This month's free tab is an arrangement of a beautiful lullabye, "Hush While the Little Ones Sleep", written by Lotus Dickey (1911-1989), a much beloved southern Indiana traditional fiddler, singer, and songwriter. 

Quinten Lotus Dickey was born on December 28, 1911, so it's appropriate to honor his memory at this time of year.  He grew up in a modest cabin on Grease Gravy Road, just outside of Paoli, Indiana, with his parents and four siblings, all of whom worked the family farm.   In the evenings, the family would gather around the fireside and sing, primarily traditional ballads and church hymns.  His older brother Cyprian taught him to play fiddle (bought from the Sears and Roebuck catalog), and he also taught himself to play the family pump organ.  A few years later he was given a guitar and a chord book, and he taught himself enough to be able to play for local dances and house parties.  But it wasn't until he was in his late 60's and "retired" from farming, and raising his own family of eight children, that he had more time to devote to his music and song writing.  In 1977,  Indiana University folklorist Dillon Bustin produced a documentary entitled "Water from Another Time", about the traditional way of life in southern Indiana that featured Lotus, and he and his music were "discovered" by the larger traditional music community.  From that time until his passing in 1989, he performed at major folk festivals all over the country, sharing not only his music, but his experiences and traditional way of life.  In addition to his original songs (he is thought to have written over 500 songs), he also preserved many traditional ballads and fiddle tunes he had learned in his youth.

"Hush While the Little Ones Sleep" is a gentle and peaceful lullabye that Lotus wrote and sang to his own children while they were growing up.  It has been recorded by a number of folk musicians, such as Tim and Molly O'Brien, and Mae Robertson.  Jim Sperry and I also recorded a version of it on our CD entitled "How Can I Keep From Singing".

Much of Lotus' music has been published in "The Lotus Dickey Songbook, which also includes a CD of field recordings Lotus singing/performing over 20 of the songs in the collection.  Recordings of all the songs included in the book are also available in CD format from the Lotus Dickey Music website. 

Many thanks to Grey Larsen, who helps to run the Lotus Dickey Music organization, for granting permission to use this song for this month's free tab.

As we turn yet another page on the calendar, looking forward to the next year and a new decade,  let's also look back to remember, appreciate, and honor the traditions that much of our musical heritage came from.

Wishing you all a joyous and music-filled New Year!

--Tull