Billy in the Lowland (3)
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Transcription: by Darryl D. Bush
"Billy in the Lowland (3)", also known as "The Beaus of Albany", "Billy in the Lowground",<br> "Braes of Auchtertyre", "Fiddler's Drunk and the Fun's All Over", "Jinny in the Lowlands",<br> "Kerry Fulton's Schottishe" and "The Kerryman's Daughter" is an American reel in C Major<br> (most versions), D Major (Bayard) or G major. (A version in A Major was recorded by <br> Jason & Pharis Romero and Friends and I have included it as<br> "Billy in the Lowgrouand (4)".)<br> "Billy in the Lowland (1)" is a G major version that someone transposed from C major.<br> "Billy in the Lowland (2)" is a G major version from the playing of Henry Reed.<br> The version given here is based on the playing of Clark Kessinger and Bruce Molsky.<br> It is typical of the C major versions.<br> The parts are played AB (Beissenger & McCann) or AABB (most versions).<br> "Billy in the Lowland" is one of the most long lasting and widespread of American<br> traditional dance tunes in the key of C, known throughout the South, Midwest and West and<br> even into the northern part of the United States. As with most such long-lived and widely<br> disseminated reels, there is a tremendous variation of the core melody due to both regional<br> style, musical style (e.g. bluegrass, western swing) and individual fiddler's idiosyncratic<br> renderings.<br> The melody is widely disseminated through the United States, with the exception of the<br> Northeast and north Mid-West. Bayard (1944) writes that when he collected the melody it was<br> current as a marching tune in Greene County, Pennsylvania and was known in its 'Billy'<br> form of the title farther south (the tune resembles another Pennsylvania tune called<br> "Jinny in the Lowlands").<br> It was a popular fiddle tune among Kentucky musicians. It was recorded in 1937 for the<br> Library of Congress by the Lomax's from the playing of Luther Strong in Hazard, Kentucky.<br> It was printed in Adam's Old Time Fiddlers' Favorite Barn Dance Tunes (1928),<br> Bayard's Hill Country Tunes (1944) (appears as "Reel") and Dance to the Fiddle (1981),<br> Beisswenger & McCann's Ozarks Fiddle Music (2008),<br> Brody's Fiddler's Fakebook (1983),<br> R.P. Christeson's Old Time Fiddler's Repertory, vol. 1 (1973),<br> Stephen F. Davis in Devil's Box, vol. 22, No. 1, Spring 1988,<br> Fiddler Magazine, vol. 3, No. 2, Summer 1996,<br> Ford's Traditional Music in America (1940) (as "Billy in the Low Land"),<br> Kaufman's Beginning Old Time Fiddle (1977),<br> Krassen's Appalachian Fiddle (1973),<br> Lowinger's Bluegrass Fiddle (1974),<br> Messer's Anthology of Favorite Fiddle Tunes (1980),<br> Phillips' Fiddle Case Tunebook: Old Time Southern (1989) and<br> Traditional American Fiddle Tunes, vol. 1 (1994),<br> Ruth's Pioneer Western Folk Tunes (1948),<br> Silberberg's Fiddle Tunes I Learned at the Tractor Tavern (2002),<br> Songer's Portland Collection vol. 3 (2015),<br> Thede's The Fiddle Book (1967),<br> Titon's Old Time Kentucky Fiddle Tunes (2001) and<br> Welling's Welling's Hartford Tunebook (1976).<br> It was recorded by John Salyer on John Salyer: Home Recordings 1941-42 (1993),<br> Walter McNew on Black Jack Grove (1993),<br> Dr. Humphrey Bates and His Possum Hunters (1928) (78 RPM),<br> Burnett and Rutherford (1928) (78 RPM), <br> Eck Robertson on Eck Robertson: Famous Cowboy Fiddler and Master Fiddler,<br> Lowe Stokes on Old Time Fiddle Classics and<br> Lowe Stokes, Vol. 1: 1927-1930 (1999 reissue),<br> The Fiddlin' Bootleggers on A Day in the Mountains (orig. rec. in 1928),<br> Benny Thomasson on Texas Hoedown,<br> Clark Kessinger on The Legend of Clark Kessinger and<br> Live at Union Grove (1968),<br> W. L. Gregory on Monticello: Tough Mountain Music from Southern Kentucky (1974),<br> Cuje Bertram on Black Fiddlers (1999),<br> Jilson Setters, recorded for Alan Lomax and the Library of Congress in June, 1937,<br> Dr. Humphrey Bate and his Possum Hunters on It'll Never Happen Again: Old Time String Bands<br> Vol. 1.,<br> Casey Jones (1910-1967) on Rocky Road to Jordon,<br> Cyrill Stinnett on Plain Old Time Fiddling,<br> John Carson (78 RPM),<br> Mark O'Connor on A Texas Jam Session and National Junior Fiddle Champion,<br> Jim Taylor on The Civil War Collection (1996),<br> J. P. Fraley on Mayville: Old Time Fiddler Tunes from Northeast Kentucky (1995),<br> Dick Burnett and Leonard Rutherford on Ramblin' Reckless Hobo: The Songs of Dick Burnett<br> and Leonard Rutherford (originally recorded 1927),<br> Mike Seeger on Fresh Oldtime String Band Music (1988. Appears as part of "Billy in<br> Waynesboro"),<br> Doc Watson on On Stage and<br> Benny and Jerry Thomasson on The Weiser Reunion: A Texas Jam Session (1993).<br> <br>
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