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Backwater Banjo

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Backwater Banjo (trope)
He's tiny, he's loony, and riffs a mean 'ol tuney!

"Nothing says 'dropping out of society' like learning the banjo."
Daniel Roth

For the best reading experience, we recommend playing this track while reading.

No sound is more synonymous with sittin' by the bayou than the semi-muted, vaguely metallic twang of a banjo string. Using a banjo in a work can function as an aural shorthand for "country" and "rural" where that vibe is intended.

This may stem from banjos being heavily associated with Country and Bluegrass music, a genre popular with folks who live on farms. Joined with fiddles and the Quirky Ukulele, banjos are also associated with Dixieland Jazz, a genre associated with combining folksy with the lackadaisical cosmopolitan aura of The Roaring '20s.

Often appears alongside representations of the Deep South, as well as scarily crossed with Hillbilly Horrors.

Sub-Trope of Regional Riff. Compare Jungle Jazz, Snowy Sleigh Bells, and Waltz on Water for other uses of musical motifs to invoke the right vibe.


Examples:

    open/close all folders 

    Fan Works 
  • In the Kim Possible fanfic Chores Day, Kim was forced to dress like a hillbilly and sing while playing a banjo after losing a bet. When Ron sees her in that getup, he dresses like a hillbilly and starts dancing and playing a banjo while singing "Cotton-Eye Joe" (which ends with his overalls falling off), much to Kim's embarrassment.

    Film — Animated 
  • An Australian variant is depicted in a dream sequence in the Dot and the Kangaroo sequel, Dot and the Bunny with Dot dreaming about the titular rabbit, Funny-Bunny, playing a banjo and singing The Kangaroo That Never Grew, while strutting around the outback, and playing in a country-esque style that also fits in with his surroundings.

    Film — Live-Action 
  • Deliverance: The duelling banjos scene is the first indication that the guys aren't in Atlanta anymore.
  • The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005): Adopted the theme song of its radio-based predecessor, the entry for which is further down.
  • The Muppet Movie: The opening scene shows Kermit the Frog in the swamp, relaxing and playing the banjo to "Rainbow Connection". This establishes Kermit's simple backwater beginnings before an agent approaches him and suggests he share his talents with the world, kicking off the plot.

    Literature 
  • Discworld:
    • The rustic backwater kingdom of Lancre is a place where its local Witch, Gytha "Nanny" Ogg, is musically inclined and sure enough, she may be seen sitting on her porch playing the banjo.
    • Slice, an area of Lancre considered a backwater by Lancrastian standards, is described in the Companion as "the kind of place where you may have to learn to play the banjo to survive".
    • Mrs Bradshaw's Handbook to the Ankh-Morpork and Sto Plains Hygenic Railway states that Gravelhang, a town as close to the middle of nowhere as makes no difference and which only has a railway station because it happens to be directly between places people might actually want to go, has one shop which sells tinned food, tobacco, and banjo strings.

    Live-Action TV 
  • Firefly: The main theme, "You Can't Take the Sky from Me", reinforces the Old West vibe of the series, thanks in no small portion to the fiddle and banjo parts.

    Music 
  • Rascal Flatts: Invoked in "Banjo," a Big Town Boredom song about needing to get away from the hustle and bustle and going so deep into the country that you pass all the usual stereotypes of rural America, run out of road, and only stop when you hear a banjo.

    Radio 

    Rides 
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: As the boat rides through a sleepy bayou at the beginning, it passes by an old man strumming tunes on his banjo.

    Video Games 

    Webcomics 
  • Lackadaisy: The sophisticated Mitzi May, prior to her marriage to the late Atlas May, used to be a traveling showgirl who played the banjo and the ukulele.

    Web Original 
  • The Angry Video Game Nerd: In the segment about Bad Video Game Cover Art, the Nerd reviews the one for Phalanx. The cover for the game features an elderly looking man in a plaid T-shirt, overalls, and playing a banjo. The Nerd hypothesizes the old man is "Mall Santa Claus", who drinks moonshine, and pretends to be the redneck man, as he sings a song on his banjo with his accent.

    Western Animation 
  • Family Guy:
    • In the episode "To Love and Die in Dixie", the Griffin family is forced to relocate to the Deep South for witness protection after Chris witnessed a store robbery and correctly identified the robber in a lineup, followed by his father Peter stupidly giving away his son's contact information and photograph to the same robber. One of the first signs of the Griffin family's arrival to Bumblescum is the musical background motif of a banjo playing.
    • In "Stewie Loves Lois", a cutaway gag has a black man rowing in a swamp ask a banjo-playing Kermit for directions. Kermit informs him that "it's back the way you came", then pulls out and cocks a shotgun.
  • The Fairly OddParents!: Subverted with Chester in "Fairy Idol". Despite being a stereotypical hillbilly who lives in a trailer park, he despises the banjo and believes that nobody else likes them either.
  • In the Futurama episode where the Planet Express crew visits the lost city of Atlanta, Bender hums a few notes from Dueling Banjos when they first meet the locals.
  • Gravity Falls:
    • Zigzagged with Fiddleford McGucket; Fiddleford is only established as being a banjo player in Ford's flashback to when they first started working together in "A Tale of Two Stans". This establishes that even before he became a crazy old hillbilly, McGucket was always a little rustic and folksy in spite of his intelligence, backed up by him spitting tobacco and using phrases like "I reckon".
    • In "Society of the Blind Eye", after Blind Ivan's entire memory gets wiped, Mabel tells him he's a traveling banjo minstrel, sending him off on his merry way with a new folksy identity, in contrast to his intellectual villainy from before.
    • In "Soos and the Real Girl", Hoo-Ha Owl's Pizzamatronic Jamboree restaurant has Beverly the Beaver Cheerleader on the banjo, implying Hoo-Ha's band is meant to be folksy and rustic. When .GIFfany takes over the Beverly animatronic, she drops the banjo in order to go after Melody, showing she is the opposite of this trope.
  • My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic:
    • Applejack has banjo as her leitmotif to match her Cowgirl persona.
    • In "Simple Ways", when Rarity announces to the rest of the Mane Six that she's changing the theme of the Ponyville Days festival to "simple ways", Spike walks out wearing a straw hat and playing a banjo.
  • The Powerpuff Girls (1998): The pink, sasquatch-like monster, Fuzzy Lumpkins, has the personality of a Half-Witted Hillbilly, wears overalls, and enjoys playing the banjo.
  • SpongeBob SquarePants:
    • In "Plankton's Army", Plankton meets up with his country cousins. At least two of them are shown owning banjos, with one requesting more strings for it.
    • In "Trenchbillies", SpongeBob and Patrick encounter a family of deep-sea-dwelling rural folk. At one point in the episode, Patrick plays SpongeBob like a banjo in a duel against another banjo player.
  • TUGS: The soundtrack often includes banjo strings whenever an episode takes place Up River with Billy Shoepack the alligator tug, away from the hustle of Bigg City Port.
  • Wander over Yonder: The titular hero is a folksy type of character with a rural-sounding voice (courtesy of Jack McBrayer) whose main instrument is a banjo.

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Ragtime Bear

A bear plays a banjo in a cabin to the annoyance of Mr Magoo

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