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Gwine Dig a Hole to Put the Devil In/ Give The Fiddler A Dram/Fiddler A Dram/Dance All Night/ Dig A Hole
SEE: "Fiddler's Dram" for two other Leadbelly versions with MP3's
Old‑Time, Breakdown. USA
ARTIST: Leadbelly 1935; Library of Congress recording
LISTEN: Gwine Dig a Hole to Put the Devil In- Leadbelly (recording has interupts)
CATEGORY: Fiddle and Instrumental Tunes; DATE: 1800s- Early 1900s- 1917 Sharp EFSSA
RECORDING INFO: Gonna Dig a Hole to Put the Devil In - Ledbetter, Huddie (Leadbelly)
Leadbelly. Lomax, John & Alan Lomax (eds.) / Leadbelly. A Collection of World Famou, Folkways, sof (1959), p35 (Gwine Dig a Hole to Put de Devil In)
Leadbelly. Leadbelly; The Library of Congress Recordings, Elektra EKL 301/2, LP (1965), trk# B.01b [1933-42] (Gwine Dig a Hole to Put de Devil In)
RECORDING INFO: Give the Fiddler a Dram [Sh 246/Me IV-A11]
Rt - Dance All Night [with a Bottle in my Hand]
At - Darker the Night (,the Better I Can See)
Uf - Dance All Night [with a Bottle in my Hand]
Brody, David (ed.) / Guitar Picker's Fakebook, Oak, Sof (1984), p 75
Angel Band. All the Good Times, Cardinale CDLP, LP (197?), trk# A.04 (Ole Molly Hair)
Boveng, Peter. Silberberg, Gene (ed.) / Complete Fiddle Tunes I Either Did or Did Not., Silberberg, Fol (2005), p 65
Brody, David. Brody, David (ed.) / Fiddler's Fakebook, Oak, Sof (1983), p121
Carlton, Gaither. Doc Watson Family Tradition, Rounder 0129, CD (2005/1977), trk# 11 [1964/09]
Carter Brothers & Son. Echoes of the Ozarks, Vol. 1, County 518, LP (1970), trk# A.04 [1928/02/24]
Carter Brothers & Son. Raw Fiddle, Rounder 1160-2, CD (2004), trk# 1.22 [1928/02/24]
Country Cooking. Country Cooking, Rounder 0006, LP (1971), trk# B.03b (Fiddler A Dram)
Crase, James. Mountain Music of Kentucky, Smithsonian/Folkways SF 40077, CD (1996), trk# 2.53 [1959] (Fiddler A Dram)
Cunnick, John. Cunnick, John & Kim / Timberbound Songbook, Cunnick, fol (1977), p32 (Fiddler A Dram)
Deighton Family. Acoustic Music to Suit Most Occasions, Philo PH 1120, LP (1987), trk# A.04b
Erbsen, Wayne. Old Fashioned WindDing, Native Ground NG 114, CD (2000), trk# 14
Family Apostalic. Family of Apostalic, Vanguard VSD 79301/2, LP (1969), trk# 2 (Fiddler A Dram)
Ferrel, Frank. Yankee Dreams, Flying Fish FF70 572, CD (1991), trk# 1c
Gellert, Dan; and Brad Leftwich. Marimac Anthology. Deep in Old time Music, Rounder 0364, CD (1996), trk# 8 [1993]
Gellert, Dan; and Brad Leftwich. Moment in Time, Marimac 9038, Cas (1993), trk# A.03
Hellman, Neal. Hellman, Neal / Dulcimer Songbook, Oak, Sof (1977), p48 (Fiddler A Dram)
Herd, Jim. Old Time Ozark Fiddling, Voyager VRCS 340, Cas (1991), trk# B.12
Holy Modal Rounders. Holy Modal Rounders, Prestige PR 7720, CD/ (1964), trk# 2
Holy Modal Rounders. Holy Modal Rounders, Fantasy 24711, CD/ (1972/1964), trk# 3.02
Lusk, John; Band. Black Appalachia, Rounder 1823-2, CD (1999), trk# 10 [1946/09]
Moberly, Susan. Sharp & Karpeles / English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians II, Oxford, Bk (1932/1917), p358/# 246 [1917/08/20]
New Lost City Ramblers. Remembrance of Things to Come, Folkways FTS 31035, LP (1973/1966), trk# 18
New Lost City Ramblers. 20th Aniversery Concert, Flying Fish FF 090, LP (1986), trk# B.05
Possum Hunters. Death on Lee Highway, Takoma A 1010, LP (1966), trk# 12b
Red Clay Ramblers. Hard Times, Flying Fish FF 246, LP (1981), trk# 3b (Fiddler A Dram)
Red Clay Ramblers & Al McCanless. Red Clay Ramblers with Fiddlin' Al McCanless, Folkways FTS 31039, LP (1974), trk# 13
Salyer, John Morgan. Home Recordings 1941-42. Vol. 2, Appal. Center Ser. AC 003-v2, cas (1993), trk# B.01
Slater, Alec. Slater, Alec / Clawhammer Banjo Solos, Mel Bay, Sof (1979), p52
Wohlford, C. B.. Chase, Richard (ed.) / American Folk Tales and Songs, Dover, sof (1971/1956), p207 [1930-40's]
Give the Fiddler a Dram (West Virginia version)
Carlin, Bob. Brody, David (ed.) / Banjo Picker's Fakebook, Oak, Fol (1985), p 76a
Hall, Leland. Old-Time Fiddling of Braxton County, Augusta Heritage AHR 012, Cas (1992), trk# B.02 [1991/12]
Milnes, Gerry; and Lorraine Lee Hammond. Hell Up Coal Holler, Shanachie 6040, CD (1999), trk# 10
Stefanini, Rafe. Hell and Scissors, County CD 2728, CD (1999), trk# 3
Give the Fiddler a Dram (Song) - Hull, Dave/Clark, Jerry
Hull, Dakota Dave; and Sean Blackburn. Ace Pickin' and Sweet Harm, Train on the Island TI 2, LP (1977), trk# A.05a
Williams, Robin and Linda. Robin and Linda Williams, Flashlight FLT 3003, LP (1975), trk# B.02
Give the Fiddler a Dram [Me IV-A13]
Uf - John Brown's Dream
Give the Fiddler a Dram [Me IV-E 45]
Uf - Dance All Night [with a Bottle in my Hand]
OTHER NAMES: Dance All Night; Fiddler A Dram; Won't Someone Give The Fiddler A Dram? (Jon Cooper); Dig A Hole
SOURCES: Kuntz; Mudcat; Folk Index
NOTES: Kuntz have five seperate listings (see Below) and the Folk Index has multiple listings including a song titled "Give the Fiddler A Dram" by Dave Hull and Terry Clark. Meade lists the 1928 Carter Brothers and Son recording (which has lyrics)and is available on County Records, Carter Brothers and Son‑ "Echoes of the Ozarks, Vol. 1." Meade also lists several other versions mostly cover by Kuntz.
Meade also mentions Tanner's "Alabama Gals Give the Fiddler a Dram" which is listed under Buffalo Gals- a connection I also showed. [SEE: "Alabama Gal Give the Fiddler A Dram"] Gid Tanner's version uses the "Buffalo Gals" melody and quotes a line from the lyrics Listen To Tanner:
Meade also lists the Teneva Ramblers tune under "Dance All Night."
The fiddle tune was collected as a song in Sharp's EFSSA in 1917:
GIVE THE FIDDLER A DRAM- Susan Moberly, Clay Co. KY 1917
Dance all night with a bottle in your hand,
And long before day give the fiddler a dram.
Give the fiddler a dram, give the fiddler a dram
And long before day give the fiddler a dram.
Clayton McMichen plays a great version titled, "Give The Fiddler a Dram" which uses the Buffalo Gals melody for the A strain. Listen Here
The text of the song appears in Joseph Gault's 1902 fifth edition of his Reports: entitled "A coat of many colors" By Joseph Gault:
"And then," said she, "he played me my other tune; he called that 'The old man and old woman up in the loft; and then said to me, 'my dear, set the table, and I'll play my favorite tune,'and so I commenced setting his breakfast—and there are his pancakes on the table—and he commenced playing his favorite tune, then he dropped his fiddle, and, with the motion of a fiddler, commenced singing:
Give the fiddler a dram, give the fiddler a dram,
Give the fiddler a dram, I say!
Give the fiddler a dram, give the fiddler a dram,
And give it to him quick I say!
Cornwallis Surrender melody resembles "Dance All Night," or "Give the Fiddler a Dram." Notice that the B part is very short, only two-measures long. ... 97, as "Give the Fiddler a Dram"). Hear an online recording of Morrison playing this tune at: Wolf collection
A version of this traditional song from Kentucky was recorded on the Holy Modal Rounders double album on Prestige which was reissued this year on CD: Holy Modal Rounders '1 & 2' Big Beat CDWIKD 176. Big Beat is a subsidiary of Ace. As usual, Steve Weber was very free with the lyrics. However, their source was James Crase from Kentucky. Crase's performance of 'Fiddler a Dram' is also now available on an excellent double CD: Various Artists 'Mountain Music of Kentucky' Smithsonian/Folkways SF CD 40077.
There's a different song titled "Give The Fiddler A Dram from Dakota Dave Hull and Jerry Holland from Garnet Rogers CD "Summer Lightning":
Give The Fiddler A Dram
In this dirty old pool hall
There's no tune that hasn't been played
Everything else Lord you've seen it all
Except for the dreams you've betrayed
You're living way too hard
You know you're dying inside
So as you play your last card
You'll go reeling into the night
(Chorus)
You know winter's coming soon, you can tell by the moon
And you've seen me before as I passed by your door
And you know who I am so give the fiddler a dram
Me and this old time fiddle
We've been around for a while
And there were songbirds that whistled
And pine trees that went on for miles
And I've played to the white-tails,
I played to the wild flowers
To the white rose ghostly and pale
And to the forests uncounted aisles
Now the hills are all bare
The old dog lies still in his sleep
Waiting to hear the songs in the air
But instead hear the earth as she weeps
And I'll write you a song
I'll call it "The Drunkards Reel"
So as you go drifting along
The four winds will know how you feel
This arrangement is from the album "Atlantic Bridge" by Jane Rothfield & Allan Carr (with Martin Hadden), 1987 Green Linnet Records:
FIDDLER A DRAM
(Trad. Arr. Rothfield & Carr)
My dog gone, Jimmy come along
Here comes Sammy with the red shoes on
He took `em off and I put `em on
Here comes Tommy with the big boots on
He took `em off and I put `em on
Here comes Sammy with the red dress on
He took it off, I put it on
Twenty long years since he's been gone
Got me a job, sittin' on a fence
Haven't seen a damn thing since
Worked all night with a bottle in my hand
Come on give the fiddler a dram
Fiddler a dram, Fiddler a dram
Come on give the fiddler a dram
Fiddler a dram, Fiddler a dram
Come on give the fiddler a dram
Some drink wine, some drink water
Come on give the fiddler a quarter
I drink whisky; it makes me holler
Come on give the fiddler a swaller
Got me a job, sittin' on a fence
Haven't done a damn thing since
Work all night with a fiddle in my hand
Come on give the fiddler a dram
Fiddler a dram, Fiddler a dram
Come on give the fiddler a dram
Fiddler a dram, Fiddler a dram
Come on give the fiddler a dram
Teh following version of "Give the Fiddler a Dram" by Indiana fiddler Dan Gellert was taped at a festival in Indiana in the 70's. Here are the lyrics he uses:
Dance all night with a bottle in my hand
Good God almighty give the fiddler a dram
Who's been here since I've been gone
Pretty little girl with a red dress on
My name is Sam and I don't give a damn
I can get to Hell just as quick as you can
Here's another lyric version from Complete Clawhammer Banjo Book By Alec Slater, Lisa Schmitz:
Fiddler's dram, fiddler's dram
Dance all night with a bottle in his hand,
Bottle in his hand, bottle in his hand
Dance all night give the fiddler a dram
Kuntz listings: GIVE THE FIDDLER A DRAM [1]. See "Dance All Night."
GIVE THE FIDDLER A DRAM [2]. AKA ‑ "Fiddler a Dram,” "Fiddler’s Dram." Unrelated to "Dance All Night." Old‑Time, Breakdown. USA, Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia. G Mixolydian (Brody, Phillips/Carlton, Silberberg): A Mixolydian (Chase, W.E. Claunch, Phillips/Honig). Standard tuning. AB (Silberberg): AABB (Brody, Phillips/Carlton): AA'BB (Chase): AA'BBCC (Phillips/Honig). One version of this tune was played at a 1931 LaFollette, north-east Tennessee fiddlers' contest, according to a local newspaper of the time. The title appears in a list of traditional Ozark Mountain fiddle tunes compiled by musicologist/folklorist Vance Randolph, published in 1954. It was also listed by the Fayette Northwest Alabamian of August 19th, 1929, as one of the tunes likely to be played at an upcoming fiddlers' convention (Cauthen, 1990), and was recorded in 1939 for the Library of Congress by Herbert Halpert from the playing of Mississippi fiddler W.E. Claunch. Gerry Milnes, in the notes for his album “Hell Up Coal Creek,” writes that this tune was one of old Tom Dillon’s (of Webster County, W.Va.) showpiece tune. Dillon was a character who busked around sandlot baseball games for drinks and tips, often dancing while he played. Another trick of his was to play with two bows strapped together. “Girl with the Blue Dress On” is a related tune. Sources for notated versions: banjoist C.B. Wohlford (Marion, Virginia) [Chase]; Gaither Carlton (N.C.) [Phillips]; Peter Honig [Phillips]; Peter Boveng [Silberberg]. Brody (Fiddler’s Fakebook), 1983; pg. 121. Chase (American Folk Tales and Songs), 1956; pg. 207. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), vol. 1, 1994; pg. 98 (two versions). Silberberg (Tunes I Learned at Tractor Tavern), 2002; pg. 51. County Records, Carter Brothers and Son‑ "Echoes of the Ozarks, Vol. 1." Flying Fish FF‑246, Red Clay Ramblers ‑ "Hard Times" (1981). Flying Fish 70572, Frank Ferrel - “Yankee Dreams: ‘Wicked Good Fiddling from New England’” (1990). Front Hall FHR‑037, Mark Graham ‑ "Natural Selections" (1987). Marimac 9038, Dan Gellert & Brad Leftwich - "A Moment in Time." Rounder 0006, Country Cooking‑ "Fourteen Bluegrass Instrumentals." Rounder CD0364, Brad Leftwich - “The Marimac Anthology: Deep in Old-Time Music.” Shanachie Records 6040, Gerry Milnes & Lorraine Lee Hammond – “Hell Up Coal Holler” (1999). Voyager 340, Jim Herd - "Old Time Ozark Fiddling."
GIVE THE FIDDLER A DRAM [3]. See "Pretty Polly Ann [1]" recorded by Bob Carlin. Old‑Time, Breakdown. USA, Oklahoma. A Major. AEae tuning. AABB. Unrelated to Brody's or Christeson's versions. Source for notated version: G. Blevins (Bryan County, Oklahoma) [Thede]. Thede (The Fiddle Book), 1967; pg. 53.
GIVE THE FIDDLER A DRAM [4]. Old‑Time, Breakdown. USA, Kentucky. A Major. Recorded by fiddler Luther Strong (Hazard, Ky.) for Alan Lomax on behalf of the Library of Congress; not issued. Folkways FTS 31039, "The Red Clay Ramblers with Fiddlin' Al McCanless" (1974).
GIVE THE FIDDLER A DRAM [5]. Old‑Time, Breakdown. USA, Kentucky. Compare with Edden Hammon’s “Sugar in the Gourd [5].” Appalachian Center Berea College, John Salyer – “Home Recordings 1941-1942, vol. 2.”
Notes on Leadbelly's Song: According to Charles Wolfe: One old fiddle song— one borrowed from the African American fiddle tradition, not necessarily from whites — was Leadbelly's version of the familiar "Give the Fiddler a Dram," which he called "Gwine Dig a Hole to Put the Devil In." [The life and legend of Leadbelly By Charles K. Wolfe, Kip Lornell]
Leadbelly said the song refers to the boss man coming and digging a hole to put him in. Leadbelly quotes "Wake snake, day's a breakin'," minstrel song lyrics.
Leadbelly recorded two other versions for the Library of Congress titled "Fiddler's dram." One features Wody Guthrie and Cisco Houston. See: Fiddler's Dram.
MORE NOTES: It's possible that "don't give a damn" lyrics floated from:
My name is Sam, I don't give a damn,
I'd rather be a *black man 'n a po' white man.
Found in Thede (The Fiddle Book), 1967; pg. 62. The edited title is "I'd rather be a *Black Man than A Poor White Man."
Other versions of "Dig A Hole" have been circulating- whether they are due to Leadbelly's version is uncertain. On Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzYK8bx27vQ&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAvVO_bOy00
Leadbelly version "Gwine Dig a Hole to Put the Devil In" appeared in print in Negro Folk Songs As Sung By Lead Belly published in 1936 by John and Alan Lomax. Here are the lyrics they give (whixh are different than the recording I have:
Gwine Dig a Hole to Put the Devil In- Negro Folk Songs As Sung By Lead Belly published in 1936 by John and Alan Lomax
Gwine dig a hole to put the Devil in,
Gwine dig a hole to put the Devil in.
Gwine dig a hole, gwine dig a hole
Gwine dig a hole, gwine dig a hole.
Doo-da-deed- le -um-too-ti- yah!
Don' wan' meet her in the worl' no wha.
Gwine dig a hole to put the Devil in,
Gwine dig a hole to put the Devil in.
Gwine shake a pole to put the Devil in,
Gwine shake a pole to put the Devil in.
Talk about fiddler's, fiddler's dram,
Talk about fiddler's, fiddler's dram.
Gonna set down by Abyham,
Gonna set down by Abyham.
Don' give a damn, don' give a damn,
Don' give a damn, don' give a damn.
Don' give a damn, ......,
Don' give a damn, ,......
Gwine dig a hole to put the Devil in,
Gwine dig a hole to put the Devil in.
Gwine dig a hole........
Gwine dig a hole .......
Gwine shake a pole
Gwine shake a pole
Doo-da-deed- le -um-too-ti- yah!
Don' wan' meet her in the worl' no wha.
Doo-da-deed- le -um-too- yo!
Don' wan' meet her in the worl' nowha she go.
Gwine Dig a Hole to Put the Devil In- Leadbelly 1935
LISTEN: Gwine Dig a Hole to Put the Devil In- Leadbelly
[Fast twelve string guitar strums] [Ad lib with shouts]
Spoken: We're gonna holler to it - yahoo!
Gwine dig a hole to put the Devil in,
Gwine dig a hole to put the Devil in,
Gwine dig a hole, gwine dig a hole
Gwine dig a hole to put the Devil in.
Spoken: We're gonna shout it, the Devil's comin' down and he don't know what it's about, but that it
Sings: Gwine dig a hole
Gwine dig a hole to put the Devil in,
Don't give a damn, don't give a damn,
Don't give a damn, don't give a damn.
Don't give a damn, don't give a damn,
Don't give a damn, don't give a damn.
Gwine dig a hole to put the Devil in,
Gwine dig a hole to put the Devil in,
Gwine dig a hole, gwine dig a hole
Gwine dig a hole to put the Devil in.
Wake snake, day's a breakin',
It's a hoecake he's a bakin'
Gwine dig a hole, gwine dig a hole
Don't give a damn, don't give a damn,
Don't give a damn, don't give a damn,
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