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Wreck Of The Old '97

9/23/2017

1 Comment

 
Hi,
The song of the week is 'Wreck Of The Old '97' in the key of D.

Progression
The chord progression is:
1144
1155
1144
1511

In the key of D: 1=D, 4=G, 5=A.
The D chord consists of the notes: D, F#, and A
The G chord consists of the notes: G, B, and D
The A chord consists of the notes: A, C#, and E.

Together, these notes make up the D major scale: D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#, and the melody of Wreck Of The Old '97 uses all the notes of the scale.

Wreck Of The Old '97 has no chorus. There are 6 verses for the song, but it is common for only 5 verses to be used for the song.

While Wreck Of The Old '97 uses a very common chord progression - the most common of all progressions in bluegrass, there are some things about its melody that are uncommon in bluegrass. For instance, in the second line, at the point where the change to the '5' chord occurs ('A' in the key of D), the melody hangs on the 7th note of the scale ('C#' in the key of D), whereas it is far more common in songs for the melody to go the 2nd note of the scale ('E' in the key of D) at this point instead when the second line of the progression for a song is 1155.

Recordings
Here are some good bluegrass versions of 'Wreck Of The Old '97' to listen to:

Flatt And Scruggs: key of Bb
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=732g2a7pmpM

The Osborne Brothers: mandolin intro break and verses in the key of E; fiddle break in the key of A; banjo break in the key of B 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XSTYrVV4Pc

Mac Wiseman: key of D
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_vt-s3aYl8&list=RDD_vt-s3aYl8

Melody Sheets
In the attachments, I have included 2 guitar tabs of the melody: one written in the key of D, and one written in the key of C. The locations of the melody notes on the fretboard in the 'C' tab make the 'C' tab more conducive than the 'D' tab to working out a Carter-style break for the song. If for this reason, or some other reason, you choose to work with the C tab instead of the D tab, you will need to capo the 2nd fret in order to be playing the song in D.  I have also included 2 banjo tabs of the melody, one in D and one in C. Since the lowest note of the melody is the 1st note of the scale (a 'C' note in the key of C, a 'D' note in the key of D), you will need to tune the 4th string of the banjo down to a 'C' note if you choose to work with the key of C banjo tab of the melody given here. Capoing to the 2nd fret will then raise the pitch of the 4th string back up to a D note.

Additional Points of Interest
If you are interested in learning about the history of the song, here is a good article on Wikipedia to check out that deals with both the historical event that the song is about, and with the history of the song itself:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wreck_of_the_Old_97

For those who are interested, here are a couple of non-bluegrass versions of 'Wreck Of The Old '97' that I was familiar with before I got into bluegrass music. The second one is the second-oldest recording of the song, dating from 1924, and was the first million-seller 'Country' record. It has been many years since I have seen a copy of the old '78 record, but I recall that the B-side of the record was 'The Prisoner's Song', another old 'pre-bluegrass' classic that has been adopted into the standard bluegrass repertoire.

Johnny Cash: key of Bb
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lza4Li_0o78

Vernon Dalhart: key of D
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7T06xJJth0Y

Down In A Willow Garden 
The chord progression that was used last night for Down In A Willow Garden was:

1116m
116m6m
1114
1511

4416m
116m6m
1114
1511

Here;s a good version of the song that uses almost the same progression (the only difference is that the beginning of the 2nd part is 4414 instead of 4416m)

Lonesome River Band - key of B
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZaKcBHWxPM

Ole Slew Foot
The chord progression for Ole Slew Foot is:

1111
11411
1111
11411

5511
5511
1111
11411

Jim & Jesse - key of A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KT5kU-Ff0s0

Happy Pickin',
Jason
Wreck Of The Old '97 - banjo tab D
File Size: 301 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Wreck Of The Old '97 - banjo tab C
File Size: 312 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Wreck Of The Old '97 - guitar tab D
File Size: 310 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Wreck Of The Old '97 - guitar tab C
File Size: 310 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Wreck Of The Old '97 - mandolin tab
File Size: 264 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Wreck Of The Old '97 - melody in D
File Size: 306 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

1 Comment

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  • Home
    • About
    • Join Us
    • Donate
    • IBA Newsletter
    • Our Logo
  • Articles & Podcasts
    • Podcasts >
      • Jason Homey Interview
      • Donna and Mike Bond Interview
      • ​Jeremy Garrett Interview
      • Keith Reed Interview
      • Becky Smith Interview
      • Marv Quinton Interview
      • Rue Frisbee Interview
      • Honi Deaton Interview
      • Dennis Stokes Interview
      • Gary Eller Interview
    • Articles >
      • Glen Garrett - The Golden Years
      • Sammie Bush - came to Weiser
      • Mark O’Connor - My History at Weiser
      • Barbara Lamb - Fiddler Extraordinaire
      • Charlie Simmons -The Idaho Bluegrass Association from 1975 to 1985
      • Idaho's 19th century Fiddlers
      • Weiser Fiddle Champions ​ 1950s & 1960s
      • ​Byron Berline
      • Dave Frisbee
      • Weiser Fiddle Champions from 1970s and 80s
      • Megan Lynch Chowning
      • Fiddle Champion ​in 1990s and 2000s
      • Tashina and Tristan Clarridge
    • Snap Shot - Videos from IBA members
  • Events
    • Calendar (BCBB)
    • Open Mic
    • SpringFest 2025
    • Winterfest
    • Bluegrass in the Park
    • Virtualgrass
    • Other Bluegrass Events
  • Jam
    • Idaho Jams
    • Beginner Jam
    • Jason's BIBJ
    • All of Jason's Songs
    • Old Blogs from Jason >
      • Jason's Beginner Jam Blog 2021 - 2023
      • Jason's Intermediate Jam Blog 2021 - 2023
      • Jason's Beginner Jam Blog 2019 - 2021
      • Jason's Intermediate Jam Blog 2019 - 2021
      • Jason's Beginner Jam Blog 2017 - 2018
      • Jason's Intermediate Jam Blog 2017 - 2018
      • Songs in 2016
  • Camps & Contests
    • Idaho Bluegrass and Banjo Camp
    • Banjo Contest
    • National Oldtime Fiddlers’ Contest
  • Idaho Bands
  • Teachers
  • Classified
  • Links
    • General
    • Learning
    • Specific Instruments