Cumberland Gap (folk song)

"Cumberland Gap"
Song
Recorded	June 1924 (first recording)
Genre	Folk, country, skiffle, bluegrass
Length	appx. 1.5 to 5 minutes, depending on version
Writer	Traditional

"Cumberland Gap" is an Appalachian folk song that likely dates to the latter half of the 19th century and was first recorded in 1924. The song is typically played on banjo or fiddle, and well-known versions of the song include instrumental versions as well as versions with lyrics. A version of the song appeared in the 1934 book, American Ballads and Folk Songs, by folk song collector John Lomax. Woody Guthrie recorded a version of the song at his Folkways sessions in the mid-1940s, and the song saw a resurgence in popularity with the rise of bluegrass and the American folk music revival in the 1950s.^[1] In 1957, British musician Lonnie Donegan had a Top 10 hit with a skiffle version of "Cumberland Gap".

The song's title refers to the Cumberland Gap, a mountain pass in the Appalachian Mountains at the juncture of the states of Tennessee, Virginia, and Kentucky. The gap was used in the latter half of the 18th century by westward-bound migrants travelling from the original 13 American colonies to the Trans-Appalachian frontier. During the U.S. Civil War (1861–1865), Union and Confederate armies engaged in a year-long back-and-forth struggle for control of the gap.^[2]

Song history

Origins and early references

North Carolina songster Bascom Lamar Lunsford (1882–1973), recording his "memory collection" for the Archive of American Folk Song in March 1949, suggested that "Cumberland Gap" may be a "sped up" version of the tune that once accompanied the ballad Bonnie George Campbell. Lunsford recorded both songs on fiddle to show the similarities - although many folk tunes from the British Isles are very similar.^[3]

One of the earliest references to "Cumberland Gap" (the song) was published by author Horace Kephart (1862–1931) in his 1913 book, Our Southern Highlanders. Kephart recalled taking part in a bear hunt that took place circa 1904–1906 in the Great Smoky Mountains. While waiting for weather conditions to improve, members of the hunting party sang "ballets" to pass the time.^[4] Kephart transcribed the opening stanzas to several of these songs, including a version of "Cumberland Gap" sung by Hazel Creek bear hunter "Little John" Cable:

"L-a-a-ay down boys,
Le's take a nap:
Thar's goin' to be trouble
In the Cumberland Gap"^[4]

Kephart simply wrote that the song was of "modern and local origin."^[4] Kentucky ballad collector H. H. Fuson published a lengthy version of "Cumberland Gap" in 1931, with the first three lines in the opening stanza reading "Lay down, boys, an' take a little nap" and the last line reading "They're all raisin' Hell in the Cumberland Gap," somewhat echoing the lyrics transcribed by Kephart a quarter-century earlier. Fuson's version also mentions key historical events in the Cumberland Gap's pioneer period and the battle for control of the gap during the Civil War. His last stanza ends with the line "Fourteen miles to the Cumberland Gap."^[5] This last line would appear again in a 1933 field recording of the song by an obscure Harlan, Kentucky fiddler known as "Blind" James Howard, and published by John Lomax (who conducted the recording) in his 1934 book, American Ballads and Folk Songs.^[5][6]

Early recordings and performances

The earliest known recording of "Cumberland Gap" was a 1924 instrumental version by Tennessee fiddler Ambrose G. "Uncle Am" Stuart (1853–1926). Fiddle-and-guitar duo Gid Tanner and Riley Puckett recorded the song a few months after Stuart's recording, and would re-record the song again in 1926 with their band, the Skillet Lickers.^[1] Tanner's lyrics bear little resemblance to Fuson's, although Tanner's chorus uses the line "Me and my wife and my wife's pap," which resembles a line in one of Fuson's stanzas.

In the mid-1940s, Woody Guthrie recorded a version of "Cumberland Gap" for Moe Asch's Folkways label, containing the chorus, "Cumberland Gap, Cumberland Gap/Seventeen miles to the Cumberland Gap" and a stanza referring to the gap's distance from Middlesboro, Kentucky.^[7] Folk musician and folk music scholar Pete Seeger released a version somewhat similar to Guthrie's in 1954.^[8] Donegan's 1957 skiffle version, which reached No. 1 on the charts in the United Kingdom, also resembled Guthrie's Folkways version, although his chorus uses "fifteen miles" rather than "seventeen miles."

In May 1925, at the now-legendary Fiddlers' Convention in Mountain City, Tennessee, fiddler G. B. Grayson won first prize (although accounts vary) with his rendering of "Cumberland Gap", ousting rivals Stuart, Charlie Bowman, and Fiddlin' John Carson.^[9] Bluegrass banjoist Earl Scruggs delivered a memorable performance of "Cumberland Gap" at the Newport Folk Festival in 1959.^[10] The song has since been recorded and performed by dozens of bluegrass, country, and folk musicians, including the 2nd South Carolina String Band's rendition of the Civil War lyrics.

Notable versions

Artist	Year	Label	Genre	Notes
Uncle Am Stuart	1924	Vocalion	Old-time fiddle	Instrumental
Gid Tanner and Riley Puckett	1924, 1926	Columbia	Old-time	Recorded as duo in 1924, with the Skillet Lickers in 1926
The Hill Billies	1926	Vocalion	Old-time
Frank Hutchison	1929	OKeh	Old-time
Blind James Howard	1933	Library of Congress	Old-time fiddle	Recorded for LOC by John Lomax
Luther Strong	1937	Library of Congress	Old-time fiddle	Recorded for LOC by Alan Lomax
Woody Guthrie	1944–1945	Folkways	Folk
Bascom Lamar Lunsford	1949	Library of Congress	Old-time fiddle	Plays "Bonnie George Campbell" and "Cumberland Gap"
Pete Seeger	1954	Folkways	Folk
Don Reno and Red Smiley	1956	King	Bluegrass
Lonnie Donegan	1957	Pye	Skiffle
Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs	1961	Columbia	Bluegrass
Dock Boggs	1963	Folkways	Old-time banjo
Hobart Smith	1963	Folkways	Old-time banjo	Fleming Brown sessions; virtuosic banjo instrumental
P.J. Proby with The Vernons Girls	1964	N/A	Pop-Rock	Performed during the internationally broadcast TV special Around The Beatles
Kyle Creed	1977	Heritage	Old-time banjo	Album: Liberty
The Wedding Present	1992	New Musical Express	Indie Rock	Ruby Trax
Frank Fairfield	2009	Tompkins Square	Old-time
Xiu Xiu	2010	Kill Rock Stars	Indie Rock

Music

"Cumberland Gap" is most commonly played on fiddle, guitar, or banjo. The banjo tuning f#BEAD, used by Dock Boggs, Hobart Smith, and Kyle Creed, is sometimes called the "Cumberland Gap tuning."^[11]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Robert Waltz and David Engle, Cumberland Gap. The Ballad Index. Retrieved: 8 June 2009.
2. ^ Rebecca Vial, Cumberland Gap and Cumberland Gap National Historic Park. Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture, 2002. Retrieved: 9 June 2009.
3. ^ Song notes in Bascom Lamar Lunsford: Ballads, Banjo Tunes, and Sacred Songs of Western North Carolina [CD liner notes]. Smithsonian Folkways, 1996.
4. ^ ^{a b c} Horace Kephart, Our Southern Highlanders (Knoxville, Tenn.: University of Tennessee Press, 1976), pp. 82.
5. ^ ^{a b} John Lomax, American Ballads and Folk Songs (New York: MacMillan, 1968), pp. 274-276. Lomax cites Fuson's Ballads of the Kentucky Highlands.
6. ^ U.S. Library of Congress – Catalog entry for "Cumberland Gap/Blind James Howard (sound recording)." Retrieved: 8 July 2009.
7. ^ Cumberland Gap - Lyrics. Retrieved: 9 June 2009.
8. ^ Pete Seeger, Notes in Frontier Ballads [CD liner notes]. Smithsonian Folkways, 2009.
9. ^ Mark Freed, "The Johnson County Fiddlers' Convention at Laurel Bloomery, Tennessee." The Old-Time Herald, Vol. 10, no. 10 (c. 2006). Retrieved: 9 June 2009.
10. ^ Bob Mitchell, The Essential Earl Scruggs (album review). Louisville Music News, 2004. Retrieved: 9 June 2009.
11. ^ Stephen Wade, Notes in Hobart Smith: In Sacred Trust — The 1963 Fleming Brown Tapes [CD liner notes], 2004. p. 45.

External links

• Juneberry78s.com — Luther Strong's 1937 Library of Congress Recordings — includes a crude recording of "Cumberland Gap" by Hazard, Kentucky fiddler Luther Strong