Say Old Man Can You Play the Fiddle?

Old Time breakdown in E minor with two parts that shift to E major, associated with Texas fiddling and also carried in western North Carolina. Most versions run to six parts, and it is usually played in EDae tuning, which is a rare tuning. The title comes from a couplet sometimes sung to the A part, a question and a modest answer about whether the old man can play. The words vary by player, but Eck Robertson calls out, “Say old man, can you play a fiddle? Yes by golly, I can play a little.” Eck Robertson’s version, recorded at his Amarillo home in 1963 and issued on County 202 (Famous Cowboy Fiddler), is the most frequently cited. Benny Thomasson, who called the tune “Lady’s Fancy”, recorded it informally in 1974 for what became Voyager VRCD 345, and Tommy Hunter of Madison County, North Carolina, used the title for a 1992 Ivy Creek album.