"The Devil's Dream" is an old fiddle tune of unknown origins. Played as either a
jig
The jig (, ) is a form of lively folk dance in compound metre, as well as the accompanying dance tune. It first gained popularity in 16th-century England, Ireland, Scotland, and other parts of the British Isles, and was adopted on mainland Eu ...
or a
reel
A reel is a tool used to store elongated and flexible objects (e.g. yarns/ cords, ribbons, cables, hoses, etc.) by wrapping the material around a cylindrical core known as a '' spool''. Many reels also have flanges (known as the ''rims'') arou ...
, it is attested to as a popular tune from at least 1834 in
New England
New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...
. It also appears in a folk tale from central
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
dated to c. 1805.
''The Devil's Dream'' is, and has been since its introduction, a popular tune with fiddlers and dancers and has been recorded numerous times.
Recordings
The earliest known recordings of the tune include records by John Witzmann (in 1906 with the Victor Dance Orchestra and again in 1920), Harold Veo (1917), George Stehl (1920), William B. Houchens (February 1923),
Jasper Bisbee
Jasper E. "Jep" Bisbee (29 July 1843 – 10 August 1935) was an American old-time musician. He was one of the few oldtime musicians who recorded for Edison Records
Edison Records was one of the early record labels that pioneered sound recordi ...
(November 1923) and Tommy Dandurand (March 1927).
Pop culture
It is used by
Bernard Herrmann
Bernard Herrmann (born Maximillian Herman; June 29, 1911December 24, 1975) was an American composer and conductor best known for his work in film scoring. As a conductor, he championed the music of lesser-known composers. He is widely regarde ...
as one of the principal themes in the film score to the movie ''
The Devil and Daniel Webster
"The Devil and Daniel Webster" (1936) is a short story by American writer Stephen Vincent Benét. He tells of a New Hampshire farmer who sells his soul to the devil and is later defended by a fictionalized Daniel Webster, a noted 19th-century A ...
'' to represent the plight of the New Hampshire farmers.
Mentioned in
Michael Martin Murphey
Michael Martin Murphey (born March 14, 1945) is an American singer-songwriter. He was one of the founding artists of progressive country. A multiple Grammy nominee, Murphey has six gold albums, including ''Cowboy Songs (Michael Martin Murphey alb ...
's song ''
Cherokee Fiddle'', popularized by Johnny Lee (singer), Johnny Lee. The song was also featured on the consonant sound animated insert on ''Sesame Street'' that featured an animated violinist playing the song on a violin until the violinist's violin strings broke. Pa from ''Little House on the Prairie'' plays the song on the fiddle in the first book of the series, ''Little House in the Big Woods''.
It is used in the film ''12 Years a Slave (film), 12 Years a Slave'' in the opening scenes, played by the character Solomon Northup during a small gathering of white individuals dancing. It was played by Tim Fain, an accomplished violinist who co-arranged the soundtrack for the movie.
Appears in the film ''Rosemary's Baby (film), Rosemary's Baby'' (1968) on a television showing a Western film's barroom brawl.
See also
* Quebec fiddle
References
Bibliography
*Allies, Jabez. ''On the Ignis Fatusus: Or Will-O'-The-Wisp, and the Fairies''. London: Simpkin, Marshall, and Co. (1846).
*Gilman, S. (A Member). ''Memoirs of a New England Village Choir with Occasional Reflections''. Boston: Benjamin H. Greene (1834).
External links
"The Devil's Dream", score and midimdas
''Scotty the Fiddler''The Hillbilly Gypsies - "Devil's Dream"mdash;YouTube.
Jasper Bisbee - Edison 51382 - "The Devils Dream Reel" - 1923mdash;YouTube.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Devil's Dream, The
American folk songs
Bluegrass songs
Celtic music
Fiddle music
Irish songs
Scottish songs
19th-century songs
Year of song unknown
Songs with unknown songwriters
Songs of the American Civil War