# Can someone tell me where this riff comes from ..? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [October 4, 2022, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-tell-me-where-this-riff-comes-from/972687 "2022-10-04T11:29:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2022, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-tell-me-where-this-riff-comes-from/972687/1 "2022-10-04T11:29:40Z")
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. > **[Hank Williams Type thing](https://onlinesequencer.net/3006541)** > > OnlineSequencer.net is an online music sequencer. Make tunes in your browser and share them with friends! ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2022, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-tell-me-where-this-riff-comes-from/972687/2 "2022-10-04T11:48:39Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2022, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-tell-me-where-this-riff-comes-from/972687/3 "2022-10-04T11:58:56Z")
OK, it’s pretty much the same riff as the one from Wedding Day by UB-40: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/JQqZbQw1dl0/hqdefault.jpg "ub40 - wedding day") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQqZbQw1dl0) Have they ever done an original song? That’s probably a cover. ETA: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/6aXRWY1zIsA/hqdefault.jpg "Where were you (on our wedding day)? - LLoyd Price") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aXRWY1zIsA) ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2022, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-tell-me-where-this-riff-comes-from/972687/4 "2022-10-04T12:15:50Z")
Both similar - thanks ! - but not the one i’m thinking of. It was a country thing, guitars, violins etc , in this sort of style - [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/7-BQpRqmwM0/maxresdefault.jpg "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-BQpRqmwM0) ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2022, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-tell-me-where-this-riff-comes-from/972687/5 "2022-10-04T12:18:48Z")
Oh well. The Wedding Day songs were the only bells that the riff rang for me. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2022, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-tell-me-where-this-riff-comes-from/972687/6 "2022-10-04T15:43:13Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2022, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-tell-me-where-this-riff-comes-from/972687/7 "2022-10-04T15:56:26Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > But it really sounds closer to a horn riff, like in the UB 40 example, than a guitar country thing 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. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2022, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-tell-me-where-this-riff-comes-from/972687/8 "2022-10-04T15:58:46Z")
> [@pjd](#): > > That sequencer bit is just to give an idea of the tune. The online sequencer > doesn’t have many authentic sounding instruments ! I understand that, but for me the mere melody sounds rather like ska than like a typical country tune. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2022, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-tell-me-where-this-riff-comes-from/972687/9 "2022-10-04T16:11:56Z")
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 : [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/KDQJMtg6Hh0/maxresdefault.jpg "Move It on Over") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDQJMtg6Hh0) ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2022, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-tell-me-where-this-riff-comes-from/972687/10 "2022-10-04T21:05:08Z")
How close is this? [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/rChk_PlplBk/maxresdefault.jpg "Charley Patton-Going To Move To Alabama") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rChk_PlplBk) j ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2022, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-tell-me-where-this-riff-comes-from/972687/11 "2022-10-05T10:02:07Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2022, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-tell-me-where-this-riff-comes-from/972687/12 "2022-10-05T12:36:08Z")
You are right that the general pattern follows the first 2 lines of the 4 line verse in [ Setting the Woods on Fire.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3hzYRVAkUs) “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. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2022, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-tell-me-where-this-riff-comes-from/972687/13 "2022-10-05T13:27:56Z")
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.) ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2022, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-tell-me-where-this-riff-comes-from/972687/14 "2022-10-05T19:58:25Z")
Sorry I couldn’t help. Good luck. You might try listening to some Bob Wills. ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2022, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-tell-me-where-this-riff-comes-from/972687/15 "2022-10-07T20:48:33Z")
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. > [@Dinsdale](#): > > You might try listening to some Bob Wills. I hear he’s still the King. ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2022, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-tell-me-where-this-riff-comes-from/972687/16 "2022-10-12T06:23:05Z")
Maybe Hank Thompson. Let’s Get Drunk And Be Somebody [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/TaFiwMm7LEk/maxresdefault.jpg "Hank Thompson "Let's Get Drunk And Be Somebody"") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaFiwMm7LEk) ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2022, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-tell-me-where-this-riff-comes-from/972687/17 "2022-10-12T10:02:41Z")
It’s not that, but that’s the right style and sound. Thanks !