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