Banjo Hangout Newest 100 Clawhammer and Old-Time Songs

I fell in love with this tune when a friend of mine steered me to the recording of Wade Ward playing it on fiddle. I'm uploading it for the Old Time Tune of the Week for March 19, 2021.

Lone Prairie has a long history, coming from the popular old song Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie, which derived from a ballad called Ocean Burial, or Burial at Sea. These arrangements have five sources, ranging in dates from 1927 - 2011 and including Carl Sprague, Harvey "Pappy" Taylor, Bruce Molsky, Wade Ward, and Jon Bekoff. Check out the TOTW link to learn more.

A fun song to play and sing, Forty Weight of Gingerbread uses some floating lyrics you can cater to your own tastes. It sounds like someone has a sweet tooth!

Also known as Rose Conley and Rosin the Bow, the melody is so nice, but the lyrics aren't, so I'd rather just play the instrumental. It's a song we all seem to learn, but why a murder ballad -- ugh!

Rose Conley, 2 finger thumb lead, based on Grayson & Whittier's 1927 version, tuned a half step or so low out of standard "G"

From West Virginia fiddler Edden Hammons, this sawmill tune is so typical of what we love about old-time music. It's evocative and the two parts seem to make a conversation. Is the tune named for an old nagging woman? I tuned down on my little short neck Doc's Banjo to play along with Adam Hurt's gourd banjo recording of Biddy on his new CD "Back to the Earth" and surprisingly got decent tone.