Liberty: A Song History

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"Liberty" is a breakdown in D, usually played with two repeated parts. It is widely known in the United States and is played in both old-time and bluegrass circles.[1] Its documented history is surprisingly short. According to the Traditional Tune Archive, the first recording of the tune was made by Texas fiddler Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys and released by Columbia in 1947. Where Wills learned it is not known. He took some of his repertoire from his father, but the idea that "Liberty" was an older Wills family tune is only speculation.[1] The sources consulted give no reliable explanation of the title, and none of them links the tune to the American Revolution. Nor was it named for Liberty Records: Wills did sign with that label, but not until 1959, long after he had recorded the tune.[1]

Photograph of the Liberty Bell on its wooden yoke and stand inside Independence Hall, about 1901

Detroit Publishing Co., Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Philadelphia, Pa., photograph, c. 1901. Library of Congress. No known restrictions on publication. The sources consulted show no link between the tune’s name and the bell.

The name causes some confusion with older recordings. Fiddlin' John Carson recorded a tune called "Liberty" in 1925. Gid Tanner's Skillet Lickers put one into their recorded comedy skit "Liberty off a Corn Liquor Still," and the Tweedy Brothers and Herschel Brown also recorded tunes by that name in 1928. All of these are different melodies from the D-major tune.[1] The tune Carson and the Skillet Lickers played is a G-major reel, sometimes called "Old Liberty" to tell the two apart.[2] Later records helped carry the D-major tune further. Fiddler Tommy Jackson's 1954 record for Dot may have helped spread it among fiddlers in the United States. In Canada, Don Messer recorded it in 1953 as "Liberty Two-Step," and Bob Hills & his Canadian Playboys recorded it in 1955 as "Reel de Tí-Jean." Both versions were influential there.[1]

Today "Liberty" is one of the first tunes many old-time fiddlers learn. It has been a standard beginner's piece for decades, especially among Ozark fiddlers. Paul Tyler, as cited by the Traditional Tune Archive, observes that it seems to be the breakdown Cajun fiddlers choose when asked to play one.[1] Missouri fiddler Charlie Walden includes it on his list of 100 essential Missouri fiddle tunes.[3] It appears among the old-time jam tunes in D on the Midwest Banjo Camp's list of popular jamming tunes,[4] and Jack Tuttle uses it as a teaching piece in his Bluegrass Fiddle Primer.[5] Dulcimer players will find it familiar as well. A dulcimer player is briefly seen and heard playing the melody in Martin Scorsese's film Gangs of New York (2002),[1] and Stephen Seifert includes it in his mountain dulcimer jam book Join the Jam.[6]

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Sources

  1. The Traditional Tune Archive: "Annotation:Liberty (1)".
  2. The Traditional Tune Archive: "Annotation:Liberty (2)".
  3. Charlie Walden: "100 Essential Missouri Fiddle Tunes".
  4. Midwest Banjo Camp: "List of Popular Jamming Tunes".
  5. Jack Tuttle: "Bluegrass Fiddle Primer".
  6. Stephen Seifert: "Join the Jam DAD Tuning".