I learnt this song from Frank Proffitt, of Reese, NC, when I met him during a tour in Chicago back in 1962. Frank was a fine singer, banjo and guitar picker, as well as a maker of fretless banjos and mountain dulcimers. I got a banjo from Frank in 1963. Its head is ground hog skin, so it could not be more appropriate to use for this fine old folk song. We spent four days together in Chicago when Frank came up for a visit. He told me the best banjo head skin was cat skin, but that his wife frowned on his shooting them . . . groundhog was his fall-back position.
A version of this song can be found on Peter's album, "The Barnyard Dance: American Folk Songs For Children", available from Hen Cackle Records here:
[ http://www.bluegrasswest.com/hencacklerecords/hen_cackle_501.html ].
