Notes on the Tunes

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13. Chadwell’s Station

This David R tune was made by a local musician, but offers no clue of when, and the founding of this station does not necessarily suggest the age of the tune. To further cloud the issue, the following words were written by A. Porter beneath the sheet music: “Chadwell’s Station is a small village located on Highway 58 about six miles east of Cumberland Gap, Lee County Virginia. A prominent family by name of Chadwell were pioneer settlers near the place which later took their name.” Why this is fully 7 miles from the probable site of the original station near Ewing, is curious. Anyway, given our introduction, is this tune inspired by that way-station-tavern, one of the last bastions of civilization before the Gateway to the West, through which thousands of people passed, thereby trading their familiar, settled existence for a life of unknown hardship and peril OR by a mere town with the same name?

Chris’ Hopf F#C#G#D# (GDAE) : Whitt’s Dobson c#F#C#FG#