Parallel Anthology Track 12

Track 12: The Carolina Tar Heels - Peg and Awl  Victor 40007-A; Recorded in Atlanta, Georgia, 14.10.1928

Record label does not assign authorship. Nor does either Anthology booklet, www.78discography.com or victor.library.ucsb.edu.

The Where Dead Voices Gather blog states, "The song's lyrics place this song in the early 19th century, during the period of the British Industrial Revolution. […] One possibility is that 'Peg and Awl' might have descended from an earlier song written in the early 1800s. During the 1840s and '50s, when cobblers were suddenly finding their livelihood threatened by - among other things - Elias Howe's invention of the sewing machine in 1846, some musician may have substituted shoe making for an earlier industry. Nevertheless, the song has survived in its present form since the mid-19th century, at least."

The Roud Folksong Index classifies this song as a version of Roud 4619, and also lists a prior recording (from 1925) by Kelly Harrell.

There are therefore good grounds for treating this composition as public domain.

Parallel anthology main index page

Alternative Versions
Peg and Awl by Pete Seeger   album released in 1957: Spotify   Liner notes for this album date this song to 1801-1804 and make no claim to arrangement credit for Seeger.

Peg and Awl by Kelly Harrell   from album Kelly Harrell vol 1: 1925-1926: Spotify   Unable to find liner notes for this album, but this is a very similar arrangement to the (later) Tar Heels version on the Anthology.