Clawhammer Tune of the Week: “Shove that Pigs Foot a Little Further into the Fire”

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So often there’s more than meets the eye when it comes to old-time music.

“Shove that pigs foot a little further into the fire?” Surely that’s a song about a thrifty pit master trying to ensure an extra crispy skin, you think.

You’d be wrong.

Or maybe you’ve heard the oft-cited explanation that this tune is actually about a blacksmithing tool (a “pig’s foot”) that’s used to thrust a bit of “pig iron” into a fire.

You’d be wrong again.

A bit of extra digging reveals that the title is based on an old slave folktale:

“This song derives from an old slave folktale which later became a chant and finally a tune. The story goes like this. A slave had just stolen from his master’s larder a shoat (in other variants just its haunch) and had hidden the meat beneath his bed sheets (again in other variants it was hidden under the bed itself). The slave was in his cabin telling his wife of his prize when the master, along with a friend, appeared in the door of the slave’s cabin, requesting that the slave demonstrate his fine skill on the fiddle. Aware that the pig’s foot was exposed and its discovery, which appeared imminent, would cost him a whipping or worse, the slave quickly took down his fiddle and began to play and sing:

Shove that pig’s foot further in the bed
Further in the bed
Further in the bed
Shove that pig’s foot further in the bed
Katie, Katie, Katie, can’t you hear me now

The master and his friend watched the performance with glee while his wife Katie heard the message (hidden in plain sight) and covertly slid the pig’s leg beneath the bedsheets. At the end of the song the master exclaimed, “well, there’s a song I’ve never heard before!” and he and his friend gave the fiddler a short round of applause before making their exit.”

How it then morphed from “further in the bed” to “further in the fire” is a matter of speculation (read some of that speculation here).

The first known recording of it is by fiddler Marcus Martin, who learned it from his father (under its current name).

If you want to confuse yourself even further, then remember that this tune was also recorded for the “Cold Mountain” soundtrack, but renamed to “Ruby with the Eyes that Sparkle.”

Exhausting, isn’t it? Fortunately, you needn’t know any of this esoterica to play this great tune!

Shove That Pigs Foot A Little Further Into The Fire

gDGBD tuning, Brainjo level 3

Notes on the tab: 

Notes in parentheses are “skip” notes. To learn more about these, check out my video lesson on the subject.

For more on reading tabs in general, check out this complete guide to reading banjo tabs.

Level 2 arrangements and video demos for the Tune (and Song!) of the Week tunes are now available as part of the Breakthrough Banjo course. Learn more about it here.