Colonel Crocket (2)

 COLONEL CROKETT [2]. American, Reel. C Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. The melody appears under this title in George P. Knauff's Virginia Reels, volume III (Baltimore, 1839). It seems to have little of the character of a 'home-grown' American fiddle tune, but rather seems squarely in the style of Scottish or northern English tunes. Colonel David "Davy" Crockett was a famous frontiersman and statesman, who perished at the Alamo in March, 1836. He was elected to the Tennessee state legislature in 1821 and subsequently represented the state in three terms in the United States Congress. When he was defeated in the election of 1835 he became disillusioned with politics and decamped from the state to seek a fresh start in Texas. The tune appeared in print some three years after his death--he was already a legend. Crockett apparently was also a skilled fiddler and buck dancer. A fiddle said to have been possessed by him, dated 1819, is in the possession of Jacinto Museum of History. He took in a minstrel show while in Philadelphia, and wrote: "The fiddling was pretty good. I do not think, however, from all I saw that the people enjoyed themselves better than we do at a country frolic, where we dance til daylight, and pay off the score by giving one in our turn."

X:1 T:Colonel Crockett [2] M:2/4 L:1/8 R:reel B:George P. Knauff's Virginia Reels, vol. 3 (Baltimore, 1839) Z:AK/Fiddler's Companion K:C (g/f/)|(e/c/B/c/) (G/c/B/c/)|(e/c/g/e/) c(d/e/)|(f/d/^c/d/) (A/d/c/d/)|(f/d/a/f/) d(g/f/)| (e/c/B/c/) (G/c/B/c/)|(e/c/g/e/) c(f/g/)|(a/f/g/e/) (f/d/e/c/)|(G/c/B/d/) c:| e/f/g e/f/g|(e/f/g/e/) (c/e/f/g/)|(a/f/g/e/) (f/d/e/c/)|(G/c/B/d/) c:||
 * (g/f/)|e/f/g e/f/g|(e/f/g/e/) c2|f/g/a f/g/a|(f/g/a/f/) d2|