Appalachian History

When I go a-courtin',
I'll go on the train.
When I go to marry,
I'll marry Liza Jane.

Chorus:
O Law', Liza, po' gal,
O Law', Liza Jane,
O Law', Liza, po' gal,
She died on the train.

The hardest work I ever did
Was a-brakin'on a train;
The easiest work I ever did
Was a-huggin' Liza Jane.

When I went to see her,
She met me at the door;
Her shoes and stockings in her hand,
And her feet all over the floor.

When I went to see her,
She wrung her hands and cried;
She swore I was the ugliest thing
That ever lived or died.

I ask little Liza to marry me-
What do you reckon she said?
Said she would not marry me,
If everybody else was dead.

Goin' up the mountain
To raise a patch of cane,
To make a barrel of sorghum
To sweeten up Liza Jane.

Whisky by the barrel,
Sugar by the pound,
A great big bowl to put it in,
And a spoon to stir it round.

I wish I had a needle and a thread
As fine as I could sew,
I would sew all the girls to my coat-tail,
And down the mountain I'd go.
Old corn likker's done made,
Still's tore out an'gone.
What will pore little Liza do,
When I'm took off an' gone?

Don't you weep, my darling,
Don't you weep nor cry;
I'll be back to see you
In the long old by-and-by.

You can climb the cherry tree,
And I will climb the rose;
How I love that pretty little gal,
God'lmighty knows.

From American Ballads and Folk Songs, Alan Lomax, Macmillan Company, New York, 1934

Two influential recordings were made of the 'Liza Jane' tune in the 1920's which helped spread its popularity among early country musicians, says music historian Charles Wolfe (1991). The first was by the east Tennessee string band The Hill Billies, who released it under the title "Mountaineer’s Love Song," and the second was by another band from the same area, the Tenneva Ramblers, as "Miss Liza, Poor Gal." Bob Wills (Texas), the father of western swing, said this was the first tune he learned (as "Goodbye, Miss Liza Jane") to fiddle.

Here is a list of early recordings:

Old Liza Jane- Uncle Am Stuart 1924
Liza Jane - Riley Puckett 1924
Liza Jane - Henry Whitter 1925
Goodbye Liza Jane - Fiddlin' John Carson 1926
Mountaineer's Love Song - The Hillbillies 1926
Miss Liza Poor Gal - Tenneva Ramblers 1928
Liza Jane - Carter Brothers and Son 1928
Old Eliza Jane - Doc Roberts and Asa Martin 1928
Liza Up the Simmon Tree - Bradley Kincaid 1928
Poor Mary Jane - Charlie Craver 1928
Liza Up the 'Simmon Tree - Bradley Kincaid 1929
Liza Jane - Kessinger Brothers 1931


sources:www.bluegrassmessengers.com/master/blackthemboots4.html
www.blueridgemusiccenter.org/The_Hill-Billies.aspx


bluegrass+lyrics The+Hill+Billies Tenneva+Ramblers appalachia appalachian+mountains+history appalachian+history

You can send me pretty flowers you can send me valentines
Send me letters every day but it won’t pay
Leap to my desire, nothing else will do
It’s goodbye and so long to you

You can hang around and love me you can hang your head and cry
Hang my picture on the wall but I won’t fall
Kiss me when you’re dreaming, no good that will do
It’s goodbye and so long to you

You can give me your affection you can give all your love
Give me all the things I’ll crave but I’ll be brave
All the things you offer, make me sad and blue
It’s goodbye and so long to you

You can call me your own darling you can call me what you may
Call me on the telephone I won’t be home
Keep your old love letters, I’m all through with you
It’s goodbye and so long to you

"Its Goodbye and So Long to You"
recorded by the Osborne Brothers with Mac Wiseman
The Essential Bluegrass Album, 1979


Famed for his clear and mellow tenor voice, Mac Wiseman (b. 1925) has recorded with many great bluegrass bands, including those of Molly O'Day, Flatt and Scruggs, Bill Monroe, and the Osborne Brothers; his command of traditional material made him much in demand by bluegrass and folk fans alike. Wiseman, nicknamed "The Voice with a Heart,” grew up influenced by traditional and religious music and such radio stars as Montana Slim Carter.

After studying at the Shenandoah Conservatory of Music in Dayton, VA Wiseman started out working as a radio announcer in Harrisonburg in 1944. His professional music career began when he joined Molly O'Dell in 1946 as a bass player. He signed on with Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs in an early edition of their group in 1948, and appeared on their first recording session. After a performance at the Louisiana Hayride he left them to become popular as solo artist.

He's best known for his 1959 hit, "Jimmy Brown the Newsboy." He also had a hit version of "The Ballad of Davey Crockett" in 1955. During the Folk revival in the 1960s he had successful gigs at the Hollywood Bowl and the Carnegie Hall. In 1993 Wiseman was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor.


sources: www.cmt.com/artists/az/wiseman_mac/bio.jhtml
http://doodah.net/bgb/MacWiseman.html


Mac+Wiseman bluegrass appalachia appalachian+history bluegrass+lyrics

Oh come all you Virginia girls and listen to my noise
Don't you court no West Virginia boys
If you do your fortune'll be
Johnny cake and venison and sassafras tea
Johnny cake and venison and sassafras tea

Well, when they come a courtin' I'll tell you what they'll wear
Old black suit just about to tear
Old straw hat more brim than crown
A pair of woolen socks they wear the whole year round
A pair of woolen socks they wear the whole year round


And when they come a courtin' I'll tell you what they'll say
First they'll say, has your daddy shot a bear?
Then they'll say as they sit down,
Honey can you bake your Johnny cake brown
Honey can you bake your Johnny cake brown

Oh come all you Virginia girls and listen to my noise
Don't you court no West Virginia boys
If you do your fortune'll be
Johnny cake and venison and sassafras tea
Johnny cake and venison and sassafras tea

---folksinger Elizabeth LaPrelle
Rural Retreat, VA
From her CD “Rain & Snow”
Based on ballads and old-time songs from the Appalachians