Although one of my favorite things in the banjo world is to jam fiddle tunes all night (and I am blessed to be able to do that weekly with some awesome OT fiddlers & guitarists), I am still a huge fan of those banjo specific songs that are just fun to play; tunes like Oscar Wright's "Let Old Drunkard's Be"; Pete Steele's "Cold Creek March"; Hobart Smith's "Last Chance", Frank Proffitt's "Pretty Crowing Chicken" & of course Gaither Carlton's "Rambling Hobo" ("...it's always been a banjo tune..."), and while I am in no way, shape or form a singer, I find myself playing these tunes (the ones that have lyrics), and singing them...badly (more on that later).
For those who may not know (I'm sure everyone does...this is an OT forum after all), Mr. Clyde Davenport is an honest to God amazing, living, brilliant OT music legend; to me he is one of the most underrated and unrecognized banjo players out there (of course everyone is aware of his mastery of the fiddle...right? I sure hope so...), and his tune "Polecat's Den" is an absolute masterpiece of solo mountain banjo. Although polecat's in Europe are ferret related, Mr. Davenport's tune undoubtedly refers to the good ole American polecat...the skunk. This tune is rhythmically infectious, and a heck of a lot of fun to play, so this is my TOTW offering, a solo banjo tune, single source, no fiddlers companion history, no story or historical reference (although that is a major interest of the music for me, don't get me wrong), just straight Monticello Kentucky style OT clawhammer banjo. Mr. Davenport was very particular about the use of drop thumb in this tune, and it's a good one to DT to. It's also a good one to learn by ear. I play it in gCGCD, start off on the 1st string 3rd fret to the 1st string 2nd fret and them it's all hammer on's, drop thumbs and pull off's on the 2nd fret 1st, 2nd and 3rd strings...except for that 4th string slide and pull off/drop thumb...and watch out for the tune structure...it sounds crooked, but it comes back around, you'll hear that in the sections after the brush stroke...and at this time I would like to officially apologize for my singing (or lack thereof), this is my first recorded vocal and after listening to it more than likely my last... I highly recommend listening to (and seeing) Mr. Davenport play it on Bobby Fulcher's DVD "Shades of Clyde" available from County Sales (and Amazon etc.) to see how this tune should be played and sung...
http://www.countysales.com/products.php?product=CLYDE-DAVENPORT-%27Shades-Of-Clyde%27
I know of no other source for this tune, nor have I heard of another recorded version. For what it is worth, Mr. Davenport plays CH, 2 finger, 3 finger and any other way of playing banjo under the sun...his musicianship is astounding and he is truly an American musical treasure (and he is also a decorated WWII veteran). Mr. Davenport http://www.fieldrecorder.com/docs/notes/davenport.htm is one of the last of his kind, a musician who learned tunes from his father and others that date back to before the Civil War...if you are the least bit interested in OT music, well...you need to listen to his tunes and the way he approaches his music. I've included a mp3 of Clyde playing his version of "Sugar in the Gourd" on fiddle, an awesome tune no doubt, but if you really want to play OT music, please listen to what he says after he plays the tune (starting at the 0:40 mark)...I am in complete agreement with his expressions regarding the way this music should be approached and played...
Anyway, enough talk, here's my version of "Polecat's Den", complete with horrible vocals (if you can figure out the words to the second verse please let me know, I don't warble them here), hope you like this tune and for those of who who may not know about Mr. Clyde Davenport, I hope that you discover, listen to and enjoy this amazing man and his wonderful tunes...happy playing...
I went down to the polecat's den
Never been there before
Feed me out of an old slop jar
And I ain't going back no more
Ain't going back no more
Ain't going back no more
Poor boy, ain't going back no more