Every song tells a story, but in today’s Appalachian Moments podcast we discover the inspiration and true meaning of some old time and bluegrass standards that might surprise you!
Today we will dance past the gallows as we attempt to untangle the Hangman’s Reel.
Many folks might have taken part in a version of the reel, particularly the Virginia Reel (where couples line up opposite each other in a long formation).
Participants complete reels moving in certain symmetrical ways, also like doing a figure-8. A square dance is a first cousin if that helps. The tunes are always up-tempo, in reel-time as it were!
The title of the song isn’t misleading, but does have an element of mystery.
As the story goes, many years ago a man was scheduled for execution in Canada. As he heard the construction of the gallows from his prison cell, he spied a fiddle hanging near the jailer’s desk. He made a bet with the jailer that if he could play the fiddle better than the jailer, his life would be spared the next day. (Fiddle players and bets, hmmmmm, Rest in Peace Charlie Daniels!)
Well, the inmate had never played the fiddle before, but now at least he had a chance and he practiced all night.
The next day with the rope securely around his neck (awkward!), the prisoner played the fiddle for the assembled crowd and he played what has become known as the Hangman’s Reel.
But friends, that is where the story ends and your imagination must begin, as there is no proof that he was released or if he received a suspended sentence.
What is still alive, what lives on today, is the music and the story! Thanks for liking, commenting and sharing this post! We’d like to hear your take on the music, and the mystery!