Pitch Burgundy Plaster

Fretless minstrel banjo with guitar and percussion, from 1855.

The bass drum is a synth, unfortunately, and fuels my impractical desire to get hold of a beat-up old drum to use for this stuff.

The title refers to the use of burgundy pitch as a medicinal plaster. I haven't found this title outside of the Briggs' book of 1855, but there are lyrics floating around that definitely fit the tune, if you imagine the chorus starting with that funky blue note in the 9th measure:

Aunt Jemima's Plaster (Despite what you would assume from the title and general context, these lyrics are actually not racist at all, and pretty funny)

Sheep-skin and bees wax made this awful plaster,
The more you try to get it off, the more it sticks the faster ;
Sheep-skin and bees wax made this awful plaster,
The more you try to get it off, the more it sticks the faster.

Another variant called "Aunt Phoebe's Sticking Plaster" had the chorus:

Sheep Skin, beeswax,
Burgundy pitch and tar.
Devil couldn't pull it off
When you put it there.

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posted by usonian (2 comments total)

(Followup warning: Link contains a comment that does have lyrics in the typically awful racist pastiche typical of a lot of this music; and is on a site that in general discusses this music and its cultural implications and legacy frankly.)
posted by usonian at 6:17 AM on April 12, 2014

Typically typical.
posted by usonian at 7:06 AM on April 12, 2014