Two Little Hoboes
Two Little Hoboes is a common figure in Ozark square dancing. Here it's called by L.D. Keller, with fiddling by Tommy Jackson. We include the introduction and the first time through the dance, an excerpt from do-si-do: Square Dances with Calls, an album released in 1959. The full album (and many other Tommy Jackson square dance recordings, with or without calls) is available here on the Internet Archive.
You can see a little of that Two Little Hoboes figure being danced by the group wearing red shirts in this clip. For a series of items related to Ozark music and dancing, follow this link.
L. D. Keller achieved national fame when his Lake of the Ozarks Square Dancers appeared on the Ted Mack Amateur Hour in 1953; after this, the group appeared frequently as the Grand Old Opry Square Dancers.
Tommy Jackson was an influential fiddler in country music, dubbed "the king of 1950s fiddlers." He appeared with such diverse artists as Hank Williams, Red Foley, Bill Monroe, Ray Price, and George Jones; his fiddle albums (sometimes just instrumentals, sometimes with calls) helped fuel the burgeoning square dance movement of that era.
Unfortunately, the directions on the back of the album provide incorrect information. Here is a correct listing of the tunes and dances:
Tune – Dance
Side 1
1 Arkansas Traveler - Shoot the Owl
2 Mississippi Sawyer – Figure Eight
3 Bile Dem Cabbage Down – Dip and Dive
4 Sally Ann – Texas Star
Side 2
5 Liberty (aka Reel de Ti-Jean) – Down the Center and Divide the Ring
6 Soldier's Joy – Arkansas Traveler
7 Bill Cheatham – Bird in the Cage and Seven Hands Round
8 Devil's Dream – Two Little Hoboes
Directions for Two Little Hoboes, from the liner notes:
Two Little Hoboes
“First old couple bow and swing, and lead right out to the right of the ring, and circle four.”
Couple #1 leads to couple #2 and circles four. |
“Leave that lady where she be, go on to the next and circle three.”
After circling once around with couple #2, the #1 gent leaves his lady with couple #2. They form a line of three. Then #1 gent goes alone to couple #3 to do a circle of three.
“Swing that girl in the middle of the floor.”
Swing #3 lady.
“Go on to the next and circle four, once around and you leave the floor.”
#1 gent takes #3 lady as his partner and goes to couple #4. After circling once around, he leaves #3 lady standing in a line of three with couple #4 and returns to his home position.
“Now six to the center and back away, two little hoboes half sashay.”
The two lines of three walk forward three steps and back to place. The two lone gents walk forward to the center, pass right shoulders, back to back around each other and then step to their original positions.
“Six fan out across the hall, two little hoboes scale the wall.”
The lines of three veer to the right to change sides with each other. The head gents change places.
“Six to the center and back away, two little hoboes sashay, six fan out across the hall, and two lone hoboes scale the wall.”
Tags: L. D. Keller, Ozark, Tommy Jackson, Two Little Hoboes
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You can see a little of that Two Little Hoboes figure being danced by the group wearing red shirts in this clip. For a series of items related to Ozark music and dancing, follow this link.
L. D. Keller achieved national fame when his Lake of the Ozarks Square Dancers appeared on the Ted Mack Amateur Hour in 1953; after this, the group appeared frequently as the Grand Old Opry Square Dancers.
Tommy Jackson was an influential fiddler in country music, dubbed "the king of 1950s fiddlers." He appeared with such diverse artists as Hank Williams, Red Foley, Bill Monroe, Ray Price, and George Jones; his fiddle albums (sometimes just instrumentals, sometimes with calls) helped fuel the burgeoning square dance movement of that era.
Unfortunately, the directions on the back of the album provide incorrect information. Here is a correct listing of the tunes and dances:
Tune – Dance
Side 1
1 Arkansas Traveler - Shoot the Owl
2 Mississippi Sawyer – Figure Eight
3 Bile Dem Cabbage Down – Dip and Dive
4 Sally Ann – Texas Star
Side 2
5 Liberty (aka Reel de Ti-Jean) – Down the Center and Divide the Ring
6 Soldier's Joy – Arkansas Traveler
7 Bill Cheatham – Bird in the Cage and Seven Hands Round
8 Devil's Dream – Two Little Hoboes
Directions for Two Little Hoboes, from the liner notes:
Two Little Hoboes
“First old couple bow and swing, and lead right out to the right of the ring, and circle four.”
Couple #1 leads to couple #2 and circles four. |
“Leave that lady where she be, go on to the next and circle three.”
After circling once around with couple #2, the #1 gent leaves his lady with couple #2. They form a line of three. Then #1 gent goes alone to couple #3 to do a circle of three.
“Swing that girl in the middle of the floor.”
Swing #3 lady.
“Go on to the next and circle four, once around and you leave the floor.”
#1 gent takes #3 lady as his partner and goes to couple #4. After circling once around, he leaves #3 lady standing in a line of three with couple #4 and returns to his home position.
“Now six to the center and back away, two little hoboes half sashay.”
The two lines of three walk forward three steps and back to place. The two lone gents walk forward to the center, pass right shoulders, back to back around each other and then step to their original positions.
“Six fan out across the hall, two little hoboes scale the wall.”
The lines of three veer to the right to change sides with each other. The head gents change places.
“Six to the center and back away, two little hoboes sashay, six fan out across the hall, and two lone hoboes scale the wall.”