Q: The Charles Wolfe book is In the Shadow of Clinch Mountain, part of the Bear Family 10-CD collection of the same name.

Richie: I should have remembered from Wolfe's book that A.P. played fiddle. As to whether he was a "good bass", I gotta question your criteria. A good bass doesn't just drone chord roots--and muff those as often as he did. He also had a habit of coming in late on the choruses--sometimes he didn't even bother to show up for the sessions!


When Silver Threads are Gold Again: The original poem, "Growing Old" was written by Rexford (Eben Eugene Rexford, 1848-1916) when he was eighteen (c.1866). He revised the poem when Danks (Hart Pease Danks, 1834-1903) requested words for a song. WSTAGA was copyrighted in 1873 (not 1875). The song is now better known either as "Silver Threads Among the Gold" or "Darling, I Am Growing Old".

Where We'll Never Grow Old: Per Charles Wolfe, James Cleveland Moore was from Paulding County, and he published the song in 1914.

Will You Miss Me: I'm sure they must be singing something else at the end of the fourth line. I've always heard this sung as "flowery-xxx retreat", with "xxx" being "boughed", "bowered" or "bound". To be laid to rest in a tree not only violates rhyme but sense (and possibly gravity).

In another thread here, someone transcribes the Carters as singing "my heart shall cease to be", which at least rhymes with their "flowery boundary tree", even if sense is strained further. Do hearts vaporize upon death, and is the dead body in the boundary tree supposed to be a warning to trespassers?

Jim Dixon found the original song at The Library of Congress American Memory Collection, and kindly transcribed the lyrics into another thread; search for "Will You Miss Me (Cooper, Pratt; 1872)".

The Winding Stream: Per Wolfe, a fan in British Columbia sent them the words with a title like "Flower in My Canoe". A.P. rearranged the words and the trio worked up a melody. Peer changed the title.

Worried Man Blues: Per Wolfe, they learned the song orally, but couldn't remember from whom. It was originally a prison song.

You Are My Flower: Not by A.P. at all. Per Wolfe, Maybelle said she took a Mexican tune and grafted onto it verses of an old printed poem called "The Grave Is Just as Green".

You Denied Your Love: New words grafted onto the melody of "The Wabash Blues".


I've only supplied Wolfe's notes for those songs that most interested me, and my notes of his notes are not necessarily everything he wrote. So there's a lot more that can be added about origins from his book.