Can someone tell me where this riff comes from ..?

I thought it was Hank Williams’ “Settin’ the woods on fire” but it appears
it isn’t (unless it’s a version i couldn’t find). It’s a country/honky-tonk thing.

Here’s a hastily cobbled together rendition to give you an idea of the tune.

Ugh. Well, there’s definitely a fairly recent song that uses that riff and it’s killing me that I can’t think of it.

OK, it’s pretty much the same riff as the one from Wedding Day by UB-40:

Have they ever done an original song? That’s probably a cover.

ETA:

Both similar - thanks ! - but not the one i’m thinking of.
It was a country thing, guitars, violins etc , in this sort of style -

Oh well. The Wedding Day songs were the only bells that the riff rang for me.

But it really sounds closer to a horn riff, like in the UB 40 example, than a guitar country thing. There’s some ska in it.

ETA: I don’t think it’s a Hank Williams song, at least not one of his most famous ones like from his “40 Greatest Hits”. But Hank recorded an impressive number of songs in his short career and I haven’t heard all of them (though I got his complete recordings as mp3s), so of course it’s possible that he recorded such a song or else that it’s some other country song by another artist.

That sequencer bit is just to give an idea of the tune. The online sequencer
doesn’t have many authentic sounding instruments ! The “sound” is more like
the Hank Williams song i linked to above.

I understand that, but for me the mere melody sounds rather like ska than like a typical country tune.

Hmm, yes i can see what you mean - i should have left off the drums & bass
parts. Any way, the tune is the main bit, and the sound/feel is more like this :

How close is this?

j

Not much tbh, but thanks !
The one i’m looking for is a bit more modern (50s maybe) & more up-tempo,
with the riff from the link in the OP played on country style fiddles.

You are right that the general pattern follows the first 2 lines of the 4 line verse in
Setting the Woods on Fire.
“Comb your hair and paint and powder. You laugh loud and I’ll laugh louder.” (Tomorrow I’ll be right back plowin’! Heh!). First line is on the 1 chord, 2d on the 4. Should be followed by a line on the 5, then another resolving to the 1. (This is a song I regularly lead in our regular jams.)

You’ve included a lot of embellishments/passing notes. That creates a possible issue w/ many fiddle lines, b/c try to find any 2 fiddlers who play a line exactly the same.

Are you saying you have in mind a version of a song that has that same pattern, but with fiddles playing the lead? I’ll see what percolates up through the brain, but there are just SO MANY versions of SO MANY of these older tunes, it strikes me as a challenging task.

That tune in the sequencer is the exact riff* i’m thinking of.
It’s played on violins/fiddles and has standard country band (a la Hank Williams)
backing.
It’s more of the introduction/bridge to the song - not the main tune of the song itself.
The riff plays at the start, then there’s verse/chorus then then riff again - usual
country song format.

*From an online dictionary :-

(riff : a short repeated phrase in popular music and jazz, typically used as an introduction or refrain in a song.)

Sorry I couldn’t help. Good luck.

You might try listening to some Bob Wills.

I’m not getting a Hank Williams vibe off that. It sounds more like it would be from an old black and white dance/musical movie.

I hear he’s still the King.

Maybe Hank Thompson. Let’s Get Drunk And Be Somebody

It’s not that, but that’s the right style and sound.
Thanks !