"Crawdad" is a southern name referring to the small freshwater crustaceans known as crayfish in the north and crawfish in Louisiana and the deep south. They are also known in some areas as mudbugs. "The Crawdad Song" also known as "The Crawdad Hole" is a folksong originating in the southern United States and first published in a collection of songs in 1917 by Cecil Sharp. This song is apparently a variation of an older traditional song, "Sweet Thing", which is of African-American origins. "Crawdad Song" is collected as number 4853 in the Roud Folksong Index. The tune to "Crawdad Song" is used for several other folksongs. This song was performed at southern "play parties", where dancing and instrumental music were generally not allowed for religious reasons. There is a further description of play parties in the notes to "Swing and Turn Jubilee" in this section. It is another song that has become known as a children's song. The tune is similar to "Frog Went A-Courtin" in this section. It has been recorded by Woody Guthrie, Doc Watson, Pete Seeger and many others.