fiddlinsteudel - Posted - 12/11/2013:  08:15:48

One thing I really love about old tunes is the names. Nail a catfish to a tree, spider bit the baby...

what other crazy ones are there?

Edited by - fiddlinsteudel on 12/11/2013 09:23:46

UsuallyPickin - Posted - 12/11/2013:  08:44:55

"Shove that Pigs foot a littler further in the fire" has always made me smile .....

vibratingstring - Posted - 12/11/2013:  08:45:36

This is in a list of Old Timey tunes, but I know nothing else about this tune.

I Love My Wife As Well As Anybody, But When My Back's Turned, She's Hugging Everybody

mne.psu.edu/lamancusa/tunes/il...ywife.pdf

berg - Posted - 12/11/2013:  09:18:50

Some of the tunes I like are in "Danish" meaning nobody knows what the title means:

"Habadekuk"

​"Molinask"

fiddlinsteudel - Posted - 12/11/2013:  09:52:26

quote:

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Originally posted by berg

 

Some of the tunes I like are in "Danish" meaning nobody knows what the title means:

"Habadekuk"

​"Molinask"

 

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Do you know what those titles mean?

Fiddler - Posted - 12/11/2013:  09:53:30

I was at a jam many years ago. No one could remember the name of a tune. So we called it - L F I NO Hornpipe. We very soon had a collection of L F I NO tunes - reel, breakdown and waltz..

(L F I NO --- hint: say it out loud.)

Lonesome Fiddler - Posted - 12/11/2013:  10:47:47

Mike in the Wilderness

Hell and Scissors

Tie Your Dog, Sally Gal

Buck Hord

Great Big Taters in Sandy Land

Old Greasy Coat

carlb - Posted - 12/11/2013:  11:07:17

Snouts and Ears of America

bandsmcnamar - Posted - 12/11/2013:  11:43:44

I've got a friend that specializes in these tunes.  Here's some of the songs I've learned because of him.

Hey Aunt Katy There's a Bug On Me

Grasshopper Sittin On a Sweet Potato Vine

Kicking Up The Devil On a Holiday

Da Slockit Light

Granny Take A Look At Your Uncle Sam

Jenny Ran Away In The Mud In The Night

Old Aunt Jenny With Her Nightcap On

To name a few. LOL

DeamhanFola - Posted - 12/11/2013:  12:07:14

I Buried My Wife and Danced on Top of Her

Upstairs in a Tent

Old Hag, You Have Killed Me

Fiddler - Posted - 12/11/2013:  12:54:52

Da Slockit Light is one of the most moving airs in know and is by Shetland fiddler Tom Anderson. It was inspired by the depopulation of his Eshaness birthplace.

Here's an excerpt from an interview with Tom Anderson.

“I was coming out of Eshaness in late January, 1969, the time was after 11 pm and as I looked back at the top of the hill leading out of the district, I saw so few lights compared to what I remembered when I was young. As I watched, the lights started going out one by one. That, coupled with the recent death of my wife, made me think of the old word ‘Slockit’ meaning, a light that has gone out, and I think that is what inspired the tune

davidbragger - Posted - 12/11/2013:  13:19:54

Tantalizing Bootblack

Beaver Slide Rag

Old Black Cat Sh** in the Shavings

Hooker's Hornpipe

Half Shaved Dead "Man"

mad baloney - Posted - 12/11/2013:  13:41:04

FWIW "nail the catfish to the tree" isn't really all that crazy... even this city boy knows that you dip a catfish in boiling water, than nail it to a tree, then use needle nose pliers to peel it's skin off, then the head and guts come cleanly out with a quick down and out motion. 

"Nailing jelly to the ceilling" is far more silly

fiddlinsteudel - Posted - 12/11/2013:  13:44:51

quote:

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Originally posted by mad baloney

 

FWIW "nail the catfish to the tree" isn't really all that crazy... even this city boy knows that you dip a catfish in boiling water, than nail it to a tree, then use needle nose pliers to peel it's skin off, then the head and guts come cleanly out with a quick down and out motion. 

"Nailing jelly to the ceilling" is far more silly

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Being a mostly catch and release sort of person, nailing any fish to a tree seems werid. But I'll keep that in mind next time I go catfish fishing.

mad baloney - Posted - 12/11/2013:  14:09:36

It's all context, what's weird to some is as simple and sensible as walking down the street to others. 

S_Heriger - Posted - 12/11/2013:  15:15:06

"Get the Taters off the Baby"

"Possum Up a Gumstump"

"Soapsuds Over the Fence"

blockader - Posted - 12/11/2013:  16:25:23

Also, Nail That Catfish To a Tree isn't that old of a tune, Its a modern composition, not that theres something wrong with that.

Some that i find amusing are

Democrats A' Rising

Streak of Lean, Streak of Fat

Hellbound for Alabama

That last because our mostly friendly rivalry with our western neighbor, it could be interpreted by Georgians as going to Alabama is hell and by Alabamans as gettin the hell out of Georgia haha. 

Edit: i'm 25% alabama myself so i'm comfortable picking on both!

Edited by - blockader on 12/11/2013 16:27:01

ChickenMan - Posted - 12/11/2013:  16:32:20

I'm familiar with the practice and still think it SOUNDS weird. Mmm catfish.


Throw the Soapsuds in the Corner of the Fence
Hop up Kitty Puss
Hey Aunt Katie There's a Bug on Me
Lay Down With the Chiggers and the Fleas
That's my Rabbit my Dog Caught It
Somebody's Getting It where The Chicken got the A. X. E.

kindascratchy - Posted - 12/11/2013:  17:36:47

It's not nearly as colorful as those mentioned above, but I've always been intrigued by "Neil Gow's Lament for the Death of His Second Wife."

eric marten - Posted - 12/11/2013:  18:53:57

Good for the tongue

Who throwed lye on my dog?

amwildman - Posted - 12/11/2013:  19:19:19

An Phis Fhliuch

Kitty Got a Clinking Coming From the Fair

When Sick Is It Tea You Want?

bubbaschnell - Posted - 12/11/2013:  19:31:08

Mate to the Hog Waltz

Climbing Upstairs, the Monkey

Old Daddy Bullcock

If I Hadn't of Been a Fool, I Might Have Been a Lady

Davy, Come Back and Act Like You Ought To

Daddy Whipped the Baby

Four and Twenty Blackbirds Dancing on a Fawn Skin

Blind Steer in a Mudhole

Just to name a few.........

Fiddler - Posted - 12/11/2013:  20:16:02

Crooked Stovepipe
Monkey in the Oxcart
Lantern in the Ditch
Humpback Mule
Do Your Ears Hang Low? (aka Turkey in the Straw)

berg - Posted - 12/12/2013:  02:38:53

quote:

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Originally posted by fiddlinsteudel

 

 

Do you know what those titles mean?

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I think nobody knows what the titles really mean - I think they are in some very old danish dialect..

groundhogpeggy - Posted - 12/13/2013:  10:42:00

I think lots of the tunes are just descriptive of old things, old ways, but some are just funny-- probably the funny ones were named by West Virginians...take a drive through WV and you'll laugh at the funny names of towns.  I guess we got our funny share of towns here in KY too, but I think they are funnier in WV.  Anyway, we used to lived right up on the bank of the Cumberland River...fished several times a week, mostly what we'd get was catfish.  We ate a lot of catfish those four years on the riverbank, but we never once nailed one to a tree...lol!

groundhogpeggy - Posted - 12/13/2013:  10:46:27

oops, and I meant to say I'm kinda fond of the title, The Old Blind Sow She Done Stole the Middlin's!  That's a good title!

petehay - Posted - 12/13/2013:  11:51:56

Don't know if it's true but I read somewhere that a lot of the weird names for Irish tunes were actually aural clues to help remember the first few notes (or beats) of the tune.

Pete in Portland

Lee M - Posted - 12/13/2013:  12:39:55

Sal's Got Mud Between Her Toes
Cow Pies and Coffee (my personal favorite weird tune name)

fiddlepogo - Posted - 12/13/2013:  13:05:15

quote:

---

Originally posted by fiddlinsteudel

 

One thing I really love about old tunes is the names. Nail a catfish to a tree, spider bit the baby...

 

 

what other crazy ones are there?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Some of the ones with weird titles actually aren't old.... they have weird titles to make you THINK they are old...

like "Nail That Catfish To a Tree".

fiddlepogo - Posted - 12/13/2013:  13:11:20

Old Yeller Dog Went Down To the Meetin' House

If I Could Have My Time Again.

The Muckin' o' the Geordie's Byre (shoveling the manure out of the cow's stall!)

The Last of Callahan

Reel du Pendu

(The last two were supposed played by fiddlers just before they were hanged!  "du Pendu" means "of the hanged (one)" in French, and du is the masculine form, so you know it was a hanged MAN)

Lee M - Posted - 12/13/2013:  13:25:21

quote:

---

Originally posted by fiddlinsteudel

 

One thing I really love about old tunes is the names. Nail a catfish to a tree, spider bit the baby...

 

 

what other crazy ones are there?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I'm going to assume that you were also referring to NEW old tune???

How about Maggots In The Sheep Hide......Doesn't get much weirder than that.

Edited by - Lee M on 12/13/2013 13:26:26

fiddlinsteudel - Posted - 12/13/2013:  13:48:30

I'm going to assume that you were also referring to NEW old tune???

I'm not sure what you mean .... I actually meant old timey tunes. Bluegrass tunes tend to be more mundane.

Lee M - Posted - 12/13/2013:  13:50:28

quote:

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Originally posted by fiddlinsteudel

 

I'm going to assume that you were also referring to NEW old tune???

I'm not sure what you mean .... I actually meant old timey tunes. Bluegrass tunes tend to be more mundane.

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Yep.. Got it..There are a lot of NEW old TIMEY tunes.. 

ChickenMan - Posted - 12/13/2013:  15:26:22

Just a reminder, one of the tunes in your opening post is not new at all.

nailthatcatfish.tripod.com/nailthatcat.html

Can't make that link active from my phone. It takes you to Steve Rosen's site. He wrote it in the last 50 or so years. That's why people keep mentioning new old time tunes ;‹)

Lee M - Posted - 12/13/2013:  15:31:03

quote:

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Originally posted by ChickenMan



Just a reminder, one of the tunes in your opening post is not new at all.



nailthatcatfish.tripod.com/nailthatcat.html



Can't make that link active from my phone. It takes you to Steve Rosen's site. He wrote it in the last 50 or so years. That's why people keep mentioning new old time tunes ;‹)

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Good point.. What is the cutoff year  for new old tunes vs old, old tunes?  We need to start a new topic about that one.

bsed - Posted - 12/13/2013:  19:47:54

There's also a lot of un-PC tune names. e.g. Big Footed N___ , Run Smoke Run...

Oh, and if you does your homework, you might find out what a Greasy Coat is exactly.

Edited by - bsed on 12/13/2013 19:48:52

imapicker2 - Posted - 12/14/2013:  18:15:25

Some of my favorite weirdos are Pig Ankle Rag, Growling Old Man And Grumbling Old Woman and Bear Creek Hop.I sure enjoyed the video of your little Irish dancers. 

fiddlinsteudel - Posted - 12/15/2013:  20:08:27

quote:

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Originally posted by imapicker2

 

Some of my favorite weirdos are Pig Ankle Rag, Growling Old Man And Grumbling Old Woman and Bear Creek Hop.I sure enjoyed the video of your little Irish dancers. 

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Haha thanks!

hokelore - Posted - 12/16/2013:  04:32:05

Dog Chased A Possum Up A White Oak Tree. It's actually a pretty little tune.

groundhogpeggy - Posted - 12/16/2013:  18:27:48

Well Maidens Prayer isn't such a weird title, but it is for garbage trucks.  I really thought it was interesting when I found out that the garbage pickup in Taiwan uses trucks with tunes, like our ice cream trucks.  But insteada playing The Entertainer for kids to run out and buy ice cream, the trucks in Taiwan play Maidens Prayer for people to run out and through the garbage into trucks...

fiddlinsteudel - Posted - 12/16/2013:  19:37:19

quote:

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Originally posted by groundhogpeggy

 

Well Maidens Prayer isn't such a weird title, but it is for garbage trucks.  I really thought it was interesting when I found out that the garbage pickup in Taiwan uses trucks with tunes, like our ice cream trucks.  But insteada playing The Entertainer for kids to run out and buy ice cream, the trucks in Taiwan play Maidens Prayer for people to run out and through the garbage into trucks...

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LOL that's funny. Here's a video of it, I don't actually hear maiden's prayer, but still funny to think about: youtu.be/T8G45uCa0Ic

groundhogpeggy - Posted - 12/17/2013:  03:31:09

Strange, isn't it?  It's really kinda a good idea for garbage pickup!

DougD - Posted - 12/17/2013:  06:00:24

fiddlinsteudel - Don't you hear "Maiden's Prayer" there? As one of the comments in the YouTube video says, they're really playing the Polish melody that "Maiden's Prayer" uses. Its not like they really stole from American country music!

fiddlinsteudel - Posted - 12/17/2013:  09:43:54

Oooh ... well I guess that's why ... I think american country music would've been funnier :)

groundhogpeggy - Posted - 12/17/2013:  18:11:24

I would love to run out with my bag of garbage when I hear those sentimental tunes comin from the shiny beautiful, bright orange truck...what do we have here??? Either live in the boonies and burn your trash, or pile it all out in front waiting for the old messy, noisy truck to come and get it...let's face it: the Tawianese have the upper hand when it comes to sensitive, artistic, creative, classy garbage collection.  We are missin out!

jmkaay - Posted - 12/18/2013:  13:43:29

Ok, top this one.

" Walk chalk chicken with a necktie on"

I think it might be a Melvin Wine tune.

Swing - Posted - 12/18/2013:  15:45:12

I am surprised that no one mentioned the great American tune  "You married my daughter but yet you didn't". 

A great tune but a terrible name, when i learned it, it was the theme tune for a reading aloud program on the radio and so i named it "Reading Aloud".  It was many years later that I learned the real name.

Play Happy

Swing

NHFiddler - Posted - 12/19/2013:  04:53:04

We'll All Go to Heaven When the Devil Goes Blind has always been a favorite. Sheesham & Lotus do a great version on one of their CDs.

 

mad baloney - Posted - 12/25/2013:  19:22:02

A Jacket of Batteries, The Floating Crowbar...

Some of those Scots strathspeys too, I always wondered what a "jorum' is and why it needs to be pushed around.

Some other weirdo titles: "I'll Cloot my Johnny's Gery Breeks" and "My Lady's Goon has Gairs On't"

WTH?! Addie can probably translate for us.