0:00 Intro 0:50 Tuning 1:46 Slow demonstration 2:22 First part, note by note breakdown 5:17 Second part ^ 8:00 Slow demonstration (again) 9:01 Full speed demonstration 10:11 OutroCountry Blues at Dock Boggs’ grave | Freddy Badger & Joseph McCarthyFreddy Badger2024-09-12 | I had the great privilege today of paying respects and playing a couple songs for Dock Boggs. Listening to his recordings is what inspired me to get my first banjo. I owe a great deal to him and his music; in truth I cannot imagine what my life would look like now if I had not heard his music - that inspiration to pick up a banjo really set the course that my life has taken since.
This is a traditional song originally called "Hustling Gamblers." Dock Boggs learned it from a traveling musician named Homer Crawford, added some lyrics of his own, and called it "Country Blues."
Joseph McCarthy on fiddle, video by Grace Stormont.
"I'm pleased to get a chance even to put on all the old songs I've got. I'd love to put them on so that when I'm gone why the young people they can have them in memory of me." -Dock BoggsOld Man at the Mill/Leatherwing Bat | traditional folk song | old time banjoFreddy Badger2024-08-29 | This rendition is inspired by the recordings of Clint Howard, Tommy Makem, and Pete Seeger.June Apple | old time banjo and guitarFreddy Badger2024-08-24 | In St. Louis with John Fowler and Erik Lundgren.Lungs | Townes Van Zandt clawhammer banjo coverFreddy Badger2024-08-22 | With John Fowler and Erik Lundgren in St. Louis.My Homes Across the Blue Ridge Mountains on the Blue Ridge ParkwayFreddy Badger2024-08-14 | ...Maggie May | traditional folk song | two-finger banjoFreddy Badger2024-08-07 | This is a Liverpool folk song I learned from the recording of Captain Kendall Morse of Maine.Southern Texas (Texas Rangers) | traditional banjo/Clifton Hicks coverFreddy Badger2024-07-24 | This is a traditional song which I learned from the recording of Clifton Hicks, who learned it from George Gibson.
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Video Produced by Great Tidal River LLC | @Illegitimate_Scholar
Was down in southern Texas where I rejoined to stay I left my kind old parents when their hair was turning grey
I joined them dying cowboys, I knew I had to ride I climbed up in the saddle and bid this world goodbye
I saw them Indians coming I heard them give their yell My feelings at that moment no human tongue can tell
I saw their shining rifles, their bullets round me flew Then all my strength had left me, and all my courage too
And then I thought of Mother who said in tears to me To you they are all strangers at home you'd better be.
I thought her old and foolish, but then she did not know My mind was set on ranging so westward I did goShady Grove | Folk Banjo CoverFreddy Badger2024-07-16 | "Shady Grove" is a traditional American song, dating back at least to the turn of the 20th century in central Appalachia. It is made up of a variety of floating verses, and shares a melody with some versions of the English and American ballad "Matty Groves."
Video Produced by Great Tidal River LLC | youtube.com/@UCRH77S0fVLmAZU4xLnAxuvwWhat Did You Learn in School Today? - Tom Paxton, Pete Seeger cover, two-finger banjoFreddy Badger2024-07-04 | Happy Independence Day! On the 4th of July I often remember a quote from Edward Abbey: "A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government." Today we commemorate that our forefathers of the 18th century agreed with that sentiment and acted upon it.Waiting Around to Die (Townes Van Zandt cover)Freddy Badger2024-06-22 | From Townes Van Zandt's 1969 eponymous album.Cluck Old Hen | Old Time Folk BanjoFreddy Badger2024-06-17 | Song lesson: youtu.be/8lbrDT68G3I?si=XBNa_BGlaM07-WSK
"Cluck Old Hen" is an Appalachian fiddle and banjo folk tune.
Earliest known transcription is from 1886 and it was recorded by John Carson (not Johnny) in 1923.
Video Produced by Great Tidal River LLC | @Illegitimate_ScholarCold Rain & Snow - right-hand close-up, 3-finger banjo, Obray Ramsey/traditionalFreddy Badger2024-06-10 | e C# F# A# C#
This is not exactly how Ramsey played it, but my own similar adaption which I think reflects his playing style. Please comment with any questions!Cold Rain & Snow - left-hand close-up, 3-finger banjo, Obray Ramsey/traditionalFreddy Badger2024-06-10 | e C# F# A# C#
This is not exactly how Ramsey played it, but my own similar adaption which I think reflects his playing style. Please comment with any questions!Cluck Old Hen - Appalachian Folk BanjoFreddy Badger2024-06-07 | "Cluck Old Hen" is an Appalachian fiddle and banjo folk song
Earliest known transcription is from 1886 and it was recorded by John Carson (not Johnny) in 1923.Hills of Mexico | Banjo CoverFreddy Badger2024-06-05 | Hills of Mexico is a traditional American Folk song.
It also goes by the name: "On the Trail of the Buffalo", and "The Buffalo Skinners"
The song is about an 1873 Buffalo Hunt.
This cover is inspired by the version recorded by Clifton Hicks.
This clip is from that songHills of Mexico - American Folk Song BanjoFreddy Badger2024-06-05 | Hills of Mexico is a traditional American Folk song.
It also goes by the name: "On the Trail of the Buffalo", and "The Buffalo Skinners"
The song is about an 1873 Buffalo Hunt.
This cover is inspired by the version recorded by Clifton Hicks.
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Video Produced by Great Tidal River LLC | youtube.com/@UCRH77S0fVLmAZU4xLnAxuvwBadger & Nault - House Carpenter (Clarence Ashley/traditional)Freddy Badger2024-05-31 | "House Carpenter" with Bridget Nault; a traditional song we learned from the recording of Clarence Ashley. Thanks to the Mass Cultural Council, Southbridge Cultural Council, Jacob Edwards Library, and Southbridge Community Television for making this event possible.Walking Boss - slowed down for students, clawhammer banjoFreddy Badger2024-05-25 | gDGCD, "Sawmill Tuning" I don't play it exactly the same as Clarence Ashley, but it was his recording that inspired me.Little Sadie - slowed down for students, clawhammer banjoFreddy Badger2024-05-25 | gDGCD "Sawmill Tuning" Learned from the recording of Clarence Ashley.Badger & Nault - John Hardy (Clarence Ashley/traditional)Freddy Badger2024-05-24 | Join us in person or via Facebook Live at Jacob Edwards Library in Southbridge MA! Thursday May 30, 6:30-7:30pm. fb.me/e/1vM2YMOADFreddy Badger - Children of Zion (Rev Gary Davis)Freddy Badger2024-05-11 | This is an old spiritual; it ain't about what some people call Zion today.
f C F G# CBallad of the Alamo (Marty Robbins clawhammer banjo cover)Freddy Badger2024-04-20 | ...Freddy Badger - Black Dog Blues (traditional/Stoneman Family)Freddy Badger2024-04-12 | ...Freddy Badger - The Foggy Dew (Charles ONeill/Clancy Brothers)Freddy Badger2024-04-01 | ...Freddy Badger - Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing, I Will Arise (Robert Robinson/Kilby Snow)Freddy Badger2024-03-31 | Happy Easter!Freddy Badger - Shady Grove (traditional/Clarence Ashley/Doc Watson/Wade Ward)Freddy Badger2024-03-23 | gDGCDBadger & Nault - Dirty Old Town (Ewan MacColl/Pogues)Freddy Badger2024-03-17 | At Tackle Box Brewing Co, Marlborough MA.Freddy Badger - Rocky Road To Dublin (D.K. Gavan/Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem)Freddy Badger2024-03-15 | f C F A# CFreddy Badger - Say Darlin SayFreddy Badger2024-03-07 | A traditional song I learned from my friend Harper Walker West, who learned it from the recording of Dirk Powell.Freddy Badger - Hustling Gamblers (Banjo Bill Cornett/traditional)Freddy Badger2024-03-01 | Learned from the Field Recorders' Collective's "The Lost Recordings of Banjo Bill Cornett" (FRC304), track 10.Badger & Nault - Garfield & Guiteau (original history song)Freddy Badger2024-02-25 | At Acoustic Java in Worcester, MA. Bridget Nault wrote this song about the tragically intertwined fates of Charles Guiteau and President James Garfield.
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Guiteau was never good at much Tried many things but had no luck To politics he turned
He wrote a speech supporting Grant Less of a speech more of a rant When Grant was out he swapped the name To Garfield and never paid but Published it And Garfield did win
The day the President moved in Guiteau was there to welcome him And get what he thought due
He skulked that winter in DC No boots no coat he stayed for free Skipping out on lodging And harassing politicians For a job From the White House he was banned
He borrowed 15 for the gun He knew nothing of firearms Thought it’d look good in a museum
He wrote letters to the President He had demands that must be met Or the Republicans would come to grief No one considered in the least He'd do it As Guiteau prepared his plan
Guiteau worked daily on his aim And tried to tour the district jail To see where he would go
At the Baltimore and Potomac Station On route to family vacation Garfield he was shot twice At point blank range it horrified The masses Patrick Kearny was the young beat cop Who jumped to action, the culprit caught Guiteau exclaimed ‘I did the deed for God’
Alas the tale does not end here Garfield survived the first ordeal But doctors poked and prodded him With filthy hands and infection Spread fast Sepsis killed him in two months
Guiteau of course was charged for it He tried to claim he wasn’t fit His trial was a mockery The people of the jury They convicted him Guiteau was gallows bound
The execution day arrived He swaggered up the stairs with pride He shook the executioner's hand And even read a poem That he wrote It was the end of Charles GuiteauFreddy Badger - Catfish Blues (traditional/Skip James)Freddy Badger2024-02-16 | At Tackle Box Brewing Co Marlborough MA.Cuckoo lick for banjo studentsFreddy Badger2024-02-13 | Part 2: youtu.be/jBFSEhuwXsE?si=jUvv1kk1ldBecinN
Traditional/Clarence Ashley Sawmill Tuning: gDGCDFreddy Badger - Lexington Massacre (original New England history song)Freddy Badger2024-02-08 | I wrote this as the first in what I hope to grow into a series of several songs recounting the story of the Revolution in New England, 1775-1776. This one is set to the tune of the traditional Irish ballad "Lovely Willie," which I learned from the recording of Paddy Tunney.
The land by the Bay had been growing in rage When Major Pitcairn received orders from Gage To lead the king's soldiers to the Middlesex stores And destroy rebel weapons prepared for the war
The militias took warning from swift Paul Revere The regulars were coming, maybe soon to draw near How brave they assembled when they heard his voice ring Though no one could tell what the daylight would bring
The veteran John Parker, a Lexington man Being plagued by consumption looked to make his last stand He called his militia, on the green they would meet With their guns there to stand and the British to greet
The orders were given: let no bullet fly And to only keep watch as the soldiers passed by But the greatest confusion they ever had seen When the ranks of the scarlet came straight for the green
The first shot was fired, from where none could tell Then on the militia rained hot lead and hell They dispersed in their shock as the muzzle flash shone And were shot in their backs as they turned to their homes
The soldiers gave three cheers as the town's people grieved Through the thick clouds of gun smoke round the horror they'd seen On the green grass of Lexington covered as red As the coats of the cowards who left our men deadLittle Sadie - two-finger banjo & flat pick guitar (Clarence Ashley/Doc Watson/traditional)Freddy Badger2024-02-03 | ...Freddy Badger - The Devil and the Farmers Wife (traditional/Hobart Smith)Freddy Badger2024-01-26 | Child 278, Roud 160. The storyline of this song is very old and widespread. Similar stories can be found dating back to the sixth century; and there are variations everywhere from India to Britain and Ireland, and from there to America. The song as we know it today seems to date back to the 17th century. It is also commonly known as "The Farmer's Curst Wife" and "The Devil and the Ploughman," among other names.Freddy Badger - The Pony Express (Jimmy Driftwood cover)Freddy Badger2024-01-23 | "The Pony Express (I've Got To Carry The Mail)" from Jimmy Driftwood's 1960 album, "The Westward Movement."Freddy Badger - Duncan (Paul Simon cover)Freddy Badger2024-01-16 | A Paul Simon song I was inspired to learn by one of my favorite local musicians, Martin Luttrell.Freddy Badger - Warren Hellmans Banjo (Steve Earle cover)Freddy Badger2024-01-14 | Steve Earle wrote this for the banjo player Warren Hellman. The lyrics are mostly references to old time banjo tunes.Freddy Badger - Swannanoa Tunnel (traditional/Bascom Lamar Lunsford/Matt Heckler)Freddy Badger2024-01-06 | ...Badger & Nault - Moon Over Montana (Jimmy Wakely)Freddy Badger2024-01-05 | ...Freddy Badger - What Child Is This (William Dix/traditional)Freddy Badger2023-12-25 | Written by William Chatterton Dix in 1865. It is set to the traditional English tune, "Greensleeves," which dates back to the 16th century.
"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will!"Frosty Morn/Gulf of Maine/West Virginia Gals two-finger banjoFreddy Badger2023-12-19 | I first learned this tune from a video of a man named Steve James who called it "West Virginia Gals." The Watson family recorded a very similar song called "Frosty Morn." The variation I like to play is known as "Gulf of Maine."Freddy Badger - Man of Constant Sorrow (Frank Proffitt/traditional)Freddy Badger2023-12-17 | ...Dreadful Wind & Rain banjo lesson and performance (traditional/Garcia & Grisman)Freddy Badger2023-12-07 | 00:00 Intro 00:21 Song History 00:53 Tuning 1:48 Lesson 6:50 Performance