Henry Queen - Appalachian Music

Life-Music Southern Appalachia-DVD

2019-08-17T12:07:00.000-07:00

The mountains of Appalachia are home to a folk music tradition that traces its roots to England, Scotland, and Ireland. Picking up the African banjo and other influences in its evolution, this tradition gave rise to gospel, bluegrass and country music.

The recipients of the North Carolina Folk Heritage Award, the Brown-Hudson Folklore Award, and many other honors, the Queen Family of Western North Carolina have come to represent Southern Appalachian heritage and a way of life.

DVD FEATURES:
The Queen Family-Appalachian Tradition & Back Porch Music. 32 min
Mary Jane Queen-Appalachian Ballads & Songs. 12 min
The Queen Family-Plays Mountain Music. 26 min

Produced and Directed by Neal Hutcheson.
A DVD/Video production of The North Carolina Language and Life Project at NC State University, supported by NC State Humanities Extension.

2015-06-17T19:36:00.000-07:00

"I Don't Love Nobody" by The Queen Family. From their album, "Back Porch Music" which was re-issued in 2008. Personnel: Featuring Mary Jane Queen, Henry Queen, Mark Queen, Jeanette Queen Shrock, Kathy Hayes Queen, J.R. Queen, Delbert Queen, and many others.

Boil the Cabbage Down - Traditional Song Lyrics

2015-06-17T19:28:00.000-07:00

Image viaWikipedia

This old folk song is a favorite among mountain musicians here in the southern Appalachians. There are many variations to the words as well as the tune which is very popular for square dances, frolics and back porch pickin' sessions. This old version is from singing of the Queen and Prince families of Western North Carolina. A tune from the CD Mary Jane Queen Songs I Like.

Boil the cabbage down, stir'em round and round
Come on girls, now dont be slow
But, Boil them cabbage down.

Raccoon on the rail fence, waitin for the sun
Long eared hounds coming down the road
Old racoon better run.

Boil them cabbage down, stir'em up and down
Hurry up liza, now dont be slow
Said, boil them cabbage down.

She cut across the broom sage field, I come down the lane
Run my finger through the crack of the fence
Up jumped liza jane.

Boil the cabbage down, stir'em round and round
Get up gals, and dont be slow
Said, bile them cabbage down.

National Heritage Fellowship Award

2013-07-13T17:47:00.000-07:00

Appalachian musician Ballad singer Mary Jane Queen of the Caney Fork Community in Jackson County, NC has been awarded the prestigious National Heritage Fellowship 2007, the nations highest honor in folk and traditional arts. Mary Jane a local celebrity who grew up in a musical family, married into a musical family, and raised a musical family of eight children, Mary Jane Queen has also received the Mountain Heritage Award, the NC Folk Heritage Award, and the Brown-Hudson Folklore Award. Only twelve people per year travel to Washington to "receive their award in a public ceremony and perform in a concert celebrating our nation of nations during late September." The award will be accepted by her children who make up the Queen Family Band because Mary Jane died shortly after the announcement of the award on June 29, 2007. The Queen family is committed to preserving their musical traditions. The nomination process for this award begins with "ordinary citizens who put forward local folk and traditional artists that they feel are deserving of national recognition and who embody artistic excellence, authenticity, and significance within their tradition."

The Queen Family CD - Appalachian Porch Music

2013-06-04T09:02:00.000-07:00

Queen Family - Back Porch Music CD

Old time Music Songs CD Southern Appalachia

North Carolina Mountains

1. Shady Grove - old time bluegrass
2. Another Sweetheart - appalachian ballad singing
3. Booth Shot Lincoln - mountain guitar song
4. Arkansas Traveler - fiddle and guitar
5. Billy Boy - folk round
6. Molly & Tenbrooks - vocals, bluegrass
7. Cajun Fiddle - fiddle song accompanied by guitar
8. I Don’t Love Nobody... guitar duet / flatpicking
9. Cripple Creek - three finger banjo acoustic guitar
10. Vincent Young - A-cappella folk singing
11. Sally Good'n - mountain fiddle and guitar music
12. Henry's Blues - acoustic guitar
13. Greenback Dollar - family singing with music
14. Rich Mountain Stomp - appalachian fiddle
15. When I Wake... - family gospel song
16. Wildwood Flower - guitars
17. Little Black Mustache - humorous folksong
18. Poor Ellen Smith - north carolina ballad
19. Sugarfoot Rag - flatpicking guitars
20, I'll Have A New Life - southern gospel
21. Mexican Polka - guitar pickin'
22. Liza Jane - A-cappella mountain folk singing
23. Old Ruben - clawhammer banjo / fiddle tune
24. Saw Creek - dueling guitars
25. Shortnin' Bread - mountain banjo / fiddle
26. A Music Man - original folk song
27. Will the Circle... - family singing / music

Queen Family North Carolina Music CD

2013-04-24T10:13:00.001-07:00

Queen Family receives National Heritage Award Washington DC

The Queen Family - Appalachian Music - Mountain Traditions

Appalachian music is created by mountain folk musicians who draw upon time-honored traditions passed down from their great ancestors. A Great example of Appalachian mountain music is the award-winning Queen Family of Western North Carolina.

Matriarch, Mary Jane Queen and the Queen Family, have received awards from the National Heritage Fellowship: Master Artist in 2007 for important contribution's to music and American Culture, as well as the North Carolina Folk Heritage Award in 1993. Her winning ways, honest enthusiasm, and love of music made Mary Jane Queen a favorite among audiences whom always requested her signature song, "I Wish I Was a Single Girl Again." She and husband Claude Queen taught their eight children how to live off the mountain land and how to play music and sing.

The Queen Family was awarded the Western Carolina University Mountain Heritage Award in 1999, and the North Carolina Folklore Society Brown Hudson Award in 2001, as well as numerous awards by various family members at the Mountain Dance and Folk Festival throughout the years. North Carolina State University has created two folk life documentaries featuring this musical family. Mountain Talk, a study of dialects and linguistics in the mountains of NC, featured a soundtrack with songs from Mary Jane and Henry Queen.

This film was later followed by a documentary about the family entitled The Queen Family: Back Porch Music. Blends of Bluegrass, old time, gospel and country filled the air as the mother and her offspring interacted effortlessly and expertly to share their craft in this DVD.

Whether the Queen Family is performing together at local festivals or just gathered on the kitchen porch back at the old home place in North Carolina, music is their common voice.

CD - Old Time Music Songs - Traditional Folk - Appalachia

The Queen Family - Western North Carolina - Music CD

1. Old Mountain Dew - Folk Song
2. Pretty Saro - Old A-cappella Ballad
3. Liza Jane - Traditional Folk Song
4. Salt Creek - Guitar Music
5. On That Resurrection Morning - Gospel
6. William Riley - A-cappella Ballad
7. Greenback Dollar - Folk Song
8. Wayfaring Stranger - Gospel
9. Rabbit in the Log - Traditional Folk Song
10. Cotton Eyed Joe - Folk Music
11. Gold Watch and Chain - Ballad
12. Rocky Island - Old Time Song
13. Deliverance Will Come - Gospel Music
14. He Will Guide Me Safely Home - Gospel

Mary Jane Queen - Songs Music CD

2013-04-16T10:11:00.000-07:00

Mary Jane Queen - Songs I Like - Music CD

Traditional Music CD - Folk Ballads Banjo Guitar

1. William Reily - traditional ballad singing
2. Black Jack David - vocal/banjo music
3. Pretty Saro - traditional a-cappella ballad
4. Little Black Moustache - voice
5. Barbara Allen - traditional ballad
6. Sally Anne - vocal banjo guitar song
7. I Dreamed of My Love - vocal traditional
8. Sourwood Mountain - singing/banjo music
9. Green Back Dollar - vocal traditional
10. Freight Twelve Sixty Two - vocal/guitar music
11. One Morning In May - voice with guitar
12. Salt Lake City - vocal traditional ballad
13. Wish I Was A Single Girl Again - vocal guitar
14. Boil the Cabbage Down - banjo/guitar song

Out of Stock

CD Traditional Mountain Folk Songs

2013-02-16T13:54:00.000-08:00

Henry Queen - Highest Quality Appalachian Music Cd. Folk songs and music of the Southern Appalachian mountains
Old Ballads and folk music performed on banjo plus guitar.

1. Johnson - traditional ballad
2. John Henry - trad. banjo music
3. Grandpa - original ballad
4. Wildwood Flower - guitar song
5. Little Brown Jug - trad. banjo/vocal
6. June Apple - trad. guitar music
7. Jolly Blade - traditional ballad
8. Cullowhee - original ballad
9. Handsome Molly - traditional vocal/banjo
10. Sail Along Blackbird - trad. banjo/vocal
11. Dreamed of My Love - ballad/guitar
12. Sally Anne Song - traditional banjo/guitar
13. Reflections - original guitar music

Out of Stock

Smoky Mountain Music - Folk CD

2013-01-07T15:54:00.000-08:00

Cd Music-Traditional and Original Folksongs

Old/New Smoky Mountain Drum’N Bass Folk CD

Songs include:

1. Salt Creek - traditional folk music
2. Sylva and Bryson - smdb
3. 'seng cabaret - smoky mountain music drum’n bass
4. Little Maggie - mountain folk song
5. Mountain Magic - original music
6. God is A Hammer - smdb
7. Judaculla Jig - original song
8. Wild Bill Jones - traditional folk ballad

Queen Family - North Carolina Ancestry

2012-07-16T11:41:00.000-07:00

Queen Family - North Carolina

In 1935 Claude Henry Queen married Mary Jane Prince, thus joining two of the Appalachian mountain's most gifted music making families together, starting another generation of all musical children. Learning ballads, guitar, banjo and fiddle tunes from their forefathers, The Queen Family of North Carolina continues the tradition of playing and singing the old time southern Appalachian mountain folk music.

Queen Coat of Arms

Individual surnames originated for the purpose of more specific identification. The four primary sources were: occupation, location, father's name, or personal characteristics. The surname Queen appears to be occupational in origin, and is believed to be associated with the English, meaning "one who played the part of a queen in a play or pageant."

Our Colonial Queen Family Ancestry

   Our colonial ancestor "old" William Queen (born ca. 1720) came to North Carolina from Virginia around 1750. His oldest son William Lewis Queen was born in VA (ca. 1749) . Before 1754 William and his wife Margaret were in Bladen Co. , NC (southeastern NC).
A land survey of that year mentions "the place on Bear Creek where William Queen lived." By the fall of 1754 William had already moved west into Anson Co. , North Carolina. The following summer he began to purchase the first of his land tracts on the Little River of the Pee Dee in Anson County.

William Queen and his family remained in this locale for about twelve years before he began selling off land tracts in preparation for another move west into Wilkes County, Georgia where he lived during the Revolutionary War. The Georgia Records of the Court of Land Commissioners show "ceded lands" reserved for William Queen, a wife, a son, and two daughters in 1773-75. Many years later his son Samuel states that William enrolled him as a ranger in the GA Militia at the commencement of hostilities in that area in 1778. A Wilkes County Georgia tax digest of 1785 shows 278 acres for a William Queen, Franklin Co.

   It appears that shortly after the Revolutionary War William Queen moved his family back into North Carolina. For several years afterwards he appears on land records in Randolph and Rutherford Counties, NC. William Queen died in NC (probably Rutherford Co.) early in 1801. William and Margaret had at least five children: William Lewis (born ca.1749) Samuel (born ca. 1759 in NC) Timothy, and two daughters not named.

   Our ancestor, Samuel Queen was most likely born in Anson County, North Carolina about 1759. Samuel, as was mentioned, was volunteered in the GA Militia in 1788. He was 19 years old. He served on the continental line as a minute man and ranger under Col. Elijah Clark. Samuel volunteered from Wilkes Co. GA and served under Gen. Lincoln during the seige of Savannah. After the seige he "was sometimes at home and sometimes marching about after Tories and Indians." Later "I returned into the service of the United States again in the fall of 1781 as a substitute for Timothy Queen (his brother) to perform... against the Creek Indians and Tories..." Samuel Queen gave this detailed account of his service in application for his pension dated Sept. 1834.

    Samuel Queen had moved back to NC after the war. In 1788 he married Dicey Rolls in Rutherford County, NC. In 1808 Samuel Queen received a 100 acre Land Grant located in what was then Buncombe Co. but now Henderson County at the mouth of a tributary of the South Fork of Mills River which at the time was known as Ireland's Mill Creek, but which subsequently came to be known as Queen's Creek. The area embraced by the Grant is comparatively flat and is locally regarded as excellent farm land. By deed dated May 17, 1824 Samuel sold his Queen's Creek tract. The deed cited that the grantor lived in Haywood County, NC which would seem to confirm family tradition that Samuel came to Caney Fork early in the 19th century and settled on John's Creek (now in present Jackson Co. near Cullowhee, NC). Samuel and Dicey had at least seven children.


William Lewis and John R. Queen

The Samuel and Dicey line connects to us through their son, John R. Queen. John R. Queen lived his adult life in the John's Creek Caney Fork section of Jackson Co., NC. "About 1829 John walked over the mountains from Mills River with a rifle, axe, pot, and a dog to claim land above his brother and to marry Nathan Coward's sister, Mary." (from the History of Jackson County). John R. Queen and Mary "Polly" Coward had at least three children: Nancy, Martha, and our ancestor John Lewis (commonly called "Luke").

John Lewis Queen "Luke"

     John R.'s son, John Lewis Queen also known as "Luke" was born June 29, 1830. In 1853 John Lewis married Lucinda Brown. They had a large family and many of their descendants still live on John's Creek. Luke was a minister of John's Creek Church near East Laporte. He also served as magistrate in the Caney Fork Township, helped with the singing schools, and supported his family by farming and hunting.

    "Luke's" son Albert Henson Queen (born March 6, 1879) married Ellen E. Brown. Albert and Ellen lived all their life on John's Creek in Jackson County, NC. Albert made a living by farming the land his forefathers had already somewhat tamed. Albert and his brother Reuben were some of the best of the the early mountain musicians in this section. They played homemade fretless banjos strung
with waxed twine, sang mountain songs, and had a good time living in the mountains. Albert and Ellen had four children: Mary Queen, Lewis Queen, John R. Queen, and their youngest son, our dad Claude Henry Queen (born 1916).

We gratefully acknowledge the efforts of family members and others for their work to make this historic writing on the Queen's of North Carolina possible. I hope you find it interesting, and with joint efforts we will continue to learn more about our Queen Family.

These photographs here of William, John R. and Luke Queen are copies we made from the original large pictures that have been in our Queen Family possession since they were made, handed to us by the old folks. These photos have also made their way into Ancestry.Com

   If you have information or comments regarding our Queen family ancestor's, please feel free to send email to: Henry Queen.

Mountain Heritage - Folk Music

2012-07-04T20:29:00.000-07:00

The Queen Family

The Queen Family - Western North Carolina

Jeanette, Dorothy, Kathy, Mark, James(JR), Carolyn, Delbert, Mary Jane, Henry, Albert

Mountain Heritage Day Music Award - Western Carolina University

    Appalachian music is created by mountain folk musicians who draw upon time-honored traditions and heritage passed down from their great ancestors. A very fine example of southern Appalachian mountain music is the award-winning Queen Family of Western North Carolina.

    Matriarch, Mary Jane Queen, was posthumously awarded the National Heritage Fellowship: Master Artist in 2007, and the North Carolina Folk Heritage Award in 1993. Her winning ways, honest enthusiasm, and love of music made Mary Jane a favorite among audiences who always requested her signature song, "I Wish I Was a Single Girl Again." She and husband Claude taught their eight children how to live off the mountain land and how to play music and sing.

   The Queen Family was awarded the Mountain Heritage Award in 1999, and the NC Folklore Society Brown Hudson Folklore Award in 2001, as well as numerous awards by various family members at the Mountain Dance and Folk Festival throughout the years. North Carolina State University has created two folk life documentaries featuring this musical family. Mountain Talk, a study of dialects and linguistics in the mountains of NC, featured a soundtrack with songs from Mary Jane and Henry Queen.

   This film was later followed by a documentary about the family entitled The Queen Family: Back Porch Music. Blends of Bluegrass, old time, gospel and country filled the air as the mother and her offspring interacted effortlessly and expertly to share their craft in this DVD. One of the best parts is when Henry and nephew Mark both play the same guitar. Jeanette, JR, Dorothy, Kathy, Albert and Delbert are also featured. Carolyn, who lives in Washington State, is not able to gather with the family very often, but carries on the traditions out there with her cousin Ernest singing at church functions. Jeanette's husband, Dean, was serving in Iraq during the Film, but is back home now and touring with the family once again.

   Whether the Queen Family is performing together at local festivals, traditional music events or just gathered on the kitchen porch back at the old home place in North Carolina, music is their common voice.

Mountain Folk - Song Lyrics

2008-11-19T12:24:00.000-08:00

Growing up in the mountains of Western North Carolina there was a lions share of old time traditional music within my family, both the Queens and Princes are very gifted when it comes to music making. I learned a lot of the mountain music and songs I perform directly from my family. This is a photograph of my Grandpa James S. Prince born in th mountains of Western North Carolina in 1876 and started playing banjo, fiddle and collecting music and folk songs at a very early age. Grandpa inspired a lot of my music and these lyrics I composed out of those memories. Original song from Henry Queen Highest Quality Music CD.

Grandpa - Mountain Folk Song Lyrics

A straight back hardwood chair, sits there on the front porch
Been there through the sunshine, through the rains and wind
Keeps ever close to me, sweet memories of Grandpa
An old time music maker, yes a true mountain man.

A thirty acre farm, way back in the Smoky Mountains
Scotch-Irish blood running through him, a skin weathered and brown
With a clawhammer banjo, and sweet mountain fiddle
He could make the people dance and sing for miles and miles around.

Chorus
Grandpa sang the blues of the working man, ballads of the mountains
Songs of religion in that old time mountain way
Some of the songs Grandpa sang for pleasure
And some of the songs, he lived by everyday.

When the family all could gather there at Grandpa's house in the evenings
There was picking and singing in a good time mountain way
Although Grandpa's gone his music is deep within me
And he sings in my memory like only yesterday.

Whoa Mule - Folk Song lyrics/video

2007-02-15T06:30:00.000-08:00

Traditional folk song video, lyrics for the Whoa Mule song collected in the mountains of Western North Carolina.

"Whoa Mule"

Johnson bought him an old gray mule, and called him Simon slick
He'd wall his eyes and switch his tail, um! how that mule could kick.

Whoa Mule Whoa, Whoa Mule I holler
Tie a knot in that old mules tail
And cram him in the collar.

Take him on down below the house, and hitch him in to plow
With a gee and a haw, its gee and haw, with a gee and a haw Whoa now.

Whoa Mule Whoa, whoa mule I said
Take your seat little Liza Jane
And hold tight to the sled.

The Queen Family Movie airs on PBS TV

2006-10-18T08:58:00.000-07:00

“The Queen Family: Appalachian Tradition & Back Porch Music,” a new documentary movie produced by the North Carolina Language and Life Project at North Carolina State University, is scheduled for a statewide broadcast and national release on public television early Oct.

Folks, The Queen Family of Western North Carolina are gearing up for a national performance, so check your local PBS TV listings for more information about Appalachian Tradition in your area.

DVD Link: The Queen Family-Appalachian Tradition & Back Porch Music DVD

CD Link:The Queen Family-Back Porch Mountain Music CD

Hear Fiddle/Banjo Old Ruben song sample from the CD.

Old Time Religion Song - Lyrics

2006-10-06T15:43:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

Traditional African-American spiritual song first published in the late 1800s and always a favorite sing along at old time music gatherings.

(Chorus)
Tis the old time religion
Give me that old time religion
Tis the old time religion
And its good enough for me

It Makes me love everybody
It Makes me love everybody
It Makes me love everybody
And its good enough for me

It was good for Paul and Peter
It was good for Paul and Peter
It was good for Paul and Peter
And its good enough for me

It was good for the hebrew children
It was good for the hebrew children
It was good for the hebrew children
And its good enough for me

Give me that old time religion
Give me that old time religion
Give me that old time religion
And Its good enough for me

A song sample from An Unclouded Day-Appalachian Folklore Cd

Mary Jane Queen - Appalachian Heritage Book

2006-04-27T14:53:00.000-07:00

The Life and Times of Mary Jane Queen
Published by Catch The Spirit of Appalachia, Inc.
Western North Carolina Books.

Mary Jane Queen will be at the City Lights Book Store in Sylva NC Saturday afternoon, May 20th from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. to autograph copies of her new book, The Life and Times of Mary Jane Queen: Her Art, Her Appalachian Heritage, Her Music and Songs. Queen, who lives on Johns Creek in the Caney Fork community of Jackson County, is an internationally recognized musician and balladeer. Among her many awards, she won the North Carolina Folk Heritage Award in 1993 and the Mountain Heritage Award in 1999. She has performed at Mountain Heritage Day for the past 18 years, plus many other music events and festivals throughout North Carolina.

This autobiography Mary Jane Queen's life in the John's Creek community of Jackson County.

Born 91 years ago in 1914, Queen says with a laugh that she was “a Prince before she became a Queen.” She was born into the Jim Prince family in the Caney Fork community and into a culture of music. Her father was a talented claw-hammer banjo player and her mother, Clearsie, was a singer, while brothers Alvin, Shirley, Marion, Ernest and Early were accomplished musicians in their own right.

“Folks used to come from miles around most every Saturday night to the house or to the barn dances where my dad would play,” Queen said. “He'd play and sing all night long and never play the same song twice! I learned to play by sound...never had a lesson in my life!”

When Mary Jane Prince married Claude Queen (who also played the banjo, with a two-finger up/down-picking style), the two moved into the Queen family home built in 1912 by Claude's father just up the mountains from Caney Fork on John's Creek. All eight children were born in the old house and grew up playing music and singing together. As music styles changed and evolved, the Queen family continued to preserve the old-time style of “making music,” and also to value the heritage and culture of mountain folk ways.

It wasn't until Claude Queen passed away almost 20 years ago that Mary Jane Queen began to accompany her children to performances with the Queen Family Band. “The children didn't want me to stay home, so I began to sing and play a few old gospel songs, bluegrass, mountain music and traditional ballads to the crowds. They sorta enjoyed it. I did, too. I also thoroughly enjoyed going to the schools and talking to the children about the old days, and reciting my poetry.”

Mary Jane has been honored for her work in many publications, including The Boston Globe and National Geographic, and is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards, including the North Carolina Folk Heritage Award in 1993 and four awards from the Asheville Dance and Folk Festival. Along with the family band, she received Western's Mountain Heritage Award in 1999 and the Brown-Hudson Folklore Award in 2001.

Sally Goodin - Traditional Song Lyrics

2006-02-02T06:49:00.000-08:00

Image viaWikipedia

Public Domain Traditional Song Lyrics.

These words for the Sally Goodin' song comes from the Queen and Prince families, Western North Carolina. Generations of mountain musicians, singers and keepers of traditional ballads and folk music of the southern Appalachian region.

SALLY GOODIN'

Love her, love Sally Goodin'
Love her, sweet thing Sally Goodin'

A big piece of pie, a big piece of puddin'
Give it all away, to hug Sally Goodin'

Looked on the hill, seen Sally runnin'
Yes my my, sweet thing Sally comin'

Up and down the road , the road all muddy
To hug Sally Goodin, till she can't stand steady

Upon the hillside, hewin' on a log
Frogs in the millpond, barking like a dog

Before you hear that rooster crow
Sprinkle little meal before her door

Fiddle and Banjo Song

2005-12-14T07:24:00.000-08:00

Image via Wikipedia

In this song sample "Old Ruben" you can hear the fretless Banjo with Fiddle which are among the early instruments in Appalachian folk music.

Hear sample from The Queen Family Music CD
Fiddle/Banjo.mp3

Garageband Song - Awesome Appalachia

2005-09-16T10:40:00.000-07:00

I have used a lot of recording devices over the years to capture live music but to date none of those compare with the simplicity and precision for music mixing and recording as does the Apple Garageband application. Loaded with numerous music loops and musical instruments, creation of high quality music of all kinds is easy and endless. So if you like audio recording and equipped with a computer, try Garageband.

Listen enjoy Awesome Appalachia Song

An Unclouded Day - Music Folklore Cd

2005-07-01T10:41:00.000-07:00

An Unclouded Day - Appalachian FolkLore Cd.
Stories, music and songs of the Southern Appalachian Mountains.

The remote coves and deep branches running through the lush North Carolina mountains are more than picturesque landscape - they are also home to one of the richest linguistic and cultural traditions of the United States. The unedited stories, spontaneous conversations, and local music compiled here provide a rare glimpse into the authentic language and life of Southern Appalachia from the true experts-the people themselves. Produced by Neal Hutcheson for the North Carolina Language and Life Project. Funding provided by the William C. Friday Endowment and the Humanities Extension program at North Carolina State University.

1. Ham Radio talk - Jim Tom Hedrick (Graham County, NC)

2. Wild Bill Jones - Henry Queen (Jackson County, NC)

3. Nobody Gambled - Gilford Williams (Graham County,NC)

4. First Harp tune - Gilford Williams (Graham County, NC)

5. Bleach Fruit - Enley & Vera Cope (Dillsborough, NC)

6. Working on A Building - Redeemed Quartet (Haywood County, NC)

7. Building a Fence - Bryan Moody (Soco Gap, NC)

8. Playing Ed - Popcorn Sutton (Maggie Valley, NC)
9. A Pack of Firecrackers - Pop Sutton (Maggie Valley, NC)

10.The Old Time Religion - Guilford Williams (Graham County, NC)

11. A Square Dance - Dovie Randolph (Robbinsville, NC)

12. A Form of Entertainment - Kyle Edwards (Maggie Valley, NC)

13. Cutting A Shine - Carl Pressely (Haywood County, NC)

14. Foggy Mountain Breakdown - Wells & Morefield (Maggie Valley, NC)

15. Save You A Seat - Popcorn Sutton (Maggie Valley, NC)

16. A Moonshine Still - Orville Hicks (Watauga County, NC)

17. Never Looked Back - Jim Tom Hedrick (Graham County, NC)

18. Got Your Message - Arnold Crisp (Graham County, NC)

19. Roving Gambler - Henry & Mary Jane Queen (Jackson County, NC)

20. We Got Married - Enley & verna Cope (Dillsborough, NC)

21. A Baby Crying - Popcorn Sutton (Maggie Valley, NC)

22. The Little People - Jim Tom Hedrick (Graham County, NC)

23. First Co-Cola - Pink Francis (Waynesville, NC)

24. Dance Around My Daisy - Leon Wells (Maggie Valley, NC)

25. Dance Around My Daisy - Henry Queen (Jackson County, NC)

26. The Picture Man - Willa Burns (Bryson City, NC)

27. Catching Lizards - Arnold & Dalmus Crisp (Graham County, NC)

28. Lonesome Road Blues - Henry Queen (Jackson County, NC)

29. Chickens - Luther Sutton (Haywood County, NC)

30. A Little Bear - Vester McGaha (Haywood County, NC)

31. Good Hearted - Jim Tom Hedrick (Graham County, NC)

32. I Done The Twist - Jim Tom Hedrick (Graham County, NC)

33. First Refrigerator - Jim Tom Hedrick (Graham County, NC)

34. Smiling - Leon Wells & Gene Morefield (Maggie Valley, NC)

35. I Love It - Jim Tom Hedrick (Graham County, NC)

36. Sit Down Brother - Jim Tom Hedrick (Graham County, NC)

37. Hiding Out From School - Orville Hicks (Watauga County, NC)

38. The Unclouded Day - Gilford Williams (Graham County, NC)

39. Went By The Signs - Mercer Scroggs (Clay County, NC)

40. Groundhog Grease - Vester McGaha (Haywood County, NC)

41. The Signs - Bertie Berlson (Avery County, NC)

42. Rock of Ages - M.J. Queen J.Q. Shrock (Jackson County, NC)

43. Christmas Time Come - Orville Hicks (Watauga County, NC)

44. Ramps - Carl Presnell (Haywood County, NC)

45. Bad to Make Jelly - Jim Tom Hedrick (Graham County, NC)

46. Cover on the Bed - Carl Presnell (Haywood County, NC)

47. A Depression Baby - Dorothy McGaha (Haywood County,NC)

48. Back During the War - Luther Sutton (Haywood County, NC)

49. Whoa Mule - Henry Queen (Jackson County, NC)

50. A Watch Tinker - Jim Tom Hedrick (Graham County, NC)

51. T For Texas - Rufe Sutton (Maggie Valley. NC)

52. Things Is Changing - Danny Banks (Buncombe County, NC)

53. The Old Words - Mary Jane Queen (Jackson County, NC)

54. Jeremy's Gonna Pick - L. & J. Bolden (Haywood County, NC)

55. Sweet Jane - Mary Jane Queen (Jackson County, NC)

56. Fox Chase - Guilford Williams (Graham County, NC)

Folk Lyrics-Pretty Saro

2005-06-11T16:19:00.000-07:00

A-cappella ballad singing is one of the older forms of Appalachian folk entertainment, where-as the words and story are the focal point unaccompanied by music themes. The lyrics provided here is an arrangement Mary Jane Queen learned as a young girl growing up in in the mountains of North Carolina. This version Mary Jane learned from her father Jim Prince, old-time mountain musician, ballad singer.

Pretty Saro/traditional song lyrics.

When first to this country a stranger I came
I placed my affections on a handsome young dame
I looked all around me and I was alone
Yes me a young stranger and a long ways from home

Pretty Saro Pretty Saro I love you I know
I love you Pretty Saro where ever I go
No toung can express it no poet can tell
How truely I love you yes I love you so well

If I were a poet and could write a fine hand
I'd write my true love a letter that she might understand
I would send it by the waters that dont overflow
And think of Pretty Saro wherever I go

My love she don't love me as I understand
She wants some freeholder and I have no land
But I can maintain her with silver and gold
Or all of the fine things that my loves house could hold

Its not the long journey Im dreading to go
Or leaving this country for the debts that I owe
There is but one thing that troubles my mind
Thats a leaving Pretty Saro my true love behind

Farewell my dear father likewise mother too
Im going to ramble this country all through
When I get tired I'll sit down and weep
And think of Pretty Saro wherever she be

I love you Pretty Saro I love you I know
I love you Pretty Saro wherever I go
On the banks of the ocean or the mountains sad brow
I loved you then dearly and I still love you now

Folk Song Samples

2005-05-17T17:36:00.000-07:00

Sample music selections include traditional and original Appalachian folk ballads, mountain banjo music, fiddle tunes & acoustic guitar songs. Also included in the mix are some garageband electronic music sample recordings. Hear samples

Sourwood Mountain - Folk Song Lyrics

2005-01-25T16:17:00.000-08:00

A classic among traditional mountain folk songs of the southern Appalachians. Text for this song varies considerably as does the refrain lines. It appears in most all the many collections & books written on the music of the southern mountains. Variants of the song was collected by the great folksong collectors like Cecil Sharp, Frank Brown, Bascomb Lunsford and other folklorists in the early 1900s across North Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia & Missouri. Commonly it is classed as dance music or with play-party songs, or may be just a singing song unaccompanied by music. Some folks tend to think the variation in the refrain lines is due to the individual singers attempt to imitate the banjo sound.

Chickens a crowin' in the Sourwood Mountains
Hi-ho doodle-um a-day
So many pretty girls you can't count em
Hi-ho diddle-um a-day

Say old man I want your daughter
Hi-ho doodle-um a-day
Bake some bread carry in the water
Hi-ho diddle-um a-day

Big dog bark, little dog bite you
Hi-ho doodle-um a-day
Big girl courts, little ones spite you
Hi-ho diddle-um a-day

My true love lives up the hollow
Hi-ho doodle-um a-day
She won't come and I won't follow
Hi-ho diddle-um a-day

My true love lives up on the river
Hi-ho doodle-um a-day
A few more miles and I'll be with her
Hi-ho diddle-um a-day

Ducks in the mill pond, geese in the clover
Hi-ho doodle-um a-day
Tell them pretty girls, I'am comin over
Hi-ho diddle-all day

Sally Anne

2005-01-04T16:59:00.000-08:00

Folk songs such as Sally Anne, sang and played here in the mountains of Western North Carolina for many generations. Traditional folk song lyrics accompanied with banjo and fiddle music made up most of the rural entertainment here in this section of the southern Appalachian mountains before the days of radio & tv. This is a favorite old-time frolic/dance song, the words I learned from my family. Listen to a banjo version.

The next big meeting, gonna join the band
Going to the wedding 0' Sally Anne
Shake that little foot, Sally Anne
Great big wedding up, Sally Anne

Going to the wedding 0' Sally Anne
Great big wedding up, Sally Anne

Bread in a poke, pig in the pan
Off to the wedding 0' Sally Anne
Shake that sweet thing, Sally Anne
Great big wedding up, Sally Anne

Repeat Chorus

Mountain Banjo-Traditional Tunings

2004-12-04T13:46:00.000-08:00

Traditional, old-time, five-string mountain banjo tunings, local styles and music making traditions of the Blue Ridge Mountains, North Carolina.

OPEN "G" tuning=

1st string-D
2nd string-B
3rd string-G
4th string-D
5th [thumb] string-G

This is the most common or standard tuning for the five-string banjo. Good traditional songs to play in the G tuning include: Sally Anne, Sourwood Mountain, Wild Bill Jones, Handsome Molly, John Henry, just to name a few.