West Virginia Gals
Notation:
Standard Notation
ABC Notation
Banjo Tablature
Mandolin Tablature
Violin Tablature
traditional
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Transcription: by Darryl D. Bush
"West Virginia Gals", also known as "Last Three Drops" is an American reel in cut time<br> and A Mixolydian/Dorian. The parts are played AABB.<br> West Virginia fiddler Frank George thought it similar to<br> "Fire on the Mountain"<br> as played by his mentor Jim Farthing.<br> Reed said he had no name for the tune, but musicologist Jabbour<br> believes the high strain to be an instrumental version of an old Appalachian song called<br> "If You Want to go a-Courtin'" (related to<br> "The Arkansas Boys"<br> in the American Songs section). It was named "West Virginia Gals" by the Hollow Rock String Band<br> in 1974 for their recording.<br> Krassen (1973) noted similarities to "The Arkansas Sheik" (also known as "The Arkansas Boys")<br> although the closeness of that resemblance is more marked in some versions of that tune<br> than others.<br> The "West Virginia Gals" released on Brunswick 317 (78 RPM, 1929) by Al Hopkins & His Buckle<br> Busters is a moderately paced song based on an unrelated Irish air.<br> The standard notation, mandolin and violin tab versions of this tune are from Alan Jabbour's<br> transcription of the playing of Henry Reed in 1966. Jabbour noted the tune in sixteenth notes but<br> I have swt it in eighth notes for easier reading. Jabbour said that Henry Reed played it with a<br> "lively tempo" and "slurs in bowing".<br> The banjo tab is by John Letscher who has extensively researched banjo versions.<br> It was printed in Krassen's Appalachian Fiddle (1973).<br> It was recorded by Henry Reed by Alan Jabbour for the Library of Congress, AFS 13037A08 (1967) and<br> The Hollow Rock String Band on The Hollow Rock String Band (1974).<br>
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