Annotation:Velvet's Waltz

Back to Velvet's Waltz

VELVET'S WALTZ. American, Waltz. A Major ('A' part) & E Major ('B' part). Standard tuning (fiddle). AA'BB'. Composed by Dale Morris, born in Sanger, Texas. A note on the Texas Fiddle Music site [1] explains:

Velvet’s Waltz...was written by Dale, in route to Dallas from Colorado, where Dale lived at the time. In route, the weather had become very bad. Finally, approximately half way to Dallas from Colorado, Dale was forced to stop and spend the night in a motel near Childress Texas, during a blinding snow and ice storm. During the night, Velvet’s Waltz was written, then put on the new recording. It was named for Velvet, Dale’s eldest daughter, who had not yet been born! It became a fiddle contest standard for many years afterwards. The version, however, was revised, changed, etc. over the years. Velvet’s Waltz, found on other recordings by Dale, is not, therefore a duplication. Each are different, especially the version on Elmore Camp 2002 DVD in which Dale also sings the words for the song.

Source for notated version: Dale Morris [Phillips].

Printed sources: Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), vol. 2, 1995; p. 320.

Recorded sources: Dale Morrs - "Old Time Fiddlin' New for '78" (1978).

See also listing at:
Jane Keefer's Folk Music Index [2]