Any member know the origin of the curiously titled, “Pigtown Fling”?
PIGTOWN FLING. AKA and see see “Buffalo Breakdown,” "Hop Along, Sally,” “Kelton’s Reel,” “Off with Your Jacket,” “Old Dad,” “Old Mother Goodwin” (Pa.), “Ston(e)y Point [1],” “Stony Point Reel” (Pa. title, 1866), “Warm Stuff,” “Wild Horse,” “Wild Horses at Stony Point.” American, Scottish, Irish; Reel. USA, widely known under a variety of titles. G Major (‘A’ part) & E Minor (‘B’ part). Standard tuning. AA’B (Kerr): AABB (most versions): AABB’ (Skinner): AA’BB’ (Kennedy). Pigtown Fling is the common New England title for this widely known tune, although it was collected by Shaw in Colorado as “Pigtown Hoe Down.” It is called “Pigtown” in County Donegal, Ireland, where it is played as a highland, although Perlman (1979) says it was originally a Co. Kerry polka, also called “Pigtown.” Linscott (1939) identifies this tune as “an Irish reel sometimes known as ‘Keltons.’” Chet Parker, a hammered dulcimer player from western New York, called it “Buffalo Breakdown.” See also “Woodpile,” “N…r in the Woodpile” and “Cotton Patch.” Sources for notated versions: Edson Cole (Freedom, N.H.) [Linscott], seven southwestern Pa. fiddlers [Bayard]. Adam, 1928; No. 27. American Veteran Fifer, 1927; No. 19. Bayard (Dance to the Fiddle), 1981; No. 166A‑G, pgs. 111‑113. Bulmer & Sharpley (Music from Ireland), 1974, Vol. 2, No. 7. Cazden, 1955; pg. 28. Christeson (Old Time Fiddlers Repertory, Vol. 1), 1973; No. 139 (four parts). DeVille, 1905; No. 65. Ford (Traditional Music in America), 1940; pgs. 35 and 64. Harding’s Original Collection, 1928; No. 121. Kennedy (Traditional Dance Music of Britain and Ireland: Reels and Rants), 1997; No. 158, pg. 37. Kerr (Merry Melodies), Vol. 2; No. 269, pg. 29. Krassen (Appalachian Fiddle), 1973; pg. 61 (three parts). Linscott (Folk Songs of Old New England), 1939; pg. 71. Miller & Perron (New England Fiddlers Repertoire), 1983; No. 126. Ruth (Pioneer Western Folk Tunes), 1948; No. 2, pg. 3. Shaw (Cowboy Dances), 1943; pg. 388 (appears as “Pigtown Hoe Down”). Skinner (Harp and Claymore), 1904; pg. 143 (appears as “The Pig Town”). Sweet (Fifer’s Delight), 1965/1981; pg. 47. Tolman (Nelson Music Collection), 1969; pg. 11. Welling (Welling’s Hartford Tunebook), 1976; pg. 3. White’s Excelsior Collection, pg. 23. White’s Unique Collection, No. 70. Gennett 6088 (78 RPM), Uncle Steve Hubbard and His Boys, c. 1928 (recorded under the title “Big‑Town Fling”). John Edwards Memorial Foundation JEMF‑105, Uncle Joe Shippee ‑ “New England Traditional Fiddling” (1978). Shanachie 79022, “The Chieftains #2.” “Music at Matt Molloy’s.” Smithsonian Folkways SFW CD 40126, Bob McQuillen & Old New England – “Choose Your Partners!: Contra Dance & Square Dance Music of New Hampshire” (1999).
See also listings at:
Jane Keefer’s Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources
Alan Ng’s Irishtune.info
X:1
T:Pigtown Fling
M:2/4
L:1/8
S:Shaw – Cowboy Dances (1948)
Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion
K:G
Gg/e/ de/d/|Bg/e/ d/B/A/B/|Gg/e/ de/d/|BG/B/ A/F/E/D/|
Gg/e/ de/d/|Bg/e/ d/B/A/B/|Gg/e/ dB/d/|c/B/A/B/ Gz:|
eB e>f|g/f/e/f/ e/d/B/A/|Be e>d|e/f/g/f/ ge/d/|eB e>f|
g/f/e/f/ e/d/B/A/|Be e>d|e/f/g/a/ g2||
Thanks. I’ll keep “Pigtown” because it is a cool title. The Session list several of the other titles you mention as alternate titles. It always has surprised me to see a tune with several titles, sometimes more than a dozen! Some of the titles you list are not given on The Session. Such as “N In The Woodpile” This tune I know as “Devil In The Woodpile.” A more respectable title.
Wow thanks Mr Gumby, that appears to be one of those very old tunes that made it across with the early colonists.
Pig Town: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pigtown,_Baltimore
Stony Point https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stony_Point,_New_York
I’m guessing it was called neither Pig Town nor Stony Point on the other side of the Atlantic.
Several places lay claim to the name Pigtown. Google gives us a neighborhood in Baltimore. A bit USA-centric. Pigtown, Ireland, gives us Limerick, with its Pigtown Culture & Food Series, http://pigtown.ie/1136-2/ . An interesting read here: https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/the-silence-of-the-hams
Bob