Newest Songs
Hell Bound Train
A cautionary tale of damnation and redemption
You know about the train that was "bound for glory". Well, this train was going the other way on the opposite track.
Jolly Roving Tar
A sea song from Newfoundland
I found this jolly sea song from Newfoundland on one of the old 'American Folksay' albums produced on Stinson records by Moses Asch, performed by Frank Warner.
No Peas No Rice
A Bahamian jazz song
A Bahamian song recorded in the 1930s by big band leaders such as Mart Brit and Count Basie and in the Bahamas by Blind Blake Alfonso Higgs.
Thorneymore Woods
A song of the noble poacher, and mean gamekeepers
An English poaching ballad as performed by Louis Killen.
La Bruja
Vampire story from Vera Cruz, Mexico. Boo!
La Bruja is a song and traditional dance in the Huapango tradition from the state of Vera Cruz. The dance usually involves a number of women with lighted candles on their heads.
The Devil and Bailiff McGlynn
The devil takes his due
What a fine old Irish tale. But it derives from a history that is not so jolly - the mass evictions and house levelings that took place during the Irish famine of the mid-nineteenth century. No wonder the mother in the story cries "May the devil take that awful Bailiff!".
Spotted Cow
A naughty little English folk song
Here is a traditional English song, at least I think so, I heard it from Steel Eye Span, that parcel of rogues who brought fuzz-tone electric guitar to English folk music.
Italian Carol
A christmas song from Italy
An Italian carol adapted by Pete Seeger from an old tradition in Naples in which shepherds come down from the Calabrian mountains for a festive stay in that city during the Christmas celebration.
Wild Women Don't Have No Blues
A blues for strong women
This song was recorded by Ida Cox in 1924, Ida was one of great, if lesser known, female blues singers in the era of Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey and Sippie Wallace.
Mean Old Bedbug Blues
A blues from Bessie Smith
Each of these are classic blues performance in their own right and provide an interesting contrast between country blues and early jazz band styles. I always favored Bessie's rendition. I think her slower tempo with piano and guitar accompaniment captured the true creepiness of bedbugs.
Uncle Joe Gimme Mo
Calypso from Trinidad
This great Trinidadian Calypso song comes from an early recording by Wilmuth Houdini. I love the way these Calypsonians took "uncle joe and his old ban-jo", a common stereotype in minstrel shows, and transformed him into a rock star.
Monsieur Banjo
A creole song for kids
This children's song in Louisiana Creole. My version is an adaptation of Pete Seeger's English language version on 'American Favorite Ballads' and a French language version from the Magnolia Sisters on their delightful children's album 'Lapin Lapin'
Featured Songs
Hopalong Peter
An old time banjo song
This was recorded by J.E. Mainer's Mountaineers in the 1930's. I learned it from the NLCR.
Meet Me in Rose Time Rosie
A wild old time among the roses. From Hobart Smith
Hobart Smith of Saltville, Virginia stared playing in string bands around 1915 and was still going strong until his death in 1965. I learned 'Rosie' from a recording made in the 1960's, his rediscovery period. Hobart was a terrific banjo player and just as good on fiddle, guitar and several other instruments.
Willie Moore
In memory of Doc Watson, one of his best banjo songs
We can't let the passing of our beloved Doc Watson go without a song. Of course we'll remember Doc mostly for his guitar music but he was also a great traditional banjo player. He recorded Willie Moore with what he called the 'still finger style' - a basic double thumb. He played it pure and simple.
Buckey Jim
Here is a lullaby from the Southern Appalachians
I couldn't do better than Alan and John Lomax to describe this song:
Who Killed Cock Robin
The birds hold a memorial
This version comes from the singing of Edith Harmon in a field recording made near Maryville, Tennessee in 1939. The original porem has origins in the 14th century or earlier. There is plenty of speculation about symbolic meanings or political significance. I just loved its haunting melody.
The Wonderful Crocodile
The true story of an amazing reptile.
This tall tale comes from Nova Scotia. But sightings have also been made in Ireland, Australia and England. Origins are unknown but it seems to come from broadsides of the 19th century, when the accounts of honest and stout-hearted seafaring men received the respect and credence they deserved. By golly.
Poor Ellen Smith
A North Carolina murder ballad
‘Poor Ellen Smith’ is a classic mountain murder ballad in which the accused killer protests his innocence. The song was recorded by Henry Whitter in 1924 and was sung by many traditional musicians such as Texas Gladden, Frank Proffitt, Hobart Smith, and Pete Steele. The Country Gentlemen made it a bluegrass standard.
Swannanoa Tunnel
A mountain railroad song
The Swannanoa Tunnel was constructed in Western North Carolina by more than 1800 workers. Some 500 of them were convict laborers, mostly African-Americans, who were transported from the eastern part of the state. The work started in 1855 and took 24 years to finish. In this time countless workers lost their lives.
John Henry
Story of the steel driving man
If there is one single best known and best loved American folksong it is surely John Henry.
Statesboro Blues
A blues from Blind Willie McTell
Blind Willie McTell recorded this song in 1928 and it is probably of his own composition. A few people have revived it recently, notably Taj Mahal, Rory Block, Dave Van Ronk, Chris Smithers, the Allman Brothers and the Holy Modal Rounders, those bizarre purveyors of psychedelic old time country.
Uncle Joe Gimme Mo
Calypso from Trinidad
This great Trinidadian Calypso song comes from an early recording by Wilmuth Houdini. I love the way these Calypsonians took "uncle joe and his old ban-jo", a common stereotype in minstrel shows, and transformed him into a rock star.
Italian Carol
A christmas song from Italy
An Italian carol adapted by Pete Seeger from an old tradition in Naples in which shepherds come down from the Calabrian mountains for a festive stay in that city during the Christmas celebration.