Slumberin' On The Cumberland
John Hartford, Pat Burton, & Benny Martin

Side 1

• Slumberin' On The Cumberland
  • 4:44
  • (Martin/Hartford) Sung by the same
• Greenback Dollar / Careless Love
  • 2:57
  • (Traditional) Sung by the same as above
• Love In Vain
  • 3:16
  • (Robert Johnson) Sung by Hartford
• If I Can Stay Away Long Enough
  • 2:55
  • (Martin) Sung by Hartford
• Hillman
  • 2:15
  • (Martin) Sung by Martin

• Southern Moon
  • 3:11
  • (Delmore Bros.) Sung by Hartford
• I Can Read Between The Lines In Your Letters
  • 2:15
  • (Martin) Sung by Martin & Hartford, who used to sing this in his formative days in the honky tonks of St. Louis
• Blue Writin' On White Paper
  • 3:15
  • (Martin) Sung by Martin and written at the same time he wrote the previous song
• First Fall Of Snow
  • 3:13
  • (Burton) Sung by Burton
• Fiddle Faddle
  • 2:06
  • (Burton) Also sung by Burton, who knows fiddling
• Go Fall Asleep Now
  • 3:50
  • (Hartford) Sung by same

Liner Notes

The first time Benny and Vera came over here, Benny took one look at how close we were to the River and said "Man, this is Slumberin' on the Cumberland"
"That sounds like a song title," we suggested.
And so that night we picked and sang around on it, but, not until we'd all gone home and slumbered on the idea and reworked it the following morning on the telephone did it come together as "Slumberin' On The Cumberland"

It just so happened that we were gettin' ready to go in the studio anyway the following Monday with Pat Burton, so, we added it to our already swollen song bag.
Pat, after dropping his mother off in Kentucky with relatives, came down on Saturday afternoon. We picked and went out on the Cumberland in the canoe. That night, Benny and Vera came back and we picked some more. Sunday morning, Mike Melford showed up with J.D. Sloan and we got it all together, figured out what to sing, what order to take the breaks, how many extra choruses to do and when to do what song on which session. J.D. took some pictures and it was decided that Pat should take the fiddle break on "Fiddle Faddle."

Late Sunday afternoon we were joined by Roy, Lisa & Ruth Husky, Buddy & Peggy Emmons and Sam & Kathy Bush. Marie cooked up some ham, black-eyed peas, vegetables soup, chili, potatoe salad and chocalate cake.

We picked while the sun went down and ran over everything. I wish we'd taped it cause some really neat things went down. . . but that's the way it goes. . .hinsight. . . Later on... we went for a midnight canoe ride.

Monday at the good old Sound Shop, we were joined by Henry, Larrie &Pig and it all took form real fast.

This is the seventh album I've done with Mike Melford, during that time he got married, had a little girl and put himself through law school.

Buddy Emmons played the steel guitar and the dobro, Sam Bush the mandolin, Roy Husky Jr., the upright bass, Henry Strzelecki, the electric bass, Hargus "Pig" Robbins, the piano, Larrie London, the drums, Pat Burton, the rhythm guitar, Benny Martin, the fiddle & the ukulele and this write, the five string banjo.

Mike Melford produced this album, Rich Adler engineered, and Terri Bowin assisted.

Pat Burton has now put the Urbana Mountains on the map, Benny Martin has definitly put the ukulele into "bluegrass" or "pickin'" music or whatever you want to call it & Marie Barrett puts love in everything she does . . .Yes

Slumberin' On The Cumberland

Nashville ~ Hollywood

Direction: Keith Case
Stone County, Indian Hills, Colo.

FF-095
Released: 1979

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