Hello everyone,
Today I am writing about an Arkansas Traveler.  I know many of you think I would be referring to the song entitled:  Arkansas Traveler.  You would be right in a sense BUT did you realize that there is a tomato called the “Arkansas Traveler”.   It truly is from Arkansas and is a hillbilly favorite because:
It will ripen in 80 days.  It is medium-sized pink tomato that is smooth and a beautiful rose color. An excellent variety that is tolerant to heat and humidity; crack and disease resistant.  Not to mention good flavor. If you want to learn more you can go to this site and see some pictures.  Arkansas Tomato

Now let’s get back to the song.  The song is typically an instrumental for the fiddle and is played at bluegrass jams every once in awhile.  It is a charming little song that can be a challenge to play on the banjo.  It also has lyrics about a fiddler from Arkansas that plays his fiddle in the rain with a leaking roof, but he didn’t mind.  Then along came by a traveler and heard him fiddling away.  He tried to tell him he needed to fix his roof, but the fiddler kept on playing and his feet were under water, but he kept on playing.  The traveler gave him advice on how to fix the leak, but the fiddler told him, that he can’t repair the leak when it is raining, and when it is not raining, it is not leaking.  So he told the traveler he better move along as he kept on fiddling.
 
Did you know that this song used to be Arkansas’ state song.  Here is some interesting information according to Wikipedia.
“The Arkansas Traveler” was the state song of Arkansas from 1949 to 1963; it has been the state historical song since 1987. The music was composed in the 19th century by Colonel Sanford C. ‘Sandy’ Faulkner (1806–1874); the current official lyrics were written by a committee in 1947 in preparation for its naming as the state song.

Here is video of what it sounds like and how to dance to it:
Arkansas Traveller – Fiddle and Dancing

Enjoy!  Let me know what you think by posting a comment.  I would love to hear from you.

Bill

Happy Mother’s Day!

Hello everyone.  Today is mother’s day and I hope each of you are spending some quality time with your mother or at least thinking about her if she has already passed away.  It is always good to reflect on who we are based on the influence of our mother.  There are many traditional bluegrass songs about mothers.  One of my favorite is:  “I If I could hear my mother pray again”.  The title and lyrics are just wonderful.  Of course it has been recorded by many popular artists as well.
 
According to wikipedia, “If I Could Hear My Mother Pray Again” (1922) is a popular gospel song written by John Whitfield “Whit” Vaughan (1879–1945), as a tribute to his own mother, Clara Beady Burgess-Vaughan. The words are based on a text by James Rowe, an English settler living in Georgia during the early twentieth century. A 1934 recording of the song by Thomas A. Dorsey was selected in 2007 by the United States’ National Recording Preservation Board for preservation in the National Recording Registry.

One of my other favorites is: “I heard my mother call my name in prayer”.  See the inserted video of Ricky Skaggs singing this song in 2003.    Again it is a wonderful song with a great message for those of us who has lost their mothers.  Of course there are many songs in the bluegrass genre that are about mothers.  You should go to youtube and just google bluegrass songs mothers and you will find a variety of them for your enjoyment. 

Have a great day!  Bill