Appalachian music. Rye Straw [music transcription]. Note sheet.

Meter: 4/4
Transcribed by Alan Jabbour, from a performance by Henry Reed.
Key: A
Strains: 3 (low-high-high octave, 4-4-4)
Rendition: 1-2-3-2-1-2-3-2-1
Phrase Structure: ABAC QRQ'S UVUV (abac abad qrqs qr'td uvud uvud)
Compass: 13
Handwritten: Whole thing plus bars 1-4 repeated. 1st time thru transcribed.
The title "Rye Straw" is a shortened form of "Dog in the Rye Straw," which in turn is bowdlerized, for it refers to a cycle of vulgar jingles that conjure up a dog excreting fantastical things. The piece appears in at least one nineteenth-century collection, George H. Coes' Album of Music, p. 51, entitled "A Whoop from Arkansas." Part of the humor seems to reside in coy titles that allude to the true meaning while appearing innocent enough to the uninitiated. Henry Reed himself gave an alternative title in this vein, "The Dog in Difficulty." Hence Morris, Old Time Violin Melodies, #28 "Acrobat"; Thede, The Fiddle Book, p. 98 "Preacher's Favorite," or "Ladies Fancy"; Archive of Folk Culture AFS 3047b3 "The Joke on the Puppet," played by Stephen B. Tucker, Meridian, Mississippi (probably an error for "Puppy"); AFS 3044a2 "Alabama Waltz," played by Charles Long with Sam Neal beating on straw, near Quitman, Mississippi; AFS 2634a2 "Unfortunate Puppy," played by Elmo Newcomer, Bandera County, Texas. Published recorded sets include "Run Boy Run!" on North Carolina Boys, played by Gray Craig, Kinney Rorer, and Doug Rorer (Leader LEA 4040).A characteristic oddity of the tune is the way it usually oscillates between keys, usually A and D, so that one is often uncertain which key is the true tonal center. In this respect, though it has the A-D oscillation, Henry Reed stays more closely anchored in A than some sets. Versions of the tune often have three strains, and Henry Reed's third strain is a recasting in the upper octave of the first strain. His set has an interesting detail not found in most sets: it reaches ("squeals," perhaps) up to the high C-sharp on the E-string.