Whiskey Before Breakfast: A Song History
"Whiskey Before Breakfast" is usually credited to Andy DeJarlis (1914–1975), a Métis fiddler and composer from near Winnipeg, Manitoba, who toured Manitoba, Saskatchewan and northern Ontario, saw some 25 of his LPs released on the London label, and appeared on Don Messer's Jubilee.[1][2] The credit may be less clear-cut than it looks. When DeJarlis printed the reel in his 1957 book Canadian Fiddle Tunes from Red River Valley, he was credited only with the arrangement, and the Traditional Tune Archive suggests his name probably became attached to the tune through that copyrighted arrangement, a common publishing practice with traditional melodies.[1]
William Michael Harnett, Still Life, oil on canvas, 1888. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Public domain (CC0). The painting is not connected to the tune.
Its deeper roots are uncertain. Several sources have noticed that the first strain resembles older tunes such as the "Liverpool Hornpipe" and the "Great Eastern Reel," and it has been suggested that the whole family may descend from the British "Speed the Plow."[1] Researcher Paul Gifford proposes that DeJarlis learned it from the father of Métis fiddler Teddy Boy Houle, and a story told about the two men has them playing through the night, well lubricated, until they finally passed out—a tale that fits the title nicely but should be taken as lore.[1]
Gifford also considers the reel a fairly recent arrival in the United States, where its popularity probably owes much to a Voyager Records LP by Texas fiddle champion Dick Barrett.[1] Norman Blake made it the title track of a Rounder album, and folksinger Mike Cross wrote lyrics for the melody, a song that caught on with bluegrass audiences.[1] Mountain dulcimer players will find it in Stephen Seifert's Join the Jam collection for DAD tuning.[3]
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