BARNEY, BRING YOUR BANJO
By
In the southern mountains of the United States a tune is treated with affection and respect. Even little Barney recognizes the importance of a tune, the valor of being able to strum a ditty on his banjo. Barney's pursuit of There Was An Old Woman is elaborated into a story, rich in detail of mountain life, in which May Justus, author of The Other Side of the Mountain, unobtrusively introduces the stages through which a song collector would go in piecing together a traditional balled.