Annotation:Old Liza Jane

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OLD LIZA JANE. Old-Time, Breakdown. USA, Kentucky. A Major. AEae tuning (fiddle). AABB. A variant of the "Liza Jane" family of tunes, with the second strain closely related to "Going Down to Cairo" and "Goodbye Liza Jane (1)." A tune by this name was recorded by Uncle Am Stuart (b. 1856, Morristown, Tenn.) for Vocalion in 1924, but it is the song/tune "Liza Jane." Source Isham Monday (1879-1964) quoted the following words, which he learned from a lady who used to sing them while dancing to the tune:

If I were in heaven, boys, a-riding on the train,
I'd swing out on the corner and swing old Liza Jane.

Source for notated version: Isham Monday (Tompkinsville, Monroe County, Ky., 1959) [Titon].

Printed sources: Titon (Old-Time Kentucky Fiddle Tunes), 2001; No. 117, p. 145.

Recorded sources:

See also listing at:
Hear Isham Monday's 1959 field recording (by D.K. Wilgus) at the Berea Digital Archive [1]