RIPPLING WATER(‘S JIG). Canadian, American; Jig or Quadrille (6/8 time). USA, northern New York, Arkansas. Canada, Prince Edward Island. G Major ('A' part) & D Major ('B' part){Bayard}: E Major (‘A’ part) & A Major (‘B’ part) {Perlman}. Standard tuning (fiddle). AB (Bayard): AABB’ (Perlman). Maritime fiddler Don Messer (1909-1973) popularized the tune, which is associated with him and is now widespread in Canada and the northern United States, and even parts farther south. It is sometimes attributed to Messer, but there is no evidence that he composed the tune and he did not claim it. The second strain is reminiscent of "Portland Fancy (1)," although the parts are reversed in various versions. The title appears in a list of traditional Ozarks Mountains fiddle tunes compiled by musicologist/folklorist Vance Randolph, published in 1954. Don Messer
Peter Corfield (2024) notes that "Rippling Water" is "written in the same style as 'Tuggerman's Jig'."
Additional notes Source for notated version : - Bradley Grimshaw (fiddler from northern N.Y., 1958) [Bayard]; Leonard MacDonald (b. 1933, Emyvale, Queen’s County, Prince Edward Island) [Perlman].
Printed sources : - Bayard (Dance to the Fiddle), 1981; No. 570, pp. 508-509. Corfield (Tunes from New Brunswick), 2024; p. 184. Messer & Doyle (Backwoods Melodies), 1949; no. 15. Mark O'Connor (O'Connor Violin Method, Book 3). Perlman (The Fiddle Music of Prince Edward Island), 1996; p. 145.
Recorded sources : - Apex 26297-B (78 RPM), Don Messer & His Islanders (1947). Banff SBS 5306, Graham Townsend - "I Like Don Messer" (1969). RCA 57-3260 (45 RPM), King Ganam and His Sons of the West (1957). Rounder CD7014, Leonard McDonald – “Fiddlers of Western Prince Edward Island” (1997). Calvin Vollrath - "Maple Sugar & Other Fiddle Favorites." Voyager 341 Joe Pancerzewski - "Legendary Northwest Fiddler."
See also listing at : Jane Keefer's Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources [1]
Hear Don Messer's 1947 recording on youtube.com [2]
Hear Graham Townsend's recording on youtube.com [3]
Hear Calvin Vollrath's recording [4]
