Annotation:Cattle in the Cane (1)

Back to 

 CATTLE IN THE CANE [1]. AKA- "Cattle in the Corn." Old-Time, Bluegrass; Breakdown. USA, Texas. A Mixolydian ('A' part) & A Aeolian ('B' part). Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB (Brody): AA'BB (Phillips). The melody was recorded by Texas fiddler Captain Moses "M.J." Bonner (1847-1939) in the 1920's as "Yearlings in the Canebreak." At age 17, in 1864, he enlisted in Company E, 12th Texas Cavalry, and served fourteen months as a courier, although it is possible he may have seen action during the Red River campaign. In later life he was active in veteran's affairs and was a fixture at fiddler's contests (he was also renowned as a jig dancer). Bonner is also remembered as the premier old-time musician to play on the very first radio "barn dance" broadcast over station WBAP in Ft. Worth on January. 4, 1923. "Cattle in the Cane [1]" is often played with a pizzicato feature. See also related tunes "Yearlings in the Canebreak" and "Maggie Grey;" and "Old Grey Cat" for a possible Scottish cognate. Mike Seegar recorded the tune in 1963 from the playing of Texas fiddler Eck Robertson, who had the title as "Hell Amongst the Yearlings (2)." Sources for notated versions: Joe Green [Brody]; Sam Bush & Benny Thomasson (Texas) [Phillips]. Printed sources: Brody (Fiddler's Fakebook), 1983; p. 63. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddler Tunes), vol. 1, 1994; p. 45. Recorded sources: American Heritage 24, Lonnie Peerce- "Golden Fiddle Tunes." County 722, Joe Green- "Joe Green's Fiddle Album" (appears as "Cattle in the Corn"). Marimac AHS #3, Glen Smith - "Say Old Man" (1990. Learned from Joe Green). Omac-2, Berline, Bush, and O'Conner- "In Concert." Shanachie Records 6040, Gerry Milnes & Lorriane Lee Hammond - "Hell Up Coal Holler" (1999. Learned from Wirt County, West Virginia, fiddler Glen Smith). Takoma D-1064, Norman Blake- "Directions." See also listings at Jane Keefer's Folk Music Sources.

Back to