"Possum up a Simmon Tree" is an American reel in cut time and A Mixolydian/Major. The parts are played AABB. "Little Sally Ann" and "Sally Ann the Gal I Like" from Pike County, Ky. fiddler Owen "Snake" Chapman and "Nancy Anne" from West Virginia fiddler and banjo player W. Franklin George are close cognates. The banjo tablature is by John Letscher who got it from the Troublesome Creek String Band. A 'Simmon tree is the American Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana), native to the central and eastern United States. The name persimmon comes from 'putchamin', a phonetic rendering of the name used by the Algonquin tribe of the American Indians. The tune was printed in Phillips' Traditional American Fiddle Tunes, vol. 1 (1994). It was recorded by Buddy Thomas on Buddy Thomas (2005) and on Kitty Puss: Old-Time Fiddle Music From Kentucky (1976) and Troublesome Creek String Band on Fast As Time Can Take Me (2003).