Clarinet Polka

Spending his early years in Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas, fiddler Joe Dobbs was exposed a wide variety of musical styles, from Cajun to country, blues to bluegrass, pop to polka. Forty years ago when he came north and east and helped us form The Flood, Joe brought us a huge song bag. Here's one that was always popular with the sizable German population of Joe's old stomping grounds. And incidentally, this also is a substantial answer to anyone who thinks traditional fiddlers just want to plop down in plain D and stay there. "Clarinet Polka" makes three key changes each time through the melody.