Davy Crockett

DESCRIPTION: Davy and/or the singer engage in various improbable activities such as hunting coons without a gun. The singer and Davy have a fight and agree to a draw: "I was hard enough for him, and so was he for me."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1906 (Belden-BalladsSongsCollectedByMissourFolkloreSociety); "Pompey Smash" appeared 1847 in Lloyd's Ethiopian Song Book
KEYWORDS: nonsense humorous hunting fight
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1786-1836 - Life of David Crockett, one-time U.S. Congressman, both Limestone, Tennessee; died in the siege of the Alamo
FOUND IN: US(Ap,So)
REFERENCES (9 citations):
Belden-BalladsSongsCollectedByMissourFolkloreSociety, p. 339, "Davy Crockett" (1 stanza)
Randolph 423, "Davy Crockett" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Randolph/Cohen-OzarkFolksongs-Abridged, pp. 338-340, "Davy Crockett" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 423A)
Combs/Wilgus-FolkSongsOfTheSouthernUnitedStates 168, pp. 182-183, "Davy Crockett" (1 text)
Cox-FolkSongsSouth 177, "Davy Crockett" (1 text)
Owens-TexasFolkSongs-1ed, pp. 243-246, "Pompey Smash and Davy Crockett" (1 text, 1 tune)
Owens-TexasFolkSongs-2ed, pp. 130-132, "Pompey Smash and Davy Crockett" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax/Lomax-AmericanBalladsAndFolkSongs, pp. 251-253, "The Ballad of Davy Crockett" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, DAVCROCK
Roud #3589
RECORDINGS:
Chubby Parker, "Dav[e]y Crockett" (Conqueror 7895, 1931; on StuffDreams1)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Settin' on a Rail" (lyrics)
cf. "Davy Crockett (Pop Song Parody)" (subject of Davy Crockett)
NOTES [66 words]: Obviously not to be confused with the pop song "The Ballad of Davy Crockett."
Randolph says that this piece is derived from the minstrel piece "Pompey Squash," (called "Pompey Smash" by Cox). This is clearly true of Randolph's "B" text and less obviously so in the case of the Lomax text; I am not certain in the case of the other versions. I might theorize that Randolph's text is a hybrid. - RBW
Last updated in version 6.4
File: R423

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