This is a great banjo and vocal performance on a neat old modal tune. There are many different versions of this tune, with different lyrics, and, in some cases, substantially different music. The object of affection remains a girl from Danville. In this version, she is unobtainable, the protagonist a married man. In other versions, she’s the girl left behind by a travelling man.

Danvilles exist in Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, New Hampshire, California, Pennsylvania, Arkansas, Alabama, and Illinois. Illinois’ Danville was a significant railroad town, and a regional vaudeville hub.

Courtesy of Archive.org
Danville Girl (MP3)

Previous Dock Boggs posts:
Dock Boggs playing Pretty Polly
Dock Boggs playing Country Blues