Chuck Naill - Posted - 03/25/2011:  03:24:28

Another favorite to play, box.net/shared/6uf6sxgddu

chuck

eric marten - Posted - 03/25/2011:  07:11:51

Chuck:

Great performance - very relaxed, laid back - It was written in 1865, with lyrics, originally called Booth Killed Lincoln. If you listen carefully, you can hear its resemblance to the melody of Old Rosin the Beau, the English drinking song which was used as Lincoln's 1860 campaign song, Lincoln And Liberty, which is in 6/8.

sherry - Posted - 03/25/2011:  08:40:07

Very nice old tune, well done!

Chuck Naill - Posted - 03/25/2011:  14:02:26

quote:

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Originally posted by eric marten

Chuck:

Great performance - very relaxed, laid back - It was written in 1865, with lyrics, originally called Booth Killed Lincoln. If you listen carefully, you can hear its resemblance to the melody of Old Rosin the Beau, the English drinking song which was used as Lincoln's 1860 campaign song, Lincoln And Liberty, which is in 6/8.

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Ivan Rorick - Posted - 03/25/2011:  23:30:40

It's also really similar to an old jig called The Market Town.

folktunefinder.com/tune/38372/

eric marten - Posted - 03/26/2011:  04:32:12

Thanks Ivan, for that info (and your performance). I can see now that Old Rosin the Beau and The Market Town really are variants of each other, along with the 2/4 version - Booth Shot Lincoln.

I always appreciate your postings of these old tunes.

DougD - Posted - 03/26/2011:  05:59:05

Eric - Have you ever seen published music for this tune, or know a source for it? A quick search in the usual collections didn't turn up anything.

eric marten - Posted - 03/26/2011:  10:53:51

Doug:

I will try to remember where I've seen it. Old Rosin The Bow, AKA Lincoln and Liberty is all over, but the version of the fiddle tune Booth Shot Lincoln - I don't know where I've seen that, but the related song from which it was derived I know is in at least one collection of Civil War songs, I just don't remember right now exactly which one. The fiddle tune Booth Shot Lincoln is a highly embellished version of that. I will try to find.

Ivan Rorick - Posted - 03/26/2011:  11:19:48

quote:

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Originally posted by DougD

Eric - Have you ever seen published music for this tune, or know a source for it? A quick search in the usual collections didn't turn up anything.

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DougD - Posted - 03/26/2011:  12:03:48

Thanks, Ivan. I was looking for an original version with both words and music. According to the Fiddler's Companion, this tune was recorded for the Library of Congress by both Marcus Martin and Bascom Lamar Lunsford, who learned it from Martin, although he also said he remembered his father humming it and singing a few stanzas when he was a boy. So Marcus Martin may really be the sole source, at least for the tune.
Lunsford sang it and played it on the fiddle, and his version was included on an LOC record about American presidents and assassinations, L29. I've never heard it, but you can read the notes, including Lunsford's lyrics, here: loc.gov/folklife/LP/SongsofAmHist_opt.pdf The little bit of lyric quoted at the Fiddler's Companion is not part of it though, and I was wondering how close any of it might be to a published song that would have been contemporary with the event.
I looked in several online collections and didn't see it, but found a couple pieces of music dedicated to Edwin Booth, and one spooky song that pictures the wild flight of John Wilkes Booth, tormented by visions of Lincoln's face in the surrounding dark woods.

Edited by - DougD on 03/26/2011 12:04:49

hendrid - Posted - 03/27/2011:  08:12:11

Here is an early version of the sheet music and some lyrics and a discussion for what it is worth.... Don

me.psu.edu/lamancusa/tunes/boo...ncoln.pdf

Over on Banjohangout.com they had Booth as tune of the week a while back. A version of the lyrics and comments is on the first link.

banjohangout.org/archive/156382