One-Eyed Riley

A traditional Old Time breakdown in A major, documented from John Masters (1904–1986) of Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky, who learned it from Jim Booker, the Camp Nelson African-American fiddler whose repertoire underlies several entries in this collection. The title derives from a well-known bawdy song of unknown authorship with a long oral transmission history; collector John Harrod notes the connection. Masters plays the tune with the final beat of each strain dropped, giving it an asymmetric cadence.