Click for Pony Express tab for Banjo

Keep on the Sunny Side: A Tab for Mandolin

Arranged by John Baldry

Keep On The Sunny Side is one of the the Carter Family's best known songs. It was first recorded back in 1927, the year the Carter Family were discovered by Ralph Peer, and it has become an evergreen with both old-time and bluegrass musicians. Sunny Side was one of the first old time country songs I became aware of during the folk music boom in the 1960s, and Chris Moreton also learned it as a teenager, from the original 1927 recording re-released on a country music miscellany LP. The first time Chris and I had a session together, in 1974, we did Keep On The Sunny Side and we've been playing it ever since.

You have to be a bit careful when treating old time songs in bluegrass syle, lest the original, often fragile, charm is lost amid a welter of hot banjo licks and swirling fiddle backup. The best rule is to keep it simple and concentrate on the rhythm. A now-classic example of interpretation of old time songs by bluegrass musicians is the Skaggs and Rice LP (now available again on CD). Ricky Skaggs and Tony Rice could have played any hot licks they chose, but discretion was the order of the day. Simple but subtly interesting instrumental breaks on mandolin and guitar set off the beautiful duet singing and resulted in one of those virtually perfect recordings which should be in everyone's collection. (Is it bluegrass? I don't really care - the Johnson Mountain Boys used to include songs in this style in their stage set, like Dudley Connell and David McLaughlin's duet on Rambling Letters, which itself originated with the Stanley Brothers.)

The mandolin break I've tabbed here for Keep On The Sunny Side is close to the melody of the verse. There are a few extra embellishments to create interest but I hope they are in keeping with the original Carter Family song. The speed of the 1927 recording was around 114 bpm (half-note/minim beat), a medium pace which suits the song well (not to fast!).

You can find the original recording of Keep On The Sunny Side on various re-issue CDs, including those on the Rounder label. In the post-Christmas sale at HMV I picked up a Pulse label Carter Family reissue for £1.99 which included Sunny Side. You can also hear Maybelle Carter performing Keep On The Sunny Side on the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's original Will The Circle Be Unbroken recording from the 1970s (also available again on a budget priced double CD - at around £11 this is another one that should be in everyone's collection). On this recording Maybelle takes the song rather more slowly, and announces that she will do it in B flat, to fit in with the autoharp. On the 1927 recording she is playing guitar, with Sara Carter singing lead and playing the autoharp as a rhythm instrument. I guess they were nominally in B flat on this recording, though the playback key is closer to B natural. The autoharp was probably tuned higher than standard concert pitch in the 1927 session, though the recording speed could be suspect - one of those great unknowns when you are dealing with vintage recordings! Also, was Maybelle Carter playing guitar in C position, with the guitar tuned down? Someone out there probably has the answer, so please let us know at NWBN!

Chris Moreton has always performed Keep On The Sunny Side in the key of G, a good key for the male voice, so the mandolin break here is in that key.

John Baldry, Crawley, Sussex. Read about John

This is the first mando tab I've written for NWBN in the MusEdit program. You will need to download and install the free MusEdit Viewer from http://www.btinternet.com/~john.baldry/mando/musedit/meview_z.exe in order to open the file, view it and play back through MIDI on your computer. There is also a free demo version of the full MusEdit program downloadable from http://www.musedit.com/med/Download.htm MusEdit allows more display options than TabRite, which makes it more mando-friendly (e.g. I can now put in grace notes and tremolo). Unfortunately MusEdit is written for PC only, so I have also set up the tab in .gif format at http://www.btinternet.com/~john.baldry/mando/tabgif/keepon/keepon.html , where it can be viewed on any platform.

You can get the words of Keep On The Sunny Side at http://www.ibluegrass.com/davidbridges/Messages/Keep_on_the_Sunny_Side/keep_on_the_sunny_side.html There is also a good Carter Family discography page with links at http://www.slipcue.com/music/country/countryartists/carterfamily.html

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Chris and daughter Jessica Mae (8) playing
Bile 'em Cabbage Down

"Pony Express? Nope, never heard of it," is the typical response you'll get when asking fellow jammers if they've ever heard of this tune. However, once you play it for them, most will recognize it immediately, though they will most likely have difficulty trying to recall just where they heard it! Give up? The song is on the soundtrack album to the movie Deliverance. I consider it a very important tune, personally, as it is one of the many songs on that album that influenced my decision to begin playing the banjo. If you do not have the album it is still available on CD (CDNOW.com has it) and I highly recommend it to all bluegrass banjo enthusiasts - a true classic.

It wasn't until recently, however, that I discovered a very interesting fact about the soundtrack album. In my spare time, I browse antique and junk shops looking for 78 and 45 rpm records. While browsing, I came across a 33 rpm LP titled New Dimensions in Banjo & Bluegrass by Eric Weissberg, Marshall Brickman & Company; the 'company' is Gordon Terry, Clarence White.

Looking at the list of songs it was obvious that this was in fact the same album as the soundtrack to Deliverance. With the exception of two songs - which were removed to make room for Duelling Banjos. A friend later informed me that the New Dimensions album was recorded in the early to mid-1960's, well before the 1972 release of the Deliverance album. I was, needless to say, very happy to add the New Dimensions album to my collection!

Meanwhile, back to the tab . . .

It wasn't until a few years ago that I sat down and worked out the details of Pony Express. It is a Scruggs style tune that just barely brushes the edge of the melodic style. There are really no 'true' melodic passages in the tab, in my opinion. In fact, you'll see a recurring roll pattern in the 'B' part which is typically non-existent in melodic playing.

When you first hear the song you'll probably be intimidated by the 'B' part, as I was. After all, just look at that chord progression! No bother, as it is actually much easier that it sounds. Pay close attention to the chord progression of the 'B' part and think in those terms. Think of the fingerings necessary to make the chord formation in the area of the fingerboard at which you are fretting the notes. Think in terms of the chord formations and you'll find it is much easier to walk down the fingerboard. And don't get hung up by using the full chord formation - use only those fingers necessary to fret the notes!

The 'A' part is very straightforward. However the final 'D' lick is an interesting ditty that may take some practice. Above all, don't play it too fast! It is not a fast tune - play it at a moderate speed and it'll jump right out at you! Have fun and send me your comments.

Chris Athey, Ashburn, Virginia, USA.