Plum Wore Out: A Song History

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"Plum Wore Out" opens DulciFlute 2, the second book of mountain dulcimer and Native American flute duets from John Keane and Karen Keane, published by Fingers Of Steel.[1] The listing presents the book's fourteen pieces as original music written for the two instruments to play together, delivered as a 25-page PDF with a separate file for each tune and 28 MP3 tracks.[1] No single Keane is credited with this tune or any other in the book, so the listing does not settle its authorship.[1] John and Karen, who hail from Shreveport, Louisiana, both took music education degrees at Northeast Louisiana University (known today as the University of Louisiana-Monroe), and their range takes in Louisiana traditional music, folk, bluegrass, humorous novelties and Mississippi Delta blues alongside several books and CDs of their own dulcimer and flute music.[2][3] The sources consulted here give no explanation of the title.[1][2][3]

Ink painting of a bare plum branch with white blossoms on a hanging scroll

Ogata Kōrin, Plum Tree, hanging scroll, ink on silk, c. 1700. Plum blossoms rather than anything worn out, shown in fun; it has no connection to the tune.

Our book that contains the song "Plum Wore Out"

Sources

  1. Fingers Of Steel: "John Keane And Karen Keane, DulciFlute 2".
  2. DulcimerDownloads: "John Keane".
  3. DulcimerDownloads: "Karen Keane".
  4. Image: Ogata Kōrin, Plum Tree, hanging scroll, ink on silk, c. 1700. The Cleveland Museum of Art.

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