Arkansas Traveler
Traditional
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Now more commonly written as "The Arkansas Traveler". According to the Arkansas Historic Museum, the composer of this tune is unknown and it is possibly of folk origin.
It was published circa 1850. While several sources credit Stanford Faulkner as the composer of the tune, others cite a contemporary, fiddler Joe (or Jose) Tasso, as the composer. According to Arkansas Historic Museum Faulkner and others arranged the music for themselves but probably did not write it.
A newspaper article from 1887 reported that Faulkner first heard the tune in 1837 when he worked on a steamship on the Arkansas River. It was played by a passenger, Waller Wright, and Faulkner persuaded Wright to teach him the tune.
Earlier versions often have an accompanying comic dialogue but no lyrics. - Licensing
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