I don’t try to attach a fiddle tune to every song, but sometimes it just makes so much sense. You can get such a lovely groove going in so many different ways. I know that groove may not be exactly how it might be played behind the tune when it’s in the tradition straight up, no ice. But happily that’s not as much of a hanging offense in these parts as it used to be.
In this particular case I got to lilt the tune myself at the same time as I’m flat-picking it on the guitar. The result is kind of what I hear in my head most of the time when I’m playing a tune, whether I’m responsible for the melody or not. I certainly think that’s part of why and how I’ll play the rhythm part when that’s my job. Of course I don’t hear the melody’s phrasing the same way it comes off a fiddler’s bow. More like a flute player. I suppose maybe because that’s where I started. Well, actually it was a whistle. But that’s a story for another time. In the meantime, it was kind of nice to hear this again. The words still mean a lot to me.
the song –>How Can I Keep From Singing–from the CD ‘letters from home’, 1997 (NHC 401)