An American reel from southwestern Virginia and Kentucky, this tune exists in multiple versions and is likely an instrumental adaptation of the ballad “Bangum and the Boar” (Child #18), which tells the story of a knight’s encounter with a wild boar. Most modern versions are based on the playing of Taylor Kimble (1892-1979) of Laurel Fork, Virginia. The tune was first commercially recorded by Lonesome Luke and His Farm Hands in 1931 on Gennett Records, with square dance calls. A version with words was collected by John Lomax as part of the John A. Lomax Southern States Collection in Austin, Texas in 1935 and is preserved in the Library of Congress.
NOTE Child #18 refers to the Child Ballads classification system created by Harvard professor Francis James Child (1825-1896). Between 1882-1898, Child compiled “The English and Scottish Popular Ballads,” cataloguing 305 traditional ballads and assigning each a number. Child #18 is “Sir Lionel” (also known as “Bang’um and the Boar”).