Davy Davy
Notation:
Standard Notation
ABC Notation
Mandolin Tablature
traditional
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Standard Notation
Mandolin Tablature
Song Sheet
American
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Transcription: by Darryl D. Bush
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Lyrics:
Davy, Davy, where is Davy,
Down in the henhouse eating up the gravy; (2x)
Davy, Davy, where is Davy,
Down in the chicken-yard, sick on the gravy. (2x)
"Davy Davy", also known as "Davy", "Going Down the River", "Sailing down the River",<br> "Paddy won't You Drink some Cider?" or "Paddy Won't You Drink Some Good Old Cider" is an<br> American breakdown in D major. The parts are played AABB.<br> It was one of only two sides commercially recorded by Tennessee's Perry County based Weems<br> String Band. The band, consisting of a guitar player, two banjo players, two fiddlers and a<br> cellist had a mixture of a primitive, archaic sound and the sophisticated<br> techniques of position playing by the fiddlers (one fiddle plays in 3rd and one in 5th position,<br> unusual for traditional players).<br> The original, blatantly racist, lyrics were a product of the 1920's:<br> A nought is a nought and a one is a finger,<br> Why can't a white man dance like a nigger?<br> He can't do the quickstep, he tends for to linger,<br> That's why he can't dance like a nigger.<br> The recorded words were quickly dashed off by the Weems brothers after they arrived in Memphis<br> for their 1928 recording session for Columbia Records. Their repertoire was instrumental tunes,<br> but Columbia wanted lyrics and vocals, believing the recordings would sell better. The band<br> quickly came up with a few couplets which Columbia found met their requirements.<br> It was printed in The New Lost City Ramblers' Songbook (1964).<br> It was recorded by Weems String Band (1928, backed with "Greenback Dollar"),<br> Weems String Band on Echoes of the Ozarks, vol. 3 (1970),<br> Weems String Band et al.on Rural String Bands of Tennessee 1927-1930,<br> New Lost City Ramblers on New Lost City Ramblers Vol. 1 and<br> Bob Carlin on Fiddle Tunes for Clawhammer Banjo (1980).<br>
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