Boil the Cabbage Down - Traditional Song Lyrics

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.

Mountain Folk - Song Lyrics

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.

The Queen Family Movie airs on PBS TV

“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.

Fiddle and Banjo Song

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

An Unclouded Day - Music Folklore Cd

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)

Appalachian Banjo

North Carolina mountain banjo music photo, my dad Claude H. Queen with his first banjo handmade by John Dawson around 1928. Made from the poplar wood native to Western North Carolina and a Pilot Knob coffee bucket.This type of banjo making was common by the pioneers who adapted it from the African tradition of stringed music instruments and was hand made by southern Appalachian mountain families with varing approaches from the 1800's,onward and there are still a few craftsmen who specialize in making the traditional style fretless mountain banjos. This banjo along with 60 or so other old-time mountain musical instruments will be on display at the Mountain Heritage Museum at Western Carolina University. Hear banjo samples.

HQ - Music Sample - Sally Anne

Energetic traditional mountain music favorite Sally Anne. Banjo and Guitar music sample mix from the Western North Carolina mountains.

John Henry - Banjo Music Sample

Traditional Southern mountain banjo music sample. Generations of family music from the mountains of Western North Carolina. Hear sample