Annotation:Two White Nickels

Find traditional instrumental music



X:1 T:Two White Nickels N:From the playing of John Hutchinson (Ohio) from a field recording by N:Jeff Goehring in 1977 M:C| L:1/8 R:Reel D:https://www.slippery-hill.com/content/two-white-nickels Z:Transcribed by Andrew Kuntz K:A [A,3E3]A, C2E2|[A,3E3]A, C2EE|=GEEE C2EE|=GEEE C2[CE]C| A,2EE C2E2|J[A3A3][GA]- [A4A4]||{c}d2Jd2- d2d2|c2 A2 A4| e4 e2e2|fefg a2e2| dcde dcBc|dcde dcB2| e2e2 e2e2|fefg a3e|agfe agfe|dcBA- A4||



TWO WHITE NICKELS. AKA - “Two Wide Nickels.” American, Reel (cut or 2/4 time). USA, Ohio. A Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AB. Clyde Curley[1] suggests the title was derived from racist terminology. When paired with the tune “Three Thin Dimes” the medley has jokingly been called the “Forty Cent Medley.” Both tunes, notes Kerry Blech, were in the repertoire of Barnesville, Ohio, fiddler John W. Hutchison (1915-1979), who said he had many of his tunes from ‘old man’ Bondy, an Irishman. They were recorded by the Hutchison Brothers bluegrass band, which included two of Hutchison’s sons and fiddler Greg Dearth. John Hutchison himself was recorded before he died by Jeff Goehring, in 1977; the remastered tapes were published on a CD by Ohio University (Athens) in 2003.


Additional notes
Source for notated version : - Ruthie Dornfeld (Seattle, Washington) [Songer]; Kerry Blech (Seattle, Washington), [Phillips], whose original source was John Hutchinson of Ohio.

Printed sources : - Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes, vol. 2), 1995; p. 158. Songer (Portland Collection), 1997; p. 204 (appears as “Two Wide Nickels”).

Recorded sources : - Dorian DOR-90276, Ken Kolodner, Chris Norman & Robin Bullock - "A Winter Solstice with Helicon" (1999).Heritage XXXIII, Arm and Hammer String Band (Vt.) - "Visits" (1981. Learned from John Hutchinson, Ohio). Vetco LP 513, The Hotmud Family - "Years in the Making" (1978). Paul Kotapish - “Guitarfish and Mandolin”




Back to Two White Nickels

0.00
(0 votes)



  1. The Portland Collection, 1997