Old Brass Wagon

This great old movement song seems to date back to the American Midwest in the 19th century. It was also mentioned as early as 1903 as "an old play party song" and as a circle dance. It shows up as a popular tune for fiddlers and other folk performers back as far as there were recordings. Our adaptation features lyrics that are appropriate to larger groups of students, though you can use any of the many moves common to circle movement.

Our recording features our great fiddle player (Jim Denman) and our favorite guitarist, Sandy Williams, on guitar, banjo, and dobro. There are three versions of the recording: a full performance, a version of the tracks with the leader calling out instructions, and a version of just the instrumental tracks if you want to change the lyrics or use your own "caller." And remember, in case you want to perform more verses of this tune, you can play this with guitar or autoharp as the chords are quite simple.

One other interesting teaching thought for this tune is that it is pentatonic, so it would be great for simple improvisation with Orff instruments or recorder. And if you have a good beginning violinist, you can even fashion a simple fiddle part.