Cutting At The Point: A Song History

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"Cutting at the Point," usually spelled "Cuttin' at the Point," is traced in the sources consulted here to Kentucky fiddler Charlie Wilson (1906–1964). He was born near Stepstone in Bath County and later lived in Mt. Sterling.[1] Wilson recorded the tune for Gennett in 1932.[1][2] According to a Discogs entry, the session took place in Richmond, Indiana, on October 19, 1932. Roy Hobbs played guitar and Asa Martin called dance figures over the fiddle, and the side was issued on Champion and on Montgomery Ward 8065, backed with "Shelven Rock."[3] The Traditional Tune Archive also names Hobbs and Martin, and the band appears in listings both as "His Hayloft Boys" and as "His Hillbillies."[1][4]

1940 photograph of couples swinging at a square dance during a school pie supper in eastern Kentucky

Marion Post Wolcott, “County superintendent at square dance party during school pie supper near Jackson, Kentucky,” photograph, September 1940. Library of Congress. No known restrictions.

The title's meaning remains a matter of guesswork: proposed explanations range from carpentry, road work and timber cutting to an earlier "Cuttin' at the Pint," that is, sipping whiskey.[1] In Trimble, Henry and Carroll Counties in central Kentucky, the same tune has been played under a homier name, "Knock Around the Kitchen 'Til the Cook Comes In."[1] Wilson's record has been reissued in collections of Kentucky string bands on the Morning Star label and on Yazoo's Kentucky Mountain Music.[1][5][2] It is a G-major breakdown printed in fiddle collections such as Stacy Phillips's Traditional American Fiddle Tunes.[1][2] SecondHandSongs lists later recordings by revival players including Bob Carlin and the Volo Bogtrotters,[4] and it appears in Stephen Seifert's mountain dulcimer collection Join the Jam II.[6]

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Sources

  1. The Traditional Tune Archive: "Annotation:Cuttin' at the Point".
  2. Slippery-Hill: "Cuttin' At The Point".
  3. Discogs: "Charlie Wilson And His Hayloft Boys – Shelven Rock / Cuttin' At The Point".
  4. SecondHandSongs: "Cuttin' at the Point".
  5. Long Playing Records: "Old-Time Fiddle Band Music From Kentucky".
  6. Stephen Seifert: "Join the Jam II".