Hi Dave,

You'll hear a version I got from the Flanders collection on my
"As Time Draws Near" CD. It's from Asa Davis in VT.
He called it The Backwoodsman, and it's damn close to Fuzzy's version...
with large dollops of the Green Mt Boys version.
Given Paul Lorette's story, I wonder if Asa Davis was one of those guys
making up the story.

A couple of differences -
Asa sang "Twas early Monday morning, about the hour of five..."
no mention of any particular year.
He gets drunk in a "drug store" rather than a tavern
(which I've always thought was rather peculiar"

I'm interested in see the line (about the father)
"He must of had a pile of tail, he never found the way."
Asa sang "He must of had a pile of grit, he never found the way"
which I'm guessing got morphed into "He must of had a pilot, or he'd never find the way."
I've had people question me about the "pile of grit" but I'm
sure that's what Asa sang... and I've heard it as a folk idiom in
those parts for a certain level of frustration.

Now, can I remember the date of the recording with Asa Davis?
I'll have to go back to my records and see.

Thanks for posting the text, Dave.
I do like that last verse. Quite different, indeed.

best, Pamela