek Stringband


Uploaded by PrairiePublicBcast on 18.01.2013

Transcript:
Ž Well fare thee well ol' Joe Clark fare thee well I say Ž
Ž Fare thee well ol' Joe Clark I'm bound to go away Ž
Ž
Ž I say Lord sweet mama Ž
Ž Daddy got some deep blues Ž
Ž
Ž If you goin' out Judy Belle put your money in your sight Ž
(woman) This program is funded by
the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund
with money from the vote of the people of Minnesota
on November 4th, 2008,
and by the members of Prairie Public.
[playing in bright bluegrass rhythm]
Ž
Ž
Ž
Ž Jesse James was a lad who shot down many a man Ž
Ž Once he robbed that Glendale train Ž
Ž He would take from the rich he would give to the poor Ž
Ž Had a hand and a heart and a brain Ž
Ž For Jesse had a wife who mourned for his life Ž
Ž Three children they were brave Ž
Ž But that dirty little coward that shot Jimmy Howard Ž
Ž Laid poor Jesse in his grave Ž
Ž Jesse James was a friend and he helped everyone out Ž
Ž With the money he stole from the bank Ž
Ž When a robbery occurred well no one had a doubt Ž
Ž It was he and his dear brother Frank Ž
Ž But one day Robert Ford for the sake of the reward Ž
Ž His words to the governor gave Ž
Ž But that dirty little coward that shot Jimmy Howard Ž
Ž Laid poor Jesse in his grave Ž
[penny whistle solo]
Ž
Ž
Ž
Ž Jesse James changed his name to Jimmy Howard Ž
Ž Moved to a town that was not known Ž
Ž But his dear friend Robert Ford neither faithful nor true Ž
Ž Well caught him and got him alone Ž
Ž For Jesse he was mourned his traitor he was scorned Ž
Ž How can a friendship end Ž
Ž But that dirty little coward that shot Jimmy Howard Ž
Ž Laid poor Jesse in his grave Ž
Ž
Ž For Jesse had a wife that mourned for his life Ž
Ž Three children they were brave Ž
Ž But that dirty little coward that shot Jimmy Howard Ž
Ž Laid poor Jesse in his grave Ž
[playing in waltz rhythm]
[music only; no vocals]
[harmonica and mandolin solo]
[music only; no vocals]
[music only; no vocals]
[music only; no vocals]
My name is John Peterson, I'm one of the founding members
of the Ogg Creek Stringband.
We're an old-time Appalachian Stringband.
Usually when people think of Appalachian music,
they think of bluegrass music and bluegrass
is a relatively newer style of music.
It didn't really start showing up until the late 1930s, early 1940s.
Uh, the style of music we play predates that time.
A lot of the instrumental tunes
were around for at least 300 years.
And a lot of these tunes are used like in square dances,
Appalachian big circle dances, and contra dances.
The band started in 2004 with myself
as a founding member and Banjo Dave Holzer
from West Fargo and Michael Miller, he's our fiddler.
And we met at the Celtic Festival
at the Hjemkomst Center in 2004, completely by accident.
This music, it has, it's loosely based on the Celtic styles
that would have come over to the Appalachian Mountains
in the mid, late 1700s.
Now, Deb joined us in about 2006,
and Liz Miller is actually Mike's daughter,
and she joined us when she was 11 years old.
She just graduated from high school,
so she's been with us for about 6 years now,
and she plays penny whistle and she does the dancing too.
She's probably the most energetic person in our band.
We really love having her.
With our audiences, we don't want them
just to sit down and listen.
We want them to get involved.
We do a lot of old-time dances in the area,
and this music's really made for people to dance to,
as you can see when Liz is dancing.
What she's doing is, some people call flat-footin'
and some people call clogging, but also do old-time square dances
and contra dances throughout the region.
We really want people to get involved with the music,
more than just sitting down, listening to it.
[playing in bright rhythm]
[mic on Liz' feet picks up rhythm from her shoes]
Ž
Ž Well you oughta see that Cindy gal Ž
Ž She's living way down south Ž
Ž She's so sweet those honeybees Ž
Ž They fly around her mouth Ž
Ž Get along home get along home Ž
Ž Get along home Ž
Ž I'll marry you someday Ž
Ž First time I saw Cindy standing by the door Ž
Ž Got shoes and stockings in her hand Ž
Ž Little bare feet on the floor Ž
Ž Get along home get along home Ž
Ž Get along home Ž
Ž I'll marry you someday Ž
[mandolin solo]
Ž
Ž
Ž Well took me to the parlor she cooled me with her fan Ž
Ž She said I was the purtiest thing in the shape of mortal man Ž
Ž Get along home get along home Ž
Ž Get along home Ž
Ž I'll marry you someday Ž
Ž Cindy had religion had it once before Ž
Ž When she hears my fiddle she's the first one on that floor Ž
Ž Get along home get along home Ž
Ž Get along home Ž
Ž I'll marry you someday Ž
[mandolin solo]
Ž
Ž Well I wish I had a needle and thread fine as I could sew Ž
Ž I'd sew that gal to my coat tails and down that road I'd go Ž
Ž Get along home get along home Ž
Ž Get along home Ž
Ž I'll marry you someday Ž
Ž She took off her socks she took off her shoes Ž
Ž I took one look at her tootsies said pee-eau Ž
Ž Get along home get along home Ž
Ž Get along home Ž
Ž I'll marry you someday Ž
Ž Well Cindy in the summertime Cindy in the fall Ž
Ž If I can't get that Cindy gal I have no gal at all Ž
Ž Get along home get along home Ž
Ž Get along home Ž
Ž I'll marry you someday Ž
Ž Wish I was a snake laying in the grass Ž
Ž When Cindy would come on by I'd bite her in the toe Ž
Ž Get along home get along home Ž
Ž Get along home Ž
Ž I'll marry you someday Ž
Ž
Ž Get along home get along home Ž
Ž Get along home Ž
Ž I'll marry you someday Ž
[playing in brisk rhythm]
Ž
Ž
Ž Well Old Joe Clark was a fine old man Ž
Ž Tell you the reason why Ž
Ž He keeps good liquor in the ol' fruit jar good ol' rock and rye Ž
Ž Well fare thee well Old Joe Clark fare thee well I say Ž
Ž Fare thee well Old Joe Clark I'm bound to go away Ž
Ž
Ž Well Old Joe Clark he had a mule name was Morgan Brown Ž
Ž Every tooth that mule's got was 16 inches round Ž
Ž
Ž Well fare thee well Old Joe Clark fare thee well I say Ž
Ž Fare thee well Old Joe Clark I'm bound to go away Ž
Ž
Ž
Ž
Ž Well I went to Old Joe's house invited me for supper Ž
Ž Stubbed my toe on a table leg stuck my nose in the butter Ž
Ž
Ž Well fare thee well Old Joe Clark fare thee well I say Ž
Ž Fare thee well Old Joe Clark I'm bound to go away Ž
Ž
Ž Well I wouldn't marry a widder tell you the reason why Ž
Ž She'd have so many children they'd make those biscuits fly Ž
Ž
Ž Well fare thee well Old Joe Clark fare thee well I say Ž
Ž Fare thee well Old Joe Clark I'm bound to go away Ž
ŽŽ
Ž Well I wouldn't marry that old maid tell you the reason why Ž
Ž She'd sneeze in the buttermilk jar call it pumpkin pie Ž
Ž
Ž Well fare thee well Old Joe Clark fare thee well I say Ž
Ž Fare thee well Old Joe Clark I'm bound to go away Ž
Ž
Ž
Ž
Ž
Ž Well 18 miles of mountain road 16 miles of sand Ž
Ž If I ride down this road again I'll be a married man Ž
Ž Well fare thee well Old Joe Clark fare thee well I say Ž
Ž Fare thee well Old Joe Clark I'm bound to go away Ž
Ž Well fare thee well Old Joe Clark fare thee well I say Ž
Ž Fare thee well Old Joe Clark I'm bound to go away Ž
A lot of the instruments in our band people are familiar with
like the acoustic guitar, the violin, we call it fiddle,
it actually has a flattened arch across the bridge.
A violin has a, has a very high arch,
where a fiddle has a flattened arch on the bridge.
That's so you can do what they call a double stop,
so you can hit more than one string at a time.
Then we have the mandolin people might be familiar with.
And then there's the banjo.
Now most people are familiar with the banjo,
but usually when people think of a banjo,
they think of a bluegrass banjo, and a bluegrass banjo is
a lot different that this, the type of banjo that Banjo Dave and I play.
The a bluegrass banjo on the back has a wooden shell on it
and that's called a resonator, and that makes the banjo much louder.
In bluegrass music you want all your instruments to be
about the same volume because when bluegrass musicians play,
they take what they call breaks.
Now when I take a break, that means I go in the back room
and get a cup of coffee.
But when a bluegrass musician takes a break,
it means they play louder and faster.
I just don't quite understand why they do that.
Um, now the banjos that Banjo Dave and I play are called
old-time banjos, and they usually have an open back to it,
because in the old-time style of music,
your fiddle was the primary instrument
and your banjo is more of a background instrument.
Now this instrument I'm holding right here
was built by Stanley Hicks from Vilas, North Carolina,
that's about 10 miles from where I grew up
in Boone, North Carolina.
This is what they call a fretless banjo,
and this is the head.
Now, the head of a bluegrass banjo is made out of
plastic or Mylar, it gives you a nice bright sound.
This is actually made out of skin.
This is the skin of a groundhog and Stanley actually killed
and skinned the groundhog that this came from,
that this is made out of.
Now both Banjo Dave and I are banjo builders.
I build this style of banjo and then Banjo Dave
builds the more modern style of a banjo.
[playing in bright rhythm]
Ž
Ž
Ž
Ž A ship out on the ocean just a speck against the sky Ž
Ž Amelia Earhart on that fateful day Ž
Ž With her partner Captain Noonan on the second of July Ž
Ž Her plane fell in that ocean far away Ž
Ž There's a beautiful beautiful field Ž
Ž Far away in a land that is fair Ž
Ž Happy landings to you Amelia Earhart Ž
Ž Farewell first lady of the air Ž
Ž She radioed position to say that all was well Ž
Ž Although the fuel in her tanks was low Ž
Ž They would land on Howlan Island and refuel her monoplane Ž
Ž Then on around the world they would go Ž
Ž But a half an hour later the SOS was heard Ž
Ž The signal weak but still her voice was brave Ž
Ž In shark-infested waters her plane went down that night Ž
Ž In the blue Pacific in a watery grave Ž
Ž There's a beautiful beautiful field Ž
Ž Far away in a land that is fair Ž
Ž Happy landings to you Amelia Earhart Ž
Ž Farewell first lady of the air Ž
Ž
Ž
Ž
Ž Now you heard the story of this awful tragedy Ž
Ž We pray that she might fly home safe again Ž
Ž When others in the future blaze a trail across the sky Ž
Ž We'll ne'er forget Amelia and her plane Ž
Ž There's a beautiful beautiful field Ž
Ž Far away in a land that is fair Ž
Ž Happy landings to you Amelia Earhart Ž
Ž Farewell first lady of the air Ž
Ž
Ž
Ž There's a beautiful beautiful field Ž
Ž Far away in a land that is fair Ž
Ž Happy landings to you Amelia Earhart Ž
Ž Farewell first lady of the air Ž
[playing in bright rhythm]
Ž
Ž
Ž Well I'm my mother's darlin' boy
Ž I'm my mother's darlin' boy Ž
Ž Sing a little tune called soldier's joy Ž
Ž
Ž
Ž
Ž Well I got a gal don't you know Ž
Ž I got a gal don't you know Ž
Ž I got a gal don't you know all for soldier's joy Ž
Ž
Ž
Ž
Ž
Ž
Ž
Ž Well I'm gonna get a drink don't you wanna to go Ž
Ž I'm gonna get a drink don't you wanna to go
Ž I'm gonna get a drink don't you wanna go Ž
Ž Up to soldier's joy Ž
Ž
Ž
Ž
Ž It's a nickel for the morphine quarter for the beer Ž
Ž Nickel for the morphine gonna get me away from here Ž
Ž
Ž
Ž
Ž
Ž
Ž
Ž Well grasshopper's sittin' on a sweet potato vine Ž
Ž Grasshopper sittin' on a sweet potato vine Ž
Ž Grasshopper sittin' on sweet potato vine Ž
Ž Along comes a chicken and says you're mine Ž
Ž
Ž
Ž
[bright banjo pickin'; Ogg Creek plays in bright tempo]
Ž
Ž
Ž
(woman) This program is funded by
the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund,
with money from the vote of the people of Minnesota
on Nov. 4th, 2008,
and by the members of Prairie Public.