Transcriber’s Notes:Words or phrases in found brackets represent unclear or
unintelligible portions of the recording. Brackets are also used to provide the reader with helpful background information about the recording. Underlined text within the transcription represents more than one person speaking at the same time.Additional Transcription Notes: The sound quality of this interview is very
poor. Many of the words and phrases spoken by the Interviewer and Davenport are unintelligible. It appears that this is an audio recording of a video recording session.Interviewer:It says it’s, it’s over in the red now. So I’ve got my limiter
turned up as much as it will. Whoa! [unintelligible]. And the directions to your house were already here, so I don’t need that.Davenport:You might need it later. You’ll be wanting to come back, you know
it?Interviewer:You think I’ll need to come back? You don’t think---Davenport:You’ll want to.
Interviewer:Get it all today?
Davenport:You want get it all today.
Interviewer:Okay, this is Clyde Davenport. And it looks like we’re going to roll
here. You’re on Clyde.[1:02--- 2:53 Plays song]
Interviewer:Let’s roll it back and make sure I’ve got everything hooked up. If
we’re going to invest another hour or two of doing this let’s make sure we’re doing it.Davenport: [How do you think I am going to do in that time?] [Laughs].
Interviewer:Huh?Davenport:What do you think I’m going to have to do in that
time? Another hour or two? You done got me wore out [laughs].Interviewer:Well, don’t tell your wife.
Davenport:Listen I won’t. I wouldn’t let her know it at all.
Interviewer:Clyde Davenport, Clyde Davenport, looks like we’re going to roll
here. You’re on Clyde. You want to step around here and see it.Davenport:Can’t see it can you?
Interviewer:Yeah. [Interviewer and Davenport discuss the recording technology as
they listen back to the first recording].Davenport:“Kitty Puss.”
[6:12--- 8:01 Plays “Kitty Puss.”]
Interviewer:That was “Kitty Puss.”
Davenport:Yeah.
Interviewer:That’s a good tune. Where’d you get it?
Davenport:My daddy played it.
Interviewer:Oh he did?
Davenport:It was long back before him.
Interviewer:About how old do you think that tune is?
Davenport:Oh I guess it’d go on back, well probably come over here, come from
England or Ireland wherever it come from.Interviewer:Want to play another one your dad played?
Davenport: Yeah, I can play a few he played. You might not want them. I can’t
think of, can’t think of them hard ones he played though. I’d have to play them easy ones. I can play “Blackfoot.” He played that.[8:42---
1:00Plays “Blackfoot.”]Interviewer:[Begins talking before last note ends, so words are initially
unintelligible] bow on that at all, do you? You just---Davenport:No, I don’t use much bow no time.
Interviewer:Huh-uh.
Davenport:A good fiddle player will never use over [six inch] of his bow. Hardly
ever that. Not a calling myself good, you know. [Interviewer laughs] Let’s see now. What can I play now? You ever hear of “Roses in the Morning?”[
2:00 --- 3:00Plays “Roses in the Morning.”]Interviewer:Is that one of your dad’s pieces?
Davenport:Yeah.
Interviewer:Does it have words?
Davenport:I suppose it does. I don’t know. I never did hear none. About all
these old fiddle tunes are songs. Lot of people don’t know it but they are. Did you ever hear “Old Aunt Jenny With Her Nightcap On?” That’s one of his tunes too, you know. “Old Aunt Jenny With His Night Cap On.”[
4:00 --- 5:00Plays Old Aunt Jenny With Her Nightcap On.”Interviewer:Aunt Jenny?
Davenport:“Old Aunt Jenny With Her Nightcap On.”
Interviewer:Does it have more words?
Davenport:Well, yeah, it’s a song, but I don’t know it.
Interviewer:That could be real interesting.
Davenport:Yeah, if I knew the words it could be. I don’t know them. I don’t know
that I ever heared it sung. Probably have. Did you ever hear [“Highway Setter?"] Could be “Highway Sinner.”] Give you them old ones. I think that’s what you’re wanting.Interviewer:I think it’d be nice to play the ones that you remember as being old
tunes and we can work forward.Davenport:“Highway Setter.”
[
6:00Plays Song. Stops in the middle, but begins again.] Can’t play it.Interviewer:And you reach over and pull that bass string?
[Begins to play song again, ends at
7:00 ]Interviewer:That has such long notes there in the middle of it.
Davenport:You can tell, you can tell it’s an old one. They don’t fiddle like
that now. You know they’re old ones if it’s [unintelligible]. You ever hear “Little Boy Where Did You Get Your Britches?” You never did.[
8:00 --- 9:00Plays Little Boy Where Did You Get Your Britches?”]Interviewer:Little Boy Where’d You Get---
Davenport:[Begins singing]: “Hey little boy where’d you get your britches
[unintelligible] sewed in stitches.” I can’t get up there, can I? I don’t know no more of it. Don’t look for me to sing. I can’t.Interviewer:If there are words we could use the words with the tune, as you know them.
Davenport:Yeah, I don’t know them. Now let’s see, what do you want? Ain’t you
got some wrote down there?Interviewer:We got Ask that---
Davenport:“Ask That Pretty Girl To Be My Wife?”
[
10:00 --- 11:00Plays “Ask That Pretty Girl To Be My Wife.”]Interviewer:You just play so easy looking. It looks like you could play all day long.
Davenport:I could if I didn’t get tired. [Laughs]. Yee boy. Used to be easy for
me to do. Boy, it ain’t easy for me to do now. I could go to sleep playing. It didn’t bother me a bit. It was so easy; it seemed like a fiddle came so handy for me. Nothing else never did come that handy. A fiddle it just, [unintelligible] play a fiddle I reckon. It’s the naturalist thing that ever was a fiddle back when I could play. But other instruments wasn’t that comfortable.Interviewer:You played a little banjo?
Davenport:I play a banjo and guitar, harmonica, Jew’s Harp. I play anything I
can pick up. I can play anything I picked up back when I was young, but I wouldn’t fool with it [for two minutes I could play it]. I don’t care what it was. Well now let me see. What are we going to play now? Oh a, [pause] “Turkey Buzzard?”Interviewer:“Turkey Buzzard.”
[
12:00 --- 13:00Plays “Turkey Buzzard.”]Interviewer:You put an ending on that one.
Davenport:Yeah.
Interviewer:Sometimes,
Davenport:Yeah, I just stop, you know. Now I don’t’ think too much an ending is
too pretty, do you? Let’s see, what was the tune you was wanting no how. Let’s see, you was waning, was wanting, what was the name of it? “Shoot the Turkey Buzzard?” Let’s see, what was the name? “Old Buzzard.” You was wanting “Old Buzzard,” wasn’t you?Interviewer:Play “Old Buzzard.”
Davenport:That’s the one you was wanting, wasn’t it?
[
14:00 --- 15:00Plays “Old Buzzard.”]Interviewer:[Talking to the person operating the video camera]. Let’s stop that
for a minute. This, one of these legs is scooted down a little bit, and it looks like I’m at a little bit of an angle. [More discussion about moving the video camera. This portion does not pertain to the music or to Davenport and was not transcribed].Davenport:They’ll never know what I am looking at me.
Interviewer:Were your people Scotch-Irish or Irish?
Davenport:Well, I don’t know whether they’re Irish or English. It’s a English
name, ain’t it? So, my people been over here so long they lost track of it. My people was in the Revolutionary War. I guess probably fight the English and everything. I don’t know. About the first ones over here I guess. Next to the first. [Tape appears to cut out for a short moment.]Interviewer:Yeah, the most we heard you say was [unintelligible] [Both laugh].
Davenport:I do that sometimes. Ain’t because I can’t talk. Just because I don’t
want to. [laughs]. Now what you wanting?Interviewer:I want whatever you could play. We have a list here. We got, you did “Kitty Puss?”Davenport:Yeah.
Interviewer:You did “Is that Pretty Woman, Pretty Girl My Wife.”
Davenport:Yeah.
Interviewer:[“Fur Johnson.”] Let that truck get by [sound of truck passing and
dog barking]. And dogs barking.Davenport:Let’s see. [“Bird Anderson”], you mean?
Interviewer:Yeah.
[
16:00 --- 17:00Plays song]Interviewer:[Burt or Burge?]
Davenport:Bird.
Interviewer:Burt?
Davenport:Bird Anderson.
Interviewer:Bird. Is that a tune from?
Davenport:My brother learnt that from man named Bird Anderson in [Vernell,
Iowa], and he never did know that the name of it was, and he just called it Bird Anderson.Interviewer:[Unintelligible] and live here. Did he bring another tunes
back?Davenport:I don’t know. I just remember that one. [Laughs]Interviewer:Let’s see we got, have you played “Open the Gate and Walk On Through?”
Davenport:No.
Interviewer:That’s a good one.
Davenport:“Open the Gate and Walk On Through.”
[
18:00 --- 19:00Plays “Open the Gate and Walk On Through.]Interviewer:Does that have words?
Davenport:Huh?Interviewer:Does that have words?
Davenport:Yeah. It’s a song.
Interviewer:Do you know them?
Davenport:No, I don’t know them. I don’t any, any songs. When it comes to
singing I don’t know airy.Interviewer:“Sally Johnson?”
Davenport:I’ll try.
[
20:00 --- 21:00Plays “Sally Johnson.”]Davenport:Boys I’ll tell you one thing. I don’t, I’ m not used to playing, I can
sure mess up.Interviewer:Do you play some that your dad played that you don’t have the name
to? Any unnamed pieces?Davenport:Not that I know of. Not that I know of. I can’t think of nothing to
play. You ain't got no more wrote down over there have you?Interviewer:Oh yeah. Oh yeah.Davenport:Have you? Oh, you’re lucky.
Interviewer:[Laughs]. Yeah, we got “Paddy, Won’t You Drink Some Good Ole
[unintelligible, possibly Cider].”Davenport:Key of D.
[
22:00—38: 35 Plays Song].Interviewer:Another D tune?
Davenport:Huh?Interviewer:Another D tune?
Davenport:Yeah, if you got it.
Interviewer:[“Logan’s Hornpipe.”]
Davenport:Huh?
Interviewer:[“Logon’s Hornpipe?”]
Davenport:I don’t know if I can get over it or not. I am messing up on them bad
I ain’t used to playing.[
23:00 --- 24:00Plays song]Interviewer:That’s hard, isn’t it?
Davenport:Not hard. I just ain’t used to playing.
Interviewer:Play any other hornpipes?
Davenport:Yeah, I play another hornpipe. “Marmaduke’s Hornpipe,” you want to
hear it? Them people coming up here, creeping up here to watching us.Interviewer:Hmm?
Davenport:See them coming back over there against that garden standing watching
us? I bet they wish they could play a fiddle.Interviewer:We’re putting on quite a show. [Laughs]
Davenport:Yeah, reckon there’s something to be seen. Let’s see. “Marmaduke’s
Hornpipe” wasn’t it.[
25:00--- 42: 48 Plays “Marmaduke’s Hornpipe.”]Interviewer:That’s real pretty. Play more hornpipes?
Davenport:Huh?
Interviewer:Do you play more hornpipes?
Davenport:Ah, yeah I have, yeah. I can’t now.
Interviewer:How about---
Davenport:I’m just lucky I can imitate them.
Interviewer:How about any jigs?
Davenport:Huh?
Interviewer:How about a jig time?
Davenport:A jig what?
Interviewer:Jig. [Hums tunes]
Davenport:[Unintelligible].
Interviewer:Yeah, yeah that time.
Davenport:Huh?
Interviewer:That time. Yeah.
Davenport:I never was no good at that.
[
26:00—44: 35 Plays song]Interviewer:You could probably play anything I asked you to, couldn’t you?
Davenport:No.
Interviewer:You had---
Davenport:I get mixed up on them. I get all balled up in them.
Interviewer:You had [unintelligible].
Davenport:Nah, I can play it for you though.
[
27:00---46: 29 Plays song]Davenport:Oh me.
Interviewer:Think of one? You want to play one or you want to go down the list?
Davenport:I can’t think of nothing.
Interviewer:“Old Granny Hair.”
Davenport:“Old Granny Hair.” I haven’t played, but I’ll try.
[
28:00 ---- 29:00Plays “Old Granny Hair.]Interviewer:Where did you learn that tune?
Davenport:My daddy played it.
Interviewer:Did he play “Old Davy Dugger?”
Davenport:Yeah. I don’t know that I can though. I’ll try
[
30:00 --- 31:00Plays “Old Davy Dugger.”]Interviewer:Is that your daddy’s?
Davenport:Yeah. Did you ever hear “Flat Woods?” Here it is.
[
32:00 --- 33:00Plays “Flat Woods.”]Interviewer:“Flat Woods?”
Davenport:“Flat Woods.”
Interviewer:You come over and get that bass string about every other time. Do
you play anymore that you pick up that bass string on?Davenport:Huh?
Interviewer:Do you play others that---
Davenport:I don’t know I play, I played so many, I don’t know what I play and
what I have played. [Unintelligible] play like I used to and then just plum quit to get it all in. [Thought I] used to be I could play, man. Young and limber, you know.Interviewer:When you played for the dances did they shadish?
Davenport:I played some shadish, yeah. I don’t know, not now.
Interviewer:Did they like to dance that shadish?
Davenport:Well, yeah they danced it if I played it. You can dance, can’t you?
You know I can too? [Laughs]. Ah, let’s see. What are we going to play now?Interviewer:Well, we got “Peas in a Pod” and “Sleeping Lula” and “Cigarette
Habit,” you said it was [unintelligible].Davenport:Let’s see, “Peas in a Pod?” [Unintelligible]. Huh?Interviewer:Oh,
“Peas In a Pod?”Davenport:“Peas in a Pod” and a whole [unintelligible] of bacon.” Step girl
step, day’s breaking [laughs].[
34:00 --- 35:00Plays “Peas In a Pod.”]Davenport:You like them kind of tunes?
Interviewer:Was that your dad’s?
Davenport:Yeah, he played that too. Course other people played that before him,
you know. He had to learn it somewhere.Interviewer:That was “Peas In a Pod,” right?
Davenport:Yeah.
Interviewer:I don’t know that tune at all.
Davenport:Huh?
Interviewer:I don’t know that tune at all.Davenport:You don’t?
Interviewer:It’s a hoedown, isn’t it?
Davenport:Yeah, I’d say it was.
Interviewer:Well, is “Sleeping Lula” a---
Davenport:“Sleeping Lula,” you want “Sleeping Lula.” If I can get over it; I
don’t know whether I can get over it or not.Interviewer:Is it a piece, is it a singing? Do you know the words?
Davenport:No. Fiddle tune. I don’t know if there’s any words to it or not. I
don’t much like it.[
36:00 --- 37:00Plays “Sleeping Lula.”]Davenport:I messed up on it.
Interviewer:That was a fluging piece. You got any dream pieces?
Davenport:Dream pieces?
Interviewer:“Flannary’s Dream” or any of those?
Davenport:Huh?
Interviewer:Any pieces with dreams, ”Flannary’s Dream?”
Davenport:I don’t know that one. I can’t, I ain’t that good a fiddler yet.
You’ve got to be a good fiddler to play all them tunes, you know. You got to be a good fiddler to play all them tunes.[
38:00 --- 39:00Plays “Under the Pale Moonlight.”]Interviewer:What was that?
Davenport:Huh?
Interviewer:What was that?
Davenport:“Under the Pale Moonlight.”
[
40:00Recording ends]. 41:00