"The original 'Mountain Dew' was made up by Bascom Lunsford, who had directed a mountain folk festival in Asheville, North Carolina, for almost thirty years. After I returned to Chicago, I remembered the melody and composed a new set of verses for it. Lulu Belle and I cut a Vocalion record of it in 1939 in Chicago. Roy Acuff and other Nashville singers learned it from our record and started singing it. Station WLS where we sang for 25 years, would never allow any mention of giggle water or tobacco in those days, so we were never allowed to sing it on the National Barn Dance. Mr. Lunsford came to Chicago after our version of the song became well-known and was elated with what we had done with it. He, John Lair of Renfro Valley and I sat in a Chicago hotel one evening discussing old songs. Mr. Lunsford said, 'I believe I know how to pay my bus fair back to Asheville; I'll just sell Scotty my interest in "Mountain Dew" for $25.' I wrote a brief agreement on hotel stationary and closed the deal. After we retired, he came to visit us. I called the publisher and BMI and gave them instructions to pay him 50 per cent of all royalties on the song during his lifetime." — Scott Wiseman

Mountain Dew

There's a big hollow tree
Down the road here from me
Where you lay down a dollar or two
Then you go around the bend
When you come back again
There's a jugful of mountain dew.

Oh, they call it that good old mountain dew
And them that refuse it are few
Oh, I'll shut up my mug
If you'll fill up my jug
With that good old mountain dew.

Well, there's my old Aunt June
Bought some brand new perfume
It had such a sweet smellin' phew
But to her surprise, when she had it analyzed
It was nothing but good old mountain dew.

And there's Uncle Mort
He's sawed off and short
He's just five feet and one inch or two
But he thinks he's a giant
When he gets him a pint
Of that good old mountain dew.

Now, there's Uncle Bill
Got a still on the hill
Where he runs off a gallon or two
And the buzzards in the sky
Get so dizzy they can't fly
Just from smelling the mountain dew.