Fire on the Mountain, Run, Run, Run

DESCRIPTION: Singing game (or fiddle tune), with text "Fire on the mountain, run, run, run." Occasional local verses: "Two little Indians sittin' on a log, Looking at a hog in Arkansas." "Oh my little Indian, don't drink whiskey"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: c.1825 (_Mother Goose's Quarto_, according to Opie/Opie-TheSingingGame)
KEYWORDS: playparty nonballad floatingverses Indians(Am.)
FOUND IN: US(MW,So) Canada(Mar) New Zealand
REFERENCES (6 citations):
Creighton/Senior-TraditionalSongsOfNovaScotia, pp. 260, "Fire on the Mountain, Run, Run, Run" (1 extremely short text)
Opie/Opie-TheSingingGame 77, "Fire on the Mountains" (4 texts, 1 tune)
Abernethy-SinginTexas, p. 64, "Fire on the Mountain" (1 text, 1 tune)
Sutton-Smith-NZ-GamesOfNewZealandChilden/FolkgamesOfChildren, p. 41, "Fire on the Mountains" (1 short text)
JournalOfAmericanFolklore, Carl Van Doren, "Some Play-Party Songs from Eastern Illinois," Vol. XXXII, No. 126 (Oct 1919), #16 p. 493 "Fire On the Mountain" (1 text)
NorthCarolinaFolkloreJournal, Joan Moser, "Instrumental Music of the Southern Appalachians: Traditional Fiddle Tunes," Vol. XII, No. 2 (Dec. 1964), p. 5, "Old Daddy Bowback (Fire on the Mountain)" (1 tune with variants)
Roud #4618
NOTES [168 words]: Piper has a two-line fragment, "Cat in the creamer, run, boys, run, Fire on the mountains, fun, boys, fun," with the chorus of "Jim Along Josie" (source: Edwin F. Piper, "Some Play-Party Games of the Middle West" in The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. XXVIII, No. 109 (Jul 1915 (available online by JSTOR)), #6.B p. 268 "Hi, Come Along!"). Van Doren's first verse is "Fire on the mountain, run, boys, run!" (3x) "Hey, jim along, jim along Josie!"
Ford's text to "King Henry" is "King Henry, King Henry, Run, boys, run; You with the red coat, Follow with the drum." (source: Robert Ford, Children's Rhymes, Children's Games, Children's Songs, Children's Stories (Paisley, 1904 (2nd edition, "Digitized by Google")), p. 77, "King Henry"; see also, Robert Craig Maclagan, The Games and Diversions of Argyleshire (London, 1901 ("Digitized by Google")), pp. 216-217, "King Henry"). - BS
Roud in fact lumps this with "Jim Along Josie." I suspect, however, that this should be considered a floating verse. - RBW
Last updated in version 6.1
File: CrSe260

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