X:1
T:Old Ark's a-Movin'
S:Taylor Kimble (1892-1979, Laurel Fork, southwest Va.)
M:C|
L:1/8
R:Reel
D:Marimac CS 9036, Carroll County Pioneers
F:https://www.slippery-hill.com/recording/old-arks-movin
Z:Transcribed by Andrew Kuntz
K:D
|:FG|A2 AB AGF2|AB dc d2de| f2a2 f2 fe|defd B2dB|
A2 AB AGF2|ABdd d2de|f2a2+slide+f3e|dd3- d2:|
|:f2a2 abag|fg a2a3g|f2a2 +slide+f3e|defd BcdB|
A2 AB AG F2|ABdc d3e|f2a2f3e|d2B4 dB|
A2 AB AGF2|ABdd d2de|f2a2+slide+f3e|dd3- d2:|
OLD ARK'S A-MOVING, THE. AKA and see "Grandfather's Tune (2)," "Twin Sisters (3)" [Sherman Wimmer version], "Reel (17)," "Two Sisters (The)," "Keep the Ark/Art A-Movin'." American, Reel. USA; north Georgia, southwestern Va. D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AB (Phillips): AABB (Brody). The tune is thought by many to be related to the popular Irish hornpipe "Boys of Bluehill (The)" although the provenance of either tune has yet to be established. Bill Hicks (1972) suggests that the name seems to be derived from the musically unrelated hymn "Keep the Ark a Moverin'." The tune is generally played slower than the normal breakdown tempo. Other American variants (or cognates) go by the names "Pussy and the Baby" (Mel Durham), "She Oughta Been a Lady (Vesta Johnson), "Hell on the Wabash (4)" (Clay Smith of Star City, Indiana)," "Silver Lake (4)" (Samuel Bayard), "Lonesome Katy" (Ira Ford, 1940), "Beaux of Oak Hill (1)" (Elias Howe, Musician's Companion, vol. 3, 1844), and, in George P. Knauff's Virginia Reels (1839), "Two Sisters (The)." See also the related tune "Jenny Baker," and, according to Alan Jabbour, Virginia fiddler Henry Reed's version of "Sally Ann Johnson." North Georgia fiddler A.A. Gray and guitarist John Dilleshaw recorded four sides together in Atlanta in March, 1930, including "Tallapoosa Bound"/"Streak O' Lean-Streak O' Fat" and "Nigger Baby"/"The Old Ark's a' Moving" although their "Old Ark" [1] is a spiritual song based on the Genesis story. Taylor Kimble (1892–1979)
Additional notes Source for notated version : - Taylor Kimble (Carroll County, southwestern Va.), who learned the tune from Buck MacMillan, probably from Franklin County, Va. [Brody, Phillips].
Printed sources : - Brody (Fiddler's Fakebook), 1983; p. 155.
Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes, vol. 2), 1995; p. 94.
Recorded sources : - County Records 746, Taylor Kimble – "Blue Ridge Barn Dance" (1974).
Marimac CS 9036, "Carroll County Pioneers." Rounder 0010, "Fuzzy Mountain String Band" (learned from Taylor Kimble).
Vocalion 5458 (78 RPM), 1930, A.A. Gray (north Georgia).
See also listing at : Jane Keefer's Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources [2]
Hear the Kimble family's version [3][4]
