Chords for David Holt interview: Kinney Rorrer Old Time Banjo
Tempo:
148.2 bpm
Chords used:
D
G
A
E
B
Tuning:Standard Tuning (EADGBE)Capo:+0fret
Start Jamming...
In the 1920s and 30s, Charlie Poole popularized a rhythmic finger style of banjo playing.
His many recordings made people want to try to learn to pick with three fingers.
Kenny Rohr is a descendant of Charlie Poole and carries on that old-time style with the
very banjo that Charlie Poole recorded with.
[G]
[D] [B]
[D]
Now I can't walk and neither can I talk [G] Just getting back from the state of [D] old New [B] York
One morning [D] just for a day If I lose, let me lose
I [A] don't care [C#] how much [D] I lose If I lose a hundred dollars
While [G] I'm trying to win a dime [A] For my baby she needs [D] money all the time
[G]
[D] [A]
[D]
Now the blood was a running And I was running too
[G] To get my feet good exercise Had nothing [D] else to do
[A] One morning [E]
just [B] for a day [D] If I lose, let me lose
[A] I don't care [B] how much I lose [D]
If I lose a hundred dollars
[G] While I'm trying to win a dime For [A] my baby she needs money all [D] the time
[G]
[D] [A]
[B] [D]
Now I see them gals are sitting at the tanks [G] Waiting to catch a freight train
It's getting cold [D] on A.C. Hanks [A] One morning [B]
just for a day
[D] If I lose, let me lose [A] I don't care [B] how much I lose
[D]
If I lose a hundred dollars [G] While I'm trying to win a dime
For [A] my baby she needs money [D] all the time
[N] Kenny, you're the great nephew of the great banjo player Charlie Poole.
What was important about Charlie's style of playing?
Well, he played in a three-finger style, a banjo thumb and two fingers,
at a time when most banjo players, at least a lot who were recording,
were making records playing claw hammer style banjo.
So Charlie brought a very distinctive three-finger style into old-time music.
But it was before bluegrass.
Yes, it sure was before bluegrass.
And he used a different tuning than bluegrass people use, by and large.
He played in what's called low bass or C tuning,
you know, with a lot of bar chords and a lot of tremolos,
a lot of little ringing kind of runs he would make on the bottom string.
We might add that it predated bluegrass by about 20 years, 25 years.
It sure did.
Yeah, he even recorded records featuring twin fiddles with a banjo break in it,
something that, you know, was a forerunner of bluegrass by a good 20 or 25 years,
using twin fiddles and a banjo break as well.
Show us up close what that, what his style looked like.
Play us a little bit.
What was his most famous tune, Don't Let Your Deal Go Down?
Yeah, Don't Let Your Deal Go Down was his biggest seller.
It sold [F] 102,000 records when it came out in 1925.
And that was in an era when a good selling old time country record
sold somewhere between 5 and 20,000.
And this one sold 102,000.
And it was his big hit, yeah.
Don't Let Your Deal Go Down.
[D]
[G]
[C] [Fm]
[E] [D]
[G] [C]
[F] [E]
[A]
[D] [G]
[E] [A]
[D] [G]
[E] Now, where did you get [A] them high top shoes [D] and a dress that you wear so [G] fine?
[E] Well, I got my shoes [A] from a railroad man [D] and my dress from a [G] driver in the mine.
[E] Oh, honey, don't let your deal [A] go down.
[D] Oh, don't let your deal [G] go down.
Oh, [E] honey, don't let your [A] deal go down.
Till [D] that last good [G] dollar is gone.
[E]
[A] [D]
[G] [E]
[A] [D]
[G]
[E] Well, last time I saw [A] that pretty little girl, she [D] was standing [G] in the door.
And she [E] put her arms [A] all around my neck saying, [D] honey, now don't [G] you go.
Oh, honey, [E] don't let your deal [A] go down.
[D] Oh, don't let your deal [G] go down.
Oh, [E] honey, don't let your deal [A] go down.
[D] One last [A] good dollar is gone.
[G] [N]
His many recordings made people want to try to learn to pick with three fingers.
Kenny Rohr is a descendant of Charlie Poole and carries on that old-time style with the
very banjo that Charlie Poole recorded with.
[G]
[D] [B]
[D]
Now I can't walk and neither can I talk [G] Just getting back from the state of [D] old New [B] York
One morning [D] just for a day If I lose, let me lose
I [A] don't care [C#] how much [D] I lose If I lose a hundred dollars
While [G] I'm trying to win a dime [A] For my baby she needs [D] money all the time
[G]
[D] [A]
[D]
Now the blood was a running And I was running too
[G] To get my feet good exercise Had nothing [D] else to do
[A] One morning [E]
just [B] for a day [D] If I lose, let me lose
[A] I don't care [B] how much I lose [D]
If I lose a hundred dollars
[G] While I'm trying to win a dime For [A] my baby she needs money all [D] the time
[G]
[D] [A]
[B] [D]
Now I see them gals are sitting at the tanks [G] Waiting to catch a freight train
It's getting cold [D] on A.C. Hanks [A] One morning [B]
just for a day
[D] If I lose, let me lose [A] I don't care [B] how much I lose
[D]
If I lose a hundred dollars [G] While I'm trying to win a dime
For [A] my baby she needs money [D] all the time
[N] Kenny, you're the great nephew of the great banjo player Charlie Poole.
What was important about Charlie's style of playing?
Well, he played in a three-finger style, a banjo thumb and two fingers,
at a time when most banjo players, at least a lot who were recording,
were making records playing claw hammer style banjo.
So Charlie brought a very distinctive three-finger style into old-time music.
But it was before bluegrass.
Yes, it sure was before bluegrass.
And he used a different tuning than bluegrass people use, by and large.
He played in what's called low bass or C tuning,
you know, with a lot of bar chords and a lot of tremolos,
a lot of little ringing kind of runs he would make on the bottom string.
We might add that it predated bluegrass by about 20 years, 25 years.
It sure did.
Yeah, he even recorded records featuring twin fiddles with a banjo break in it,
something that, you know, was a forerunner of bluegrass by a good 20 or 25 years,
using twin fiddles and a banjo break as well.
Show us up close what that, what his style looked like.
Play us a little bit.
What was his most famous tune, Don't Let Your Deal Go Down?
Yeah, Don't Let Your Deal Go Down was his biggest seller.
It sold [F] 102,000 records when it came out in 1925.
And that was in an era when a good selling old time country record
sold somewhere between 5 and 20,000.
And this one sold 102,000.
And it was his big hit, yeah.
Don't Let Your Deal Go Down.
[D]
[G]
[C] [Fm]
[E] [D]
[G] [C]
[F] [E]
[A]
[D] [G]
[E] [A]
[D] [G]
[E] Now, where did you get [A] them high top shoes [D] and a dress that you wear so [G] fine?
[E] Well, I got my shoes [A] from a railroad man [D] and my dress from a [G] driver in the mine.
[E] Oh, honey, don't let your deal [A] go down.
[D] Oh, don't let your deal [G] go down.
Oh, [E] honey, don't let your [A] deal go down.
Till [D] that last good [G] dollar is gone.
[E]
[A] [D]
[G] [E]
[A] [D]
[G]
[E] Well, last time I saw [A] that pretty little girl, she [D] was standing [G] in the door.
And she [E] put her arms [A] all around my neck saying, [D] honey, now don't [G] you go.
Oh, honey, [E] don't let your deal [A] go down.
[D] Oh, don't let your deal [G] go down.
Oh, [E] honey, don't let your deal [A] go down.
[D] One last [A] good dollar is gone.
[G] [N]
Key:
D
G
A
E
B
D
G
A
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
In the 1920s and 30s, Charlie Poole popularized a rhythmic finger style of banjo playing.
His many recordings made people want to try to learn to pick with three fingers.
Kenny Rohr is a descendant of Charlie Poole and carries on that old-time style with the
very banjo that Charlie Poole recorded with. _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [G] _ _
_ _ _ _ [D] _ _ _ [B] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [D] _ _
Now I can't walk and neither can I talk [G] Just getting back from the state of [D] old New [B] York
One morning _ [D] just for a day _ If I lose, _ let me lose
I [A] don't care _ [C#] how much [D] I lose _ If I lose a hundred dollars
While [G] I'm trying to win a dime [A] For my baby she needs [D] money all the time _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [G] _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [D] _ _ _ [A] _
_ _ [D] _ _ _ _ _
Now the blood was a running And I was running too
[G] To get my feet good exercise Had nothing [D] else to do
[A] One morning _ [E]
just [B] for a day [D] _ If I lose, let me lose
_ [A] I don't care _ [B] how much I lose [D] _
If I lose a hundred dollars
[G] While I'm trying to win a dime For [A] my baby she needs money all [D] the time _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [G] _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [D] _ _ [A] _ _
_ _ [B] _ [D] _ _ _ _
Now I see them gals are sitting at the tanks _ [G] Waiting to catch a freight train
It's getting cold [D] on A.C. Hanks [A] One morning _ [B]
just for a day
[D] _ If I lose, let me lose _ [A] I don't care [B] how much I lose
_ [D] _
If I lose a hundred dollars [G] While I'm trying to win a dime
For [A] my baby she needs money [D] all the time _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ [N] _ _ _ Kenny, you're the great nephew of the great banjo player Charlie Poole.
What was important about Charlie's style of playing?
Well, he played in a three-finger style, a banjo thumb and two fingers,
at a time when most banjo players, at least a lot who were recording,
were making records playing claw hammer style banjo.
So Charlie brought a very distinctive three-finger style into old-time music.
But it was before bluegrass.
Yes, it sure was before bluegrass.
And he used a different tuning than bluegrass people use, by and large. _
He played in what's called low bass or C tuning,
you know, with a lot of bar chords and a lot of tremolos,
a lot of little ringing kind of runs he would make on the bottom string.
We might add that it predated bluegrass by about 20 years, 25 years.
It sure did.
Yeah, he even recorded records featuring twin fiddles with a banjo break in it,
something that, you know, was a forerunner of bluegrass by a good 20 or 25 years,
using twin fiddles and a banjo break as well.
Show us up close what that, what his style looked like.
Play us a little bit.
What was his most famous tune, Don't Let Your Deal Go Down?
Yeah, Don't Let Your Deal Go Down was his biggest seller.
It sold [F] 102,000 records _ when it came out in 1925.
And that was in an era when a good selling old time country record
sold somewhere between 5 and 20,000.
And this one sold 102,000.
And it was his big hit, yeah.
Don't Let Your Deal Go Down.
_ _ _ [D] _
_ _ _ _ [G] _ _ _ _
_ [C] _ _ _ _ _ [Fm] _ _
_ _ [E] _ [D] _ _ _ _ _
[G] _ _ _ _ _ [C] _ _ _
_ _ [F] _ _ _ _ [E] _ _
_ _ _ [A] _ _ _ _ _
[D] _ _ _ _ [G] _ _ _ _
_ [E] _ _ _ _ [A] _ _ _
_ _ [D] _ _ _ _ [G] _ _
_ _ [E] Now, where did you get [A] them high top shoes [D] and a dress that you wear so [G] fine?
_ [E] Well, I got my shoes [A] from a railroad man [D] and my dress from a [G] driver in the mine.
_ [E] Oh, honey, don't let your deal [A] go down. _
[D] Oh, don't let your deal [G] go down. _
Oh, [E] honey, don't let your [A] deal go down.
_ Till [D] that last good [G] dollar is gone.
_ _ [E] _ _ _ _
[A] _ _ _ _ _ [D] _ _ _
_ _ [G] _ _ _ _ [E] _ _
_ _ _ [A] _ _ _ _ [D] _
_ _ _ _ [G] _ _ _
[E] Well, last time I saw [A] that pretty little girl, she [D] was standing [G] in the door.
_ And she [E] put her arms [A] all around my neck saying, [D] honey, now don't [G] you go.
_ Oh, honey, [E] don't let your deal [A] go down.
_ _ [D] Oh, don't let your deal [G] go down.
_ Oh, [E] honey, don't let your deal [A] go down. _
[D] One last [A] good dollar is gone.
[G] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ [N] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
In the 1920s and 30s, Charlie Poole popularized a rhythmic finger style of banjo playing.
His many recordings made people want to try to learn to pick with three fingers.
Kenny Rohr is a descendant of Charlie Poole and carries on that old-time style with the
very banjo that Charlie Poole recorded with. _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [G] _ _
_ _ _ _ [D] _ _ _ [B] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [D] _ _
Now I can't walk and neither can I talk [G] Just getting back from the state of [D] old New [B] York
One morning _ [D] just for a day _ If I lose, _ let me lose
I [A] don't care _ [C#] how much [D] I lose _ If I lose a hundred dollars
While [G] I'm trying to win a dime [A] For my baby she needs [D] money all the time _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [G] _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [D] _ _ _ [A] _
_ _ [D] _ _ _ _ _
Now the blood was a running And I was running too
[G] To get my feet good exercise Had nothing [D] else to do
[A] One morning _ [E]
just [B] for a day [D] _ If I lose, let me lose
_ [A] I don't care _ [B] how much I lose [D] _
If I lose a hundred dollars
[G] While I'm trying to win a dime For [A] my baby she needs money all [D] the time _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [G] _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [D] _ _ [A] _ _
_ _ [B] _ [D] _ _ _ _
Now I see them gals are sitting at the tanks _ [G] Waiting to catch a freight train
It's getting cold [D] on A.C. Hanks [A] One morning _ [B]
just for a day
[D] _ If I lose, let me lose _ [A] I don't care [B] how much I lose
_ [D] _
If I lose a hundred dollars [G] While I'm trying to win a dime
For [A] my baby she needs money [D] all the time _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ [N] _ _ _ Kenny, you're the great nephew of the great banjo player Charlie Poole.
What was important about Charlie's style of playing?
Well, he played in a three-finger style, a banjo thumb and two fingers,
at a time when most banjo players, at least a lot who were recording,
were making records playing claw hammer style banjo.
So Charlie brought a very distinctive three-finger style into old-time music.
But it was before bluegrass.
Yes, it sure was before bluegrass.
And he used a different tuning than bluegrass people use, by and large. _
He played in what's called low bass or C tuning,
you know, with a lot of bar chords and a lot of tremolos,
a lot of little ringing kind of runs he would make on the bottom string.
We might add that it predated bluegrass by about 20 years, 25 years.
It sure did.
Yeah, he even recorded records featuring twin fiddles with a banjo break in it,
something that, you know, was a forerunner of bluegrass by a good 20 or 25 years,
using twin fiddles and a banjo break as well.
Show us up close what that, what his style looked like.
Play us a little bit.
What was his most famous tune, Don't Let Your Deal Go Down?
Yeah, Don't Let Your Deal Go Down was his biggest seller.
It sold [F] 102,000 records _ when it came out in 1925.
And that was in an era when a good selling old time country record
sold somewhere between 5 and 20,000.
And this one sold 102,000.
And it was his big hit, yeah.
Don't Let Your Deal Go Down.
_ _ _ [D] _
_ _ _ _ [G] _ _ _ _
_ [C] _ _ _ _ _ [Fm] _ _
_ _ [E] _ [D] _ _ _ _ _
[G] _ _ _ _ _ [C] _ _ _
_ _ [F] _ _ _ _ [E] _ _
_ _ _ [A] _ _ _ _ _
[D] _ _ _ _ [G] _ _ _ _
_ [E] _ _ _ _ [A] _ _ _
_ _ [D] _ _ _ _ [G] _ _
_ _ [E] Now, where did you get [A] them high top shoes [D] and a dress that you wear so [G] fine?
_ [E] Well, I got my shoes [A] from a railroad man [D] and my dress from a [G] driver in the mine.
_ [E] Oh, honey, don't let your deal [A] go down. _
[D] Oh, don't let your deal [G] go down. _
Oh, [E] honey, don't let your [A] deal go down.
_ Till [D] that last good [G] dollar is gone.
_ _ [E] _ _ _ _
[A] _ _ _ _ _ [D] _ _ _
_ _ [G] _ _ _ _ [E] _ _
_ _ _ [A] _ _ _ _ [D] _
_ _ _ _ [G] _ _ _
[E] Well, last time I saw [A] that pretty little girl, she [D] was standing [G] in the door.
_ And she [E] put her arms [A] all around my neck saying, [D] honey, now don't [G] you go.
_ Oh, honey, [E] don't let your deal [A] go down.
_ _ [D] Oh, don't let your deal [G] go down.
_ Oh, [E] honey, don't let your deal [A] go down. _
[D] One last [A] good dollar is gone.
[G] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ [N] _