In 1975 or '76, in the rain, I had the privilege of sitting about 3 feet from Doc and Merle Watson at a small bluegrass festival in the Cumberland Gap (not sure if we were in Maryland, West Virginia or Pennsylvania)! All my friends were damp and irritated and they went back to our camp, but I stayed with just a handful of people as Doc played his heart out for us for 45 minutes. It was one of the great musical moments of my life - they were both just full of joy and so talented.

Doc Watson. What more can you say? Legendary national treasure. Will never be another like him.

Fifteen people disliked this? Doc was and is a national treasure.

The world was graced by Doc Watsons presence.... what a talent.

I stumbled on Bluegrass in my late high school and college years; I didn’t like country music, but I knew Bluegrass was different: the precision, expertise, and tempo were at such a high level. I became a great fan. This performance by Doc Watson and his associates is staggeringly good 🥇🥇; much respect and props to them. Miss you guys.

This is so tight... will not leak a single drop. Doc and company play this to perfection and yes Doc is a national treasure.

My favorite Doc Watson song! I was lucky to have seen him and Merle around this time.

As much as I love this song and this artist, it makes my heart glad to read so many admiring comments here, and to know that people still respond to great, honest music

Proud to say Billy Strings brought me here... Pretty badass that such a young cat introduced an even younger cat like myself to banger classics such as this... I'm a 23 year old metal head but I can't deny the sheer talent displayed here. (Edit, dont let my username fool you. I grew up originally a classic rock junkie. Aerosmith became my favorite band at aged 8, i named my account Aerosmith10Rocks at age 10, then slowly throughout the years I was introduced to Slipknot and Avenged Sevenfold and converted to metal head, but i still love and appreciate all the classic stuff)

Man ... I saw Doc years ago, just after he came out of retirement from Merle's death. He was a phenom. Best musician I ever heard. Hands down.

Doc is absolutely amazing. A true gift sent from God above for us to enjoy. RIP Doc. Looking forward to seeing you in Heaven ole buddy.

Been there seen that. Can't say any other music is as real as this stuff from the Appalachians. Go Doc! Go Tennessee! Long live America!

It was 30 years ago when I first listened this song. Marvelous performance, thanks to Doc...

I was lucky enough to hear him sing this when I was a kid in the 1980’s at the Washoe Theatre in Anaconda Montana..

RIP Doc! Your music will live on forever and ever.

A true American Legend. My friend Doc.

Dad and I loved this pioneer picker~there was magic in those fingers. 🤩

Doc is the best guitar player I've ever performed with. Awesome. Im a fiddler.

Rest in peace Doc. Love you. Thanks for everything.

Love this song, I can't help but sing along!

Doc and my great grandfather Ivan Younce were best friends and played together many times. When my great grandfather passed away Doc came and played at his funeral. Doc is truly a great man.

Watson is a national treasure

Saw him many times at the Birchmere. Never be another Doc.

Always loved this song ❤

AMAZING and what many say... in the pocket. I love this one because Merle and his dad are playing together.

How could anybody dislike this, they must be deaf philistines!

My favorite Doc Watson song.

What a pleasure to listen to Doc. A man and his guitar, telling a story. One of the simpler pleasures of life, listening to Doc Watson. What a marvelous talented man. Wow...

I was intruded to this song from Johnny Cash. I love his vocals and the tempo of his version. This version is incredible.

A great story about a horse come's alive with Doc's chording-phrasing, meledy-note picking, little observation comments in certain bars, thunmping on sound board with horse hoofs sound, just such an entertaining personal performance. He was a master of telling stories with guitar accompanient. My grandad use to tell me the story about the strawberry roan horse, I just loved to listen to it.

This has to be one of my favorite song performances of all time.... I remember when I first heard Doc singing this way back in the 1970s on the local FM station in Tucson, Arizona. That was a great station.... used to play all different genres of music and comedy. Good times.

Saw him myself about same time in Tallahassee in a bluegrass concert held out from town in what was just a wooded area. He was fantastic. Had about five or six other musicians sitting in half circle around him on stage but he was the star that evening.

been watching Doc since he showed up on the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band album (1974?) "Will the Circle Be Unbroken" An American treasure

What a musical genius. RIP Doc

There never was horse like The Tennessee Stud! What a horse!

No doubt Merle was waiting at the gates of Heaven, guitar in hand, ready to start playing together again

I danced around to this song on repeat from my dad's record player in my living room. There is no better song in American history. I'm going to go have the same adventure and get my girl no matter how long it takes.

What a great man. He was friends with my Dad, I remember when he came to our house for dinner, I was such an impressed lil girl by Doc. Such a kind guys. Rest In Peace Doc.

omg. just listening and not watching i recognized the skillful playing of that mandolin as none other than Marty Stuart! i know that man & his music. just great.

This is just so tight, perfect.

Doc Watson. Beautiful brilliant playing. I miss him. He was like a breath of fresh air.

for the people coming across this at random, the man singing and playing guitar is also blind.

I remember my Pa would play this on his radio in his big old truck when I was little. I miss those sweet summer nights

Love this song! It's always been one of my favorites!

Nobody could do tennessee stud as good as Doc! Best ever!

Awesome. Just wonderful.

When I bought my Epiphone Jumbo in Boulder, CO in 1974, Doc & Merle came into the store while I was trying it out - so I played with them (or rather, played along while they were playing). Fond memory; I still have the guitar.

I've heard a lot of versions of this song, but I think I can say this without much argument, this is the definitive version of the song. Doc is still going and performing. He is an American Treasure.

A Masterclass.

Hands down the best bluegrass song ever

RIP Doc Watson.....You will be missed. :(

Thanks for sharing!!! Doc rules, and anything with Merle in it is a special treasure!!!

Beautiful man, beautiful music. The first three times I saw Doc and Merle was 3 nights in a row at the Riverboat in Toronto in 1969. American folk music aficionados all over the world are playing Doc's and Merle's records tonight. RIP two fine pickers

he had the nerve, he had the blood, and never was a guy like Doc Watson.. Enormous song..., beautiful performance...

How could one "dislike" it???

doctor doctor please a dose of watson

I was in the front row at Maryville college on a Friday night at the Steve Kaufmann’s Flatpicking Camp I’m thinking it was 2002. Doc was there with Jack Lawrence and Docs grandson. They were tuning up by ear when I overheard Doc tell his grandson son that E string is a little off. His grandson was tuning and Doc said now you have it. I was shocked this was before battery tuners. And the show was the best I ever seen. Amazing! Rest in piece Doc Watson you are missed.

What a loss! I saw him in concert in Augusta, Maine several years ago and loved the performance. I believe it was shortly after Merle died.

I saw Doc and this exact band back in the 70's. That's Marty Stewart on mandolin. Doc is at the top of his game in this clip. This song was written by Jimmy Driftwood who also penned "The Battle of New Orleans". Thanks for posting.

Skill at this level is often imitated, never duplicated.

I'm learning this piece on guiitar and just stumbled upon this. Wow! This version is crackling with energy. Full throttle pickin from start to end. Amazing.

Thank you, Doc.

Don't know how to explain this but I'll try. I'm from Memphis, the capital of the Mississippi Delta. I'm a Deadhead, learned in the ways of Robert Hunter and Jerry Garcia. This is a great piece of Americana. Incredible. When I was following the Dead some girls would love my (our) accent (which are really negligible) and we'd always say we're from "Memphis," no need to include the state because Memphis is a state unto itself. The lyrics about the Tennessee stud and Tennessee mare, whippin' her brother and slappin' her 'paw, man, that's just great stuff. And then the little foals to cap it. It's that outlaw flavor combined with earnestness and tenderness - imbued throughout so many Dead songs - that connects this Memphian to the broader bluegrass/country flavor here in TN. Our state is backwards politically in many ways, but just think about the cultural impact of two Tennessee cities, Memphis and Nashville. World changing. Amazing stuff. Sorry for rambling

Thanks for sharing this, Bill! What an unforgettable experience! Dad used to sing thing this, off key of course!!

thanks for posting this, i grew up listening to this cd in my dad's car... good memories :P

@dex2345 Yes. The lineup together: Doc Watson: vocals, lead guitar Merle Watson: guitar T. Michael Coleman: bass, vocals Marty Stuart: mandolin

Oh, yeah !! Real sweet !! Fantastic footage + an 'as-usual' A-Class performance from these famous pickers. Superb post .. thank you.

good olden days... thanks for posting this.

I went to school at App State in Boone, NC - he played near there quite a bit. Unfortunately, at the time I was not a fan of bluegrass and didnt even know of him. Many years later, I became a fan of this style of music and learned to play quite a bit of it on guitar, learned of him, but he had passed away by that time. I wish I had the opportunity to see him live.

I Been In Docks House Down on Elk He Was Blind But He Didn't Let it Get Him Down one Of My Favorites ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

I noticed on replaying this fabulous footage, again & again .. there are some beautiful camera angles in this on-stage performance. I particularly like those side-angle shots interspersed thru'out, from both LHS + RHS .. showing 2, 3 or all 4 pickers at various times, all tapping their feet solidly together, in time & to the great rhythm / beat. This is one of the best things about being a performer & jammimg with other band-members.

I noticed he left out the first part of the last verse: "Stirrup to stirrup and side by side we crossed the mountains and the valleys wide We came to big muddy and we forded the flood on the Tennessee Mare and the Tennessee Stud" Then continues with Pretty little baby on the cabin floor.... I never get tired of hearing this song. Brings back such memories.

Thanks for what you gave us, Doc.

that's a young marty stuart on mandolin.

Doc was something else. I had the Three Pickers CD and wore that thing out. Walk on Boy.

This is amazing.

My dad used to play this a lot when I was a kid. Good memories

Magic .... one of the greatest guitarists that ever lived

thanks, great vidéo

\o/ Yay, love it!! It's some kicka** stuff, for sure. Have loved this song since back in the day when my friends used to jam all night. Doc's the best!

so love this song Thank you

I love how he talks to the horse, there was a mutual understanding between the pairing of them. Respect, both man and horse understood that their fate was entwined.

Respect.

Fabulous!!

One of the greatest guitar players ever.

Back when acoustic instruments were mic'd. I first saw Doc and Merle in about '72, and fell in love with their music.

A great singer, musician and human being. RIP Doc

Stunning and Thank You Bluegrass Library.

I saw Doc in 67 at SUNY Stony Brook :-) I used to play this song after 'learning' it from his recording :-)

I just recently discovered this great tune!

It's great to have some videos with Merle in them, also. 'LOVED Doc!!

Wow!!! What a crowd!!! Love it!!!

my horse is part Tennessee walker, I've decided this is his song. even though he is a gelding. 😛

Thank you

After reading through the comments, I am glad to see that a few people actually know who wrote this song in the first place. I play my acoustic string bass regularly once or twice a month with some older musicians who were friends with Jimmy Driftwood and used to play music with him.

The first person to dislike this should feel ashamed of themselves.

I’ll be honest, if it had not been for PBS a few years ago, I would not even know Doc Watson or David Holt even existed! Mr. Watson was one heck of a musician (flat picker) and I will forever admire him, RIP Doc Watson!!!!

Eszméletlenül fantasztikusan nagyon-nagyon jóóóóóó!

How sweeeeeet it is!

Real country music, not like today.