Annotation:Shoot that Turkey Buzzard
X:1 T:Turkey Buzzard T:Shoot that Turkey Buzzard N:From a the playing of Tommy Magness (1916-1972, Tenn.), N:from home recordings in 1948 for Roy Acuff M:C| L:1/8 Q:"Fast" D:https://www.slippery-hill.com/recording/turkey-buzzard Z:Transcribed by Andrew Kuntz K:G +slide+[G2B2]+slide+[G2B2]+slide+[G3B3]B|d2B2- B2G2-|GGAA EDEG|AG2[GB] [G2B2][G2B2]-| [GB][GA][G2B2]+slide+[G3B3]B|d2B2- BdBA|GEDG BGAG|EG2A G2|| g2-|g2ga gage|dB2d B2a2-|aaab agef|gage d2g2-| gaba gbag|edB-_B- =BAG2-|GBAG EDEG|AG2G G2g2-| gaga g3e|dA-Bd B2a2-|abab agef|g2d4 g2-| gaba gbag|edB-_B- =BAG2-|GBAG EDEG|AG2[GB] [G2B2]||
SHOOT THAT TURKEY BUZZARD. AKA - "Turkey Buzzard." American, Reel (cut time). USA; east Tennessee, east Kentucky, north Georgia. G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AB (Silberberg): AABB (most versions). "Shoot that Turkey Buzzard" has been identified as an east Tennessee tune name, however, while it may be strongly identified with that region, both tune and title can be found in other areas of the South and MidWest. Rosenbaum (1989) believes it to have been widespread in the Georgia Blue Ridge, and the piece was in the repertoire of Montecello, Ky., fiddler Clyde Davenport, who learned it from his father, a Tennessee fiddler. The title appears in a list of traditional Ozarks Mountains fiddle tunes compiled by musicologist/folklorist Vance Randolph, published in 1954. A tune by this title was in the repertoire of fiddler Munsey Gaultney, originally from Ashe County, North Carolina, remembered for his shuffle bowing and timing.
John Hartford (2001) says it is “damn near the same as ‘Georgia Boys,’ ‘Seneca Square Dance’ and ‘Raccoon Tail’.” The latter was a tune in the repertoire of Dr. Jimmy Gray, a fiddler from Missouri who played in many of the contests back in the heyday of the great Jefferson City radio fiddle conventions.
There are various verses sung to the tune:
Shoot that turkey buzzard, shoot that turkey buzzard,
Shoot that turkey buzzard, flyin' round the mountain.
Old hen cackle and chickens flew,
Rooster swore that he'd go, too.
Shoot old Davy Dugger, shoot old Davy Dugger,
Shoot old Davy Dugger, catch his wife an' hug 'er. ..... (Rosenbaum/Chancey)
Shoot that turkey buzzard, shoot that turkey buzzard,
Blam!, blam!, caw!, caw! '' (Kuntz/Any Old Time)
"Shoot that Turkey Buzzard" is closely related to the tunes "Davy Dugger," "Engine on a Mogull," "Greasy String (1)," "Old Coon Dog (1)," and "Higher Up the Monkey Climbs."
