- [Announcer] Produced in Athens at the Ohio University Telecommunications Center.

The following program was produced in part through a grant from the Ohio Educational Broadcasting Network Commission and through a grant from the Ohio Arts Council.

(audience clapping) - [Emcee] From Athens, Ohio , Ramblin' with Norman Blake and the Rising Fawn String Ensemble.

(audience applauding) (country acoustic guitar music) ♪ I've got the blues Nashville blues ♪ ♪ I've got the blues Nashville blues ♪ ♪ Ain't got no hat ain't got no shoes ♪ ♪ These people here all treat me fine ♪ ♪ These people here all treat me fine ♪ ♪ First they give me beer oh they give me wine ♪ (old-time country acoustic music) ♪ Well I'm going back to Arkansas ♪ ♪ Lord I'm going back to Arkansas ♪ ♪ Stay right there with my Pa and Ma ♪ ♪ And I got the blues Nashville blues ♪ ♪ Got them blues Nashville blues ♪ ♪ Ain't got no hat ain't got no shoes ♪ (old time country acoustic music) ♪ Good Lord I wish the train would come ♪ ♪ Good Lord I wish the train would come ♪ ♪ Take me back where I come from ♪ ♪ And I got the blues Nashville blues ♪ ♪ Got them blues Nashville blues ♪ ♪ Ain't got no hat ain't got no shoes ♪ (old-time country acoustic music) ♪ And I got the blues Nashville blues ♪ ♪ Got the blues Nashville blues ♪ ♪ Ain't got no hat ain't got no shoes ♪ (audience cheering) Okay, that's an old Alton and Rabon Delmore Brothers number there called the Nashville Blues.

Alton and Rabon were from down on, around the Sand Mountain area, down in that part of the country there.

They were on the Grand Ole Opry back in the 1930s.

Before I go any further, I'd like to take this opportunity to introduce the folks up on stage with me here.

Of course, sitting over here playing the cello, Nancy Blake.

(audience applauding) And a gentleman that's been working with us for well over a year now playing the fiddle, down in the great state of Alabama, down in Boaz, Alabama, to be exact, Mr. James Bryan make him welcome.

(audience applauding) Here's one of our homemade tunes called Ginseng Sullivan.

(gentle country guitar music) ♪ And about three miles from the Battele yard ♪ ♪ On a reverse curve on down ♪ ♪ Not far south of the town depot ♪ ♪ Sullivan's shack it was found ♪ ♪ Back on the higher ground ♪ ♪ You could see him every day ♪ ♪ Walking down the line ♪ ♪ An old brown sack across his back ♪ ♪ With his long hair down behind ♪ ♪ Speaking his worried mind ♪ ♪ And it's long way to the Delta ♪ ♪ From the North Georgia hills ♪ ♪ A tote sack full of ginseng ♪ ♪ Won't pay no traveling bills ♪ ♪ I'm too old just to ride the rails ♪ ♪ Or thumb that road alone ♪ ♪ Guess I'll never make it back to home ♪ ♪ My muddy water Mississippi Delta home ♪ (gentle acoustic country string music) ♪ And the winters here they get too cold ♪ ♪ The damp she makes me ill ♪ ♪ Can't dig no roots in the mountain side ♪ ♪ When the ground's frozen still ♪ ♪ Gotta stay at the foot of the hill ♪ ♪ But next summer when things turn right ♪ ♪ The companies will pay high ♪ ♪ Make enough money to pay my bills ♪ ♪ Lord and bid these mountains goodbye ♪ ♪ And he said with a sigh ♪ ♪ It's a long way to the Delta ♪ ♪ From the North Georgia hills ♪ ♪ A tote sack full of ginseng ♪ ♪ Won't pay no traveling bills ♪ ♪ I'm too old just to ride the rails ♪ ♪ Thumb that road alone ♪ ♪ Guess I'll never make it back to home ♪ ♪ My muddy water Mississippi Delta home ♪ (gentle acoustic country string music) ♪ And it's a long way to the Delta ♪ ♪ From the North Georgia hills ♪ ♪ Tote sack full of ginseng ♪ ♪ Won't pay no traveling bills ♪ ♪ I'm too old to ride the rails ♪ ♪ Or thumb that road alone ♪ ♪ Guess I'll never make it back to home ♪ ♪ My muddy water Mississippi Delta home ♪ ♪ My muddy water Mississippi Delta home ♪ (audience cheering) We'd like to play a little medley for you next here.

This is a group of tunes, give or take one or two that we have on a new album for the Rounder Record label, up in Boston there, go ahead, give them folks a hand if you want to.

(audience applauding) Name of this album is Norman Blake and the Rising Fawn String Ensemble, that's us.

What you see is what you get there.

No more, no less.

We'll start off with a British version of a tune called The Cuckoo's Nest, and then we'll play you a little more uptempo version of the same tune, sort of an Americanized version of it.

Then we'll get into one called Over the Waterfall.

Then we have one that's called The Opera Reel, and we'll finish of with a tune called the Cherokee Shuffle.

(gentle old-time acoustic string music) (lively old-time acoustic string music) (audience cheering) (lively old-time acoustic music) (audience cheering) (uptempo acoustic country music) ♪ 15 dollars is my game ♪ ♪ 15 is my draw ♪ ♪ Old Randall Collins is my name ♪ ♪ Down in Arkansas ♪ ♪ Rolling dice in the railroad yard ♪ ♪ Won't get you too much jack ♪ ♪ Working on that section gang ♪ ♪ Will surely bust your back ♪ ♪ 15 dollars is my game ♪ ♪ 15 is my draw ♪ ♪ Yes Randall Collins is my name ♪ ♪ Down in Arkansas ♪ (uptempo acoustic country string music) ♪ Just a-hiding out by the water tank ♪ ♪ Where the shade is cool ♪ ♪ Just a-watching that straw boss hunt for me ♪ ♪ Ain't nobody's fool ♪ ♪ And 15 dollars is my game ♪ ♪ 15 is my draw ♪ ♪ Yes Randall Collins is my name ♪ ♪ Down in Arkansas ♪ (uptempo acoustic country string music) ♪ They're making up a train in the Memphis yard ♪ ♪ The longest I ever saw ♪ ♪ I ride it down to Fairbanks ♪ ♪ Down in Arkansas ♪ ♪ And 15 dollars is my game ♪ ♪ 15 is my draw ♪ ♪ Lord Randall Collins is my name ♪ ♪ Down in Arkansas ♪ ♪ And 15 dollars is my game ♪ ♪ 15 is my draw ♪ ♪ Lord Randall Collins is my name ♪ ♪ Down in Arkansas ♪ (uptempo lively acoustic country string music) (audience cheering) (guitar tuning) That's called, the song there's called Randall Collins, and the instrumental piece there's called Done Gone.

(guitar tuning) We tune 'cause we care.

(guitar tuning) Here's a tune that called Crossing Number Nine.

I did this on the first album that I ever made.

Like to try to sing it for you.

It's a true song.

(mellow country acoustic guitar music) ♪ Down on the Southern Railroad line ♪ ♪ On a drowsy August day ♪ ♪ Came a man from across the tracks ♪ ♪ And he stopped our childish play ♪ ♪ Boys don't you raise no cain today ♪ ♪ I remember the words that he said ♪ ♪ Fanny Wall Raven's sick you know ♪ ♪ With a bad pain in her head ♪ ♪ We said we'd tell that engineer ♪ ♪ That pulls old 41 ♪ ♪ Not to blow his whistle loud ♪ ♪ On the morning mail run ♪ ♪ And the fast express from Birmingham ♪ ♪ She's due here just on time ♪ ♪ She won't blow if the whistle pulls ♪ ♪ Now for Crossing number nine ♪ (gentle string acoustic country music) ♪ Well the August days soon turned to fall ♪ ♪ A chill fell in the air ♪ ♪ Preachers came the kinfolks went ♪ ♪ And friends was everywhere ♪ ♪ Then one day they broke that news ♪ ♪ That tore hard at my mind ♪ ♪ Fanny Wall Raven's gone away ♪ ♪ From Crossing number nine ♪ ♪ And way back home in Sulfur Springs ♪ ♪ Winter's coming hard ♪ ♪ Georgia wind is blowing shrill ♪ ♪ Across that section yard ♪ ♪ Snow is falling cold and white ♪ ♪ On the Southern Railroad line ♪ ♪ And the trains they don't blow no more ♪ ♪ Now for Crossing number nine ♪ Thank you very much.

(audience applauding) Okay, what time is it friends, on the show here?

Well it's time for our special guest.

The Rising Fawn String Ensemble, we'd like to get them to come up here now and do a number for you.

(violin tuning) First I gotta tune up.

(violin tuning) We're used to working these dark caverns.

(violin tuning) We'd like to do another medley.

Part of this is also on our new album for Rounder.

The first one however, is one we did a long time ago.

We'll include it in there, it's called Green Leaf Fancy.

Then we'll play a piece for you that we learned from Aly Bain, who of course is with Boys of the Lough.

It's a Tom Anderson composition, it's called Da Slockit Light, and it is concerned with the depopulation of Tom's hometown in the Shetland Islands, and the absence of the lights in the houses at night.

And then we'll play a Kentucky tune called Briar Picker Brown, and a West Virginia fiddle piece that's called Stoney Fork.

Let me adjust this microphone a little.

(upbeat old-time country acoustic music) (poignant mournful acoustic string music) (lively old-time acoustic string country music) (audience cheering) (guitar tuning) Here's a little bit of a tune that we call The Last Train from Poor Valley.

Let's see if we can get up in the key of A for this one.

(guitar tuning) (mellow acoustic country guitar music) ♪ It was good one time ♪ ♪ Everything was mighty fine ♪ ♪ The coal tipples roared day and night ♪ ♪ Oh but things they got slow ♪ ♪ For no reason that I know ♪ ♪ The ill winds they hove into sight ♪ ♪ Now the mines all closed down everybody laid around ♪ ♪ There wasn't very much that you could do ♪ ♪ 'Cept stand in that line get your ration script on time ♪ ♪ Woman I could see it killing you ♪ ♪ Now the soft new snows of December ♪ ♪ Lightly fall my cabin 'round ♪ ♪ I saw the last train from Poor Valley ♪ ♪ Taking brown-haired Becky Richmond bound ♪ (mellow poignant old time country music) ♪ It's been coming on I knew you soon would be gone ♪ ♪ 'Cause leaving crossed your mind every day ♪ ♪ Then you said to me things are bad at home you see ♪ ♪ I think I better be on my way ♪ ♪ And I should blame you now I never could somehow ♪ ♪ For a miner's wife you weren't cut out to be ♪ ♪ I guess that it wasn't what you thought ♪ ♪ Just some dreams that you'd bought ♪ ♪ When you left your home and ran away with me ♪ ♪ Now the soft new snows of December ♪ ♪ Light up all my cabin 'round ♪ ♪ I saw the last train from Poor Valley ♪ ♪ Taking brown-haired Becky Richmond bound ♪ Play me one more, okay?

(mellow poignant old-time country string music) (audience applauding) Well, you're mighty kind, we do appreciate that.

We'd like to do old-time number for you here, and one of mine, we kinda like to do everything in groups of twos or threes.

The first tune is McMichen's Reel, or some folks, back in the 1920s some of the record people when this tune was originally recorded, they tried to ruralize the music a little bit more than it naturally was, and call it the Hog Trough Reel, because they thought it would appeal to a Southern record-buying audience more, so.

(audience laughing) It was written by Pappy Clayton McMichen, McMichen's Reel.

(audience faintly clapping) We'll play that, then we'll do a tune that I made up after we did a little club one time down in Lexington, Kentucky down there where Jeff Davis lived when he worked for the Post Office.

(laughing) So it's called Jeff Davis, we'll do both those for you.

McMichen's Reel and Jeff Davis.

(lively old-time country string music) (audience cheering) Thank you.

Here's a tune of ours, it's called Uncle.

♪ And he fiddled all his natural life ♪ ♪ He farmed a long long time ♪ ♪ His wife and kids passed away ♪ ♪ And left him here behind ♪ ♪ He came one day just to live with us ♪ ♪ When I was a child ♪ ♪ Still he had to ramble round ♪ ♪ The countryside a while ♪ ♪ Money was scarce and the times was bad ♪ ♪ The groceries mighty plain ♪ ♪ Was it to do over boys ♪ ♪ I would live them days again ♪ ♪ He would leave from home with nothing much ♪ ♪ Then he'd come back leading a cow ♪ ♪ He always rode a horse or mule ♪ ♪ That he traded for somehow ♪ ♪ And it learns a boy to have someone ♪ ♪ To show him things sometime ♪ ♪ Set him straight on down the road ♪ ♪ And help to ease his mind ♪ ♪ Money was scarce and the times was bad ♪ ♪ The groceries mighty plain ♪ ♪ And was it to do over boys ♪ ♪ I'd live them days again ♪ ♪ And you know I rode behind him there ♪ ♪ For three or four miles ♪ ♪ Up that creek and cross that ridge ♪ ♪ He piddled all the while ♪ ♪ They'd clear out a room then we'd play ♪ ♪ While they danced around ♪ ♪ And if we made any money there friends ♪ ♪ We always split it down ♪ ♪ 'Cause the money was scarce the times was bad ♪ ♪ The groceries was mighty plain ♪ ♪ Was it to do over boys ♪ ♪ I would live them times again ♪ ♪ Lord I recall them times so well ♪ ♪ They seem like yesterday ♪ ♪ Living just the two of us ♪ ♪ All the tunes we'd play ♪ ♪ Now he's gone away some place ♪ ♪ Nothing left to show ♪ ♪ But an old brown fiddle on the wall ♪ ♪ Hanging next to a one-eyed doe ♪ ♪ Money was scarce and the times was bad ♪ ♪ The groceries mighty plain ♪ ♪ Was it to do over boys ♪ ♪ I'd live them days again ♪ (gentle mellow country string music) (lively country string music) (audience cheering) (lively country string music) (audience applauding) (lively country string music) (audience cheering) Thank you very much, we enjoyed playing for you.

Nancy Black on cello and fiddle, James Bryan on fiddle.

Norman Blake on guitar here, thank you.

(audience cheering) - [Announcer] The preceding program was produced in part through a grant from the Ohio Educational Broadcasting Network Commission and through a grant from the Ohio Arts Council.