"Cotton-Eyed Joe" Lesson
Added 2020-09-29 03:15:10 +0000 UTCThis is my original arrangement of Cotton-Eyed Joe for both 2-finger and overhand style banjo. The tuning is f#DGAD.
I learned the words to Cotton-Eyed Joe from Jerron "Blindoy" Paxton. He sang it a capella, to the usual melody, so I composed this original banjo arrangement.
I want to go a'courting but I could not go
Had to stay home with Cotton-Eyed Joe,
If it hadn't been for Cotton-Eyed Joe
I'd a'been married a long time ago ,
Where did you come from where did you go
Where did you come from Cotton-Eyed Joe? (x2)
I want to go to town but I could not go
Had to take care of Cotton-Eyed Joe,
If it hadn't been for Cotton-Eyed Joe
I'd a'been married a long time ago...
They whipped that man with a rope and a line
They whipped that man 'til he lost his mind,
They whipped that man to the longleaf pine
They whipped that man 'til he went stone blind...
They whipped that man with a line and a rope
They whipped that man 'til he Buzzard Loped
They whipped that man with a rope and a line
They whipped that man 'til he lost his mind...
According to the book, On the Trail of Negro Folk-Songs (Scarborough, 1925), this song predates the American Civil War. Scarborough documented one informant from Louisiana who heard slaves perform it during their early childhood in the 1850s. The first printed version appeared in the early 1880s.
Comments
Just got my first banjo yesterday. A vintage Harmony. This is the first song im working on. It probably defeats the purpose of the song, but I end it to give Ol Joe a little Justice…
Wyatt Anderson
2024-01-20 22:00:12 +0000 UTCJust learned this one 2 finger, almost up to speed and now learning the lyrics to sing along on the porch. Took me a bit watching the performance to realize the “repeats”, but got it. Thanks Clif, great one for my old HCD Silverbell or the mountain banjo since I run nylguts on them, and prefer 2 finger on the nylons, and CH on steel.
Brian Peake
2021-05-08 16:09:13 +0000 UTCCotton-eyed
Owen Colfax
2021-04-25 00:28:32 +0000 UTCGreat observation. I think we forget that these old time tunes were really for dancing. Keep up the great work sir.
Jack
2020-11-04 14:48:47 +0000 UTCWhenever I go to music festivals that are really out in the country and not dominated by hippy folks (Like the Dock Boggs festival in Pound, VA, for example) the old people always get up and dance when the band has a "clawhammer" or two-finger picker, but they ALWAYS sit down when the bluegrass band comes on stage. It's not that they don't like bluegrass, it's just that nobody dances to bluegrass.
Clifton Hicks
2020-11-02 22:06:53 +0000 UTCThis is dark and I love it. The economy of notes is what I think is at the heart of the 2 finger style. Less is more. Lets admit it; Scruggs style can become a wall of notes after a very short time. One of those things that's probably more enjoyable for the player than the listener. 2 finger style lets the tune breath and can become trance like. I'm a clawhammer guy but I'm here to broaden my horizons.
Jack
2020-11-02 17:19:49 +0000 UTCGlad to hear it, Alan. Apparently offering tabs was a good idea! After dragging my feet on that front for 20+ years, I couldn't keep ignoring people's requests/suggestions.
Clifton Hicks
2020-10-03 13:07:33 +0000 UTCMany thanks Clifton, I am having fun learning this one. Just joined Patreon this week! Having tab is a great help for me to refer back to. So hello from sunny Vancouver Island BC. (:
Alan Douglas
2020-10-03 02:20:02 +0000 UTCI think that's the tuning for sure. I can almost get something sorta like it lol. I can't wait to hear your take on it.
Cameron Frisch
2020-10-01 00:23:52 +0000 UTCThat is a good one, and I've seen him do it a couple times. Pretty sure he used gCGBD: https://youtu.be/AIffTQb6M0o I'll see if I can work it up. He and I share some similarities in our down-picking approach, for example we both throw in weird up-brushes on certain off-beats, but just FYI I'll probably come up with something different than how he does it.
Clifton Hicks
2020-09-30 20:46:38 +0000 UTCThis song get my mind thinking of Jerron's "Bound To Go". Is that a song you might be able to break down for us too?
Cameron Frisch
2020-09-30 19:15:50 +0000 UTCThanks for the lyrics great arrangement
Dave
2020-09-30 09:33:51 +0000 UTCSo cool. A nice Outlaw surprise today Clif. This will be fun and blend with what we learned from Hustling Gamblers.
Old Joe
2020-09-29 19:40:07 +0000 UTC
