Doc Walsh playing in the Pines
In the Pines has long been a standard in Bluegrass and Old-Time country music, and has been performed and recorded by countless performers over the years, perhaps most notably by the Louvin Brothers on their seminal LP Tragic Songs of Life
The song is a fairly straightforward waltz, and generally uses commonplace interchangeable verses. The chorus and the most famous verses (”the longest train I ever saw”) are there, albeit in slightly different form.
In the Pines (MP3)
Courtesy of Juneberry78s.com. Please consider purchasing one of their CD-R or DVD-R compilations of old-time 78s and radio shows.
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I believe the correct spelling is “Dock” rather than “Doc” Walsh. Dock Boggs and Dock Reed also spelled their names that way. I assume it’s a nick name (Bogg’s was for sure) but don’t know the derivation. Dock Boggs worked in the coal mines, for instance, and not on the docks. There don’t seem to be a lot of Walsh’s songs floating around, so thanks.
Comment by Donn Paris — 8/19/2008 @ 6:22 pm
Donn–
You are probably correct. Tony Russell’s discography of prewar country music lists three sessions by Walsh. For two of the sessions (both for Columbia), he’s listed as “Dock”, for the third (Victor), he’s listed as “Doc”. Russell notes that “Dock” Walsh was a member of the Carolina Tar Heels and the Pine Mountain Boys, and made additional recordings after 1942.
Comment by Kenneth Rainey — 8/19/2008 @ 6:42 pm