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Shoo Fly

About this Item

Title

  • Shoo Fly

Names

  • Jabbour, Alan (Transcriber)
  • Jabbour, Alan (Collector)
  • Reed, Henry, 1884-1968 (Performer)

Created / Published

  • Reed family home, Glen Lyn, Giles County, Virginia, August 27, 1966

Headings

  • -  Instrumental music
  • -  Fiddle tunes
  • -  Folk music--Appalachian Region
  • -  Breakdowns
  • -  Reels
  • -  Ethnography
  • -  Music
  • -  Field recordings
  • -  United States -- Virginia -- Giles County -- Glen Lyn

Genre

  • Ethnography
  • Music
  • Field recordings

Notes

  • -  Key: D
  • -  Meter: 4/4
  • -  Compass: 13
  • -  Strains: 2 (low-high, 4-4)
  • -  Rendition: 1-2r-1r-2r-1r
  • -  Phrase Structure: ABCD QRQS
  • -  Stylistic features: Fast tempo, simple noting (lots of eighth notes), syncopation.
  • -  Related Tune(s): Ladies Won't You Marry
  • -  "Shoo Fly" is the tune associated with the "Shoo fly don't bother me" lyrics. It has the feel of a lively dance tune in the melodic style of the later nineteenth century. One hallmark of the style is the implied chord shift from tonic to dominant at the end of the first phrase, remaining in the dominant till the cadence at the end of the second phrase. For instrumental sets of the tune, see Person, A Collection of Popular Airs (1889), p. 9; White's Excelsior Collection, p. 71. Another tune in this collection with a tantalizing resemblance to "Shoo Fly" is "Ladies Won't You Marry" (AFS 13705a54), which Henry Reed played on harmonica.
  • -  Performed by Henry Reed, fiddle.
  • -  Duration: 1 minute, 12 seconds
  • -  Spoken: HENRY REED: That's one I ain't played for many years./ALAN JABBOUR: What's the name of it?/HENRY REED: "Shoo Fly."/ALAN JABBOUR: "Shoo Fly."
  • -  Recording chronology: 051

Medium

  • Audio tape

Call Number/Physical Location

  • AFC 1967/007: AFS 13035A40

Source Collection

  • Alan Jabbour duplication project, part 1

Repository

  • American Folklife Center

Digital Id

Online Format

  • audio

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress is not aware of any U.S. copyright protection (see Title 17, U.S.C.) or any other restrictions in the material in this collection, except as noted below. Users should keep in mind that the Library of Congress is providing access to these materials strictly for educational and research purposes. The written permission of the copyright owners and/or other holders of rights (such as publicity and/or privacy rights) is required for distribution, reproduction, or other use of protected items beyond that allowed by fair use or other statutory exemptions. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item and securing any necessary permissions ultimately rests with persons desiring to use the item. See our Legal Notices for additional information and restrictions.

The Center asks that researchers approach the materials in this collection with respect for the culture and sensibilities of the people whose lives, ideas, and creativity are documented here. Researchers are also reminded that privacy and publicity rights may pertain to certain uses of this material.

Photographs in this collection produced by Carl Fleischhauer, Karen Singer Jabbour, and Kit Olson are reproduced here with their permission. Mr. Fleischhauer does not object to additional use of the photos he created provided he is credited as the photographer. Persons contemplating other kinds of uses or use of the other photographers' work should contact the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.

Credit line

Please cite the source collection title, collection number, and repository, for example:

Alan Jabbour duplication project, part 1 (AFC 1967/007), American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Alan Jabbour duplication project, part 2 (AFC 1969/008), American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Fiddle tunes of the old frontier: the Henry Reed collection online presentation (AFC 1999/016), American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Jabbour, Alan, Alan Jabbour, and Henry Reed. Shoo Fly. Reed family home, Glen Lyn, Giles County, Virginia, 1966. Audio. https://www.loc.gov/item/afcreed000121/.

APA citation style:

Jabbour, A., Jabbour, A. & Reed, H. (1966) Shoo Fly. Reed family home, Glen Lyn, Giles County, Virginia. [Audio] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afcreed000121/.

MLA citation style:

Jabbour, Alan, Alan Jabbour, and Henry Reed. Shoo Fly. Reed family home, Glen Lyn, Giles County, Virginia, 1966. Audio. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afcreed000121/>.