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.
Sweet Nora Lee
A sweet old banjo blues
This song comes from J. T. Adams, a blues singer from Indianapolis. I'm grateful to Art Rosenbaum for collecting it and sharing with the rest of us. The tuning is standard open G but tuned down to F. The chimes are my contribution.
Johnny Booker
A mule song
Songs about mules are almost a genre all their own like railroad songs or cowboy songs. This is an old song. Some versions came to us by way of minstrel shows but older variants can be found in England.
Lady Margaret
A ghost ballad
Pete Seeger played ths variation of "Fair Margaret and Sweet William" (Child 74) on his his Folkways 'American Favorite Ballads' albums. A recording session from the period that Pete describes in his musical autobiography, ‘Where have all the Flowers Gone:’
Texian Boys
A warning to young ladies.When other good folk are all gone to bed, the devil is a workin' in the Texian's head.
This song was collected by John Lomax, recorded on his Folkways "John A. Lomax Jr. Sings American Folksongs." Texian Boys is not very complimentary about Texas, but pretty accurate actually.
Shoutin' in Jerusalem
An old spiritual
This is one of those great spirituals from the slave times. It is often speculated that the songs were encoded messages. Were they really singing about the after-life or about liberation in this life? "Keep your lamps trimmed and burnin'" we're going to "Steal Away" then we'll "shout in Jerusalem - just like John."
My Sweet Farm Girl
A naughty banjo blues from Tom Ashley
Tom Ashley recorded this naughty little song for Vocalion in 1932. Later it turns up on an obscure 10 inch Folkways LP called "Earth is Earth", sung by the New Lost City Ramblers under a thinly disguised pseudonym. The album included a few other songs of a similarly questionable nature.
Dog and Gun
She hunts and captures her prey.
'Dog and Gun' also known as 'The Golden Glove' comes to us via the folk tradition from English broadsides. I learned the ballad from a recording by Bradley Kincaid that was part of Harry Smith's collection.'
Jackaro
A song of love, seamanship and cross-dressing
'Jackaro' is a Kentucky mountain variation on an old ballad called 'Jack Munroe.' The song was collected in Kentucky by Loraine Wyman and Howard Brockway and in Arkansas by Max Hunter. Jean Ritchie knew it is part of her own family tradition.
Pajarillo Barranqueño
An old Mexican love song
Pajarillo Barranqueño is a well known traditional song from Mexico. It has been done plain and fancy; mariachi style, ranchero style, conjunto style, huapango style. The great Tejana singer Lydia Mendoza recorded it. Tish Hinojosa and Joan Baez did a lovely version. But I'll bet nobody has done it on the banjo before.
Make me a Pallet on Your Floor
A famous old blues/ragtime piece
This song has been a standard for blues, ragtime, jazz, folk and country musicians since before the turn of the century (the 20th, that is).
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.