Southern Melody

Kind of Tune
set tune
Place of Origin
US

Winston "Scotty" Fitzgerald (1914-87) recorded this tune in the 1950s, and followed it in medley with a tune he called The Polo March. This tandem was quickly adopted by Island fiddlers, and as of 2006 it was still quite frequently played: particularly in the eastern half of the Island. PEI fiddlers sometimes play Southern Melody on its own, but I have never encountered Polo March played separately.

Fitzgerald is said to have learned the tune he called Southern Melody while working with Hank Snow (1914-99), the Nova Scotia native who later became a major Nashville star. Some American fiddlers familiar with the Southern idiom have noted that it matches no known tune exactly, but instead may be a composite of several: most notably "I Ain't Got Nobody," a song written in 1915 by songwriter Spencer Williams (1889-1965) and later adopted by the country music industry.

Notation for this tune as played by Reuben Smith is in Fiddle Music of Prince Edward Island.

Tune Selections

Southern Melody / Polo March Musician: Attwood O'Connor, Recordist: Ken Perlman Accompanied by: Stanley Bruce, gtr South Kings info
Southern Melody / Polo March Musician: Dave Thomson, Recordist: Ken Perlman Unaccompanied Western Queens info
Southern Melody / Polo March Musician: Reuben Smith, Recordist: Ken Perlman Accompanied by: Kaye MacEachern, pno; Ron Myers, gtr; Theresa Smith, gtr Western Queens info
Southern Melody / Polo March Musician: Carl Webster, Musician: Jackie Webster, Recordist: Ken Perlman Accompanied by: John Webster, gtr Central Kings info
Gow's Lament for His 2nd Wife / Braes of Mar / Scourdiness / Maid Behind the Bar / Londonderry Hornpipe / Southern Melody Musician: "Young Peter" Chaisson, Recordist: Ken Perlman Accompanied by: Ken Perlman, bjo Northeast Kings info
Ste. Anne's Reel / Ragtime Annie / Southern Melody Musician: Alton Silliker, Recordist: Ken Perlman Accompanied by: Florence Silliker Young, pno; Eugene Gallant, gtr West Prince info

Videos

Accompanied by: Donny MacLean, gtr