Needs verification! This proves to be a challenging tune to research with multiple variations that seem to be altogether different tunes. One version comes from West Virginia fiddler Melvin Wine (1909-2003) of Copen, Braxton County, central West Virginia, recorded in AEae tuning and played with a pronounced backbeat, often with double stops. This tune should not be confused with “Frosty Morning,” which is a different tune in A Dorian mode associated with Henry Reed. Some versions are associated with Scottish history, though this connection is debated among traditional musicians. Henry Reed’s version seems to be the closest to the tune that I intend to capture with this tune listing.
There is a Cold Frostie Morning in the The Caledonian Pocket Companion, a book from James Oswald with multiple volumes published between 1745 and 1760), but it is in 3/4 time and, best I can tell, a completely different tune.
Key: A Dorian
Tradition: Old Time