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.
What the old Bachelors Made Out Of
The constituent materials of bachelors, old maids, doctors, and little dudes, are described.
I learned this song from Mike Seeger's epic banjo instruction series Southern Banjo Styles. Anyone who has the slightest interest in the history and playing of banjo show get this. It is priceless.
Woody Knows Nothin'
One of those lovely old animal songs from the mountains
This tender little folk song borrows a number of standard verses from other songs but it has a sweetness all its own. I hope you like it. Eric Darling recorded this version on his 'True Religion' album for Vanguard in 1961 and it showed up on thier folk sampler record where I heard it.
Goodbye Old Paint
A classic cowboy song. With "Woo-ha!" lessons.
One day, "I Ride an Old Paint" and "The Waggoner's Lad" were grazing in the back pasture and this song is the result of their acquaintance. The the tune and words I sing here are the same as in Tex Ritter’s 1933 recording. Not that this is any different from traditional versions, but it gives me an excuse to mention Tex.
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.
The Soldier's Farewell
A soldier goes to Pensacola and meets a sad end.
This song from the American civil war was pieced together by Peggy Seeger from a number of traditional sources in field recordings. Like most war songs I know it is about the tragedy and stupidity of war. I wish I could say that the theme is unfamiliar today. But it is all to easy to substitute Afghanistan for Pensacola.
Sam Bass
A songs about our famous local outlaw
This was one of my daddy's favorite old songs. He was fond of it, I think, because it mentions so many places in Texas that were well known to us - Denton, Terrell, Round Rock.
Utah Carroll
A very sad and sentimental cowboy story
'Utah Carroll' joins 'Little Joe the Wrangler' and 'When the Works all Done this Fall' in the long tradition of cowboy tear-jerkers. So get your hankies out pardners.
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.'
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.
Dear Okie
A dustbowl song by a cowboy singer
From Texas radio songster Doye O'Dell with help fellow Cowboy actor Rudy Sooter. Doye grew up on a Texas cotton spread in the dustbowl era. He started a radio career with WDAG in Amarillo and then the famous Mexican border station XCPM. He finally landed his own NBC radio show produced in New York.
East Virginia Blues
A love song from the mountains
As sung br the Carter Family in 1929. A second and probably older version with a plain modal melody and more primitive sound was played by old timers such as Buell Kazee and Roscoe Holcombe.