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Newspaper clippings
Song of the Day
do you want to know the history of a folk song? submit an ask or dm me and I'll cover it
"Passing Through" Pete Seeger, 1956
the song was originally written in 1948 by Dick Blakeslee for the People's Songs bulletin and newsletter.
the organization and newsletter were started by Pete Seeger and Alan Lomax in NYC in 1946 and were published between 1946-50
the first recording of the song is the one featured here, done in 1956. but others have covered it, including
cisco houston 1965
Leonard Cohen 1972
Joan Baez 1975
I love this song, but I've always thought it'd be cool if the verse about George Washington was replaced with john brown.
Song of the Day
(do you want the history of your favorite folk song? submit an ask or dm me and I'll do a full rundown)
"Dirty old Town" Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger, 1956 this song was originally written by Ewan MacColl in 1949, for his play "Landscape with Chimneys". The song is based off of his childhood city, Salford, Lancashire, England, where he grew up.
In an interview with the BBC, Peggy Seeger said
"it remains a perfect song" "It's a beautiful melody, just four economical verses, and it has been covered by hundreds of singers each in their own way"
she continues with regards to the covers,
"I don’t like what The Dubliners did to it, I don’t like what The Pogues did to it – I think they have lost the loneliness," "I think they have lost the confusion of a young person walking through it." "To me, Ewan was reliving his 20s and his late teens so I think it is harder to change."
she adds,
"It speaks to everybody from a dirty old broken down industrial city," "But Salford was in Ewan MacColl’s bones." "He took me to his dirty old town within a week of our three-decade partnership."
This relates to one of my favorite things about the song, it's equally relatable for everyone in a burnt-out industrial city. hell, I really relate to the song and my hometown is a railroad town in Wyoming. I grew up listening to this song because my mom loved it and her hometown is a rustbelt city that was crumbling factorial ruins when she was growing up.
Even though Peggy Seeger doesn't like the covers, I still want to mention the version by The Pogues as it's one of my favorites. I do agree with her that both of the translations lost some of the charm that the original had.
The original captured the spirit of traditional Irish and English folk music, so much so that I assumed it was a traditional ballad. little new compositions of folk music succeed in doing this, which makes the song impressive.
Tribute to Elizabeth Cotten with Odetta
Song of the Day
do you want to know the history of a folk song? submit an ask or dm me and I'll cover it
"Great Historical Bum" Odetta, 1960
Originally written in 1941 by Woody Guthrie for his Columbia River Song collection. That time when Woody Guthrie (a socialist) was commissioned by the US federal government (at the recommendation of Alan Lomax. to write folk songs in support of the Coulee Dam in 1941. Woody Guthrie was in poverty at the time and was happy to finally have a job. During the month he traveled through Oregon and wrote a song every day, including "Pastures of Plenty" and "Roll on Columbia".
the lyrics in these songs, including this one, include radical themes like working-class rights, unions, anti-fascism, and anti-capitalism. because of this and because Woody Guthrie was an anti-capitalist, the songs and the documentary they were made for were ordered destroyed by the Eisenhower administration. luckily the recordings were saved by a proletarian comrade: a former employee of the Bonneville Power Administration, who decided to keep a copy of the film and recordings.
this song may also be inspired by another traditional song recorded in 1928 by Harry McClintock , but I'm not sure.
I like this cover by Odetta quite a bit. I think she does the original one justice.
"Giving voice to a silent river, folk singer Pete Seeger helped create an environmental group that built the sloop Clearwater. Shoreside festivals dramatize the river's plight and promise. With money raised, the organization cries foul against polluters and agencies that fail to regulate them."
National Geographic - January, 1978
little song rec for this morning
Song of the day
do you want to know the history of a folk song? submit an ask or dm me and I'll cover it
"Irene (Goodnight, Irene)"
Lead Belly, 1933
this song was covered by many artists, but my favorite is the most notable cover: this one by the Weavers
The Weavers' version is incredibly important to the history of folk music, as it was their most popular song in 1948 (and the first no. charting single in the folk music genre), and helped kick them off into popularity before they were blacklisted just 2 years later.
Song of the day
do you want the history of your favorite folk song? dm me or submit an ask and I'll do a full rundown
"Polly Vaughn" The Dillards, 1963
"Polly Vaughn"/"Molly Bawn"/ "The Shooting of his Dear" is a traditional Irish folk song that first appeared in print in a 1765 chapbook, as "Molly Bawn"
This Version was first recorded in 1936 by Emma Dusenbur but I couldn't find a digitized version.
The earliest recording I could find was collected by Alan Lomax in 1937 and performed by Aunt Molly Jackson. It was later recorded and performed on the radio in America, the UK, and Canada during the 1940s and 1950s. I had a hard time finding these recordings but here is one from 1954 by Evelyn Skaggs in Arkansas, collected by Mary Celestia Parler. The Dillards version was recorded in 1963, and, in my opinion, is the best version. The pacing and energy of the performance really add to the tragedy and drama of the story. They deliver the horror of a young man accidentally killing his lover as he mistook her for a swan. Other versions are nice but the one by the Dillard's sounds like how the story feels.
Some other notable covers include those by Tia Blake Peter, Paul, and Mary Hedy West
Song of The Day
do you want the history of a folk song? dm me or submit an ask and I'll do the full rundown
"Jackaroe" Joan Baez, 1962
Jackaroe is a traditional folk song that was first printed in 1812-1818 as "Jack Munro"
It was first recorded in 1932 by A.K Davis and has been performed many times in England and the USA. This song like another song I've talked about, "Willie Taylor" is interesting because the story is about a woman who crossdresses to become a sailor and find her lover. Making it an undeniably queer song.
Joan Baez first performed it live in 1962 on tour and released the recording later that year. She does a lovely job with it
Elizabeth "Libba" Cotten clipping, 1987
Song of The Day
"The Crucifixion" Phil Ochs, 1967
"The Crucifixion" was first written by Phil Ochs in 1965, and was first recorded in 1966 by Jim and Jean and in 1967 by Phil Ochs
Phil Ochs described it as "The Greatest Song he'd ever written" and its meaning as an allegory for the assassination of JFK. This song really goes above and beyond. The Lyrics and the Composition are all groundbreakingly technical, haunting, and tragic. Listening to this song feels like glimpsing at this man's soul, there is just so much heart to it. And to think, he was worried about it not being received well.
Song of The Day/history of cotton eyed joe
do you want the history of a folk song? dm me or submit an ask and I'll do a full rundown
"Cotton Eyed Joe" Terry Callier, 1963
As a disclaimer, "Cotton Eyed Joe" is my least favorite American folk song and I'm going to talk about why, and I'm going to talk about why Terry Callier's version is subversive and good.
The Earliest date we have for the song's origins is from 1882 when it was Published in "Diddie, Dumps, and Tot, or, Plantation child-life" by Louise Clark-Pyrnelle. This book is a nostalgic recollection of her childhood as a plantation owner's daughter. She reminisces fondly about slavery, missing the old plantation days. Honestly, some of the quotes within this book are beyond parody, in one sentence she says "... My little book does not pretend to be any defense of slavery" and in the next sentence when referring to the morality of slavery she writes, "there are many pros and cons to that subject", later at the end of the chapter she laments about the forever lost emotional connection between the Masters children and the enslaved people. hate this woman and her little book.
It is also important to note that this book goes out of its way to caricature black people, throughout the book she exaggerates accents and dialects to dehumanize them. This is a recurring theme in early publications of this song. Another early publication of the song comes from Dorothy Scarborough in "On the Trail of negro folk-songs" 1925 who got it from her sister who also learned it on a plantation, in Texas. She writes "This is an authentic slavery-time song" This book, if you can believe it, is remarkably racist and dismissive of black music, even as a more "progressive" songbook of black folk songs.
In 1922, the song's history was documented a bit more extensively by Thomas W. Talley in his book "Negro folk rhymes". He writes that it has "deep roots in black traditional lore". Thomas W. Talley was also just a cool guy in general, this book is one of the first compilations of African American folk songs, and it has been a pioneering book in its field. Even today, this book is still one of the best sources for the history of African American folk songs.
So, this is a black song. This was a black song whose first wave of popularization was through the caricature of black people to be amusing for white folks. Let's move on to its second wave of popularization.
The song was first recorded in 1927 by "Dykes Magic City Trio" (all white band) then about a week later by Fiddlin' John Carson (white performer) then in 1928 by Pope's Arkansas Mountanaineers (all white band) then in 1929 by Carter Brothers and Son (all white band) and then it wasn't really recorded for a while because of the great depression and the war but the times it was recorded, it was by white people. We know this because it was mostly recorded by John Lomax and despite documenting southern folk songs, he almost went out of his way to avoid recording black people singing them. Then, in 1941, it was recorded by Burl Ives (painfully white).also covered by a few white country singers like Adolph hofner bob willis but I think you get the point. It wasn't until later that year that it would be recorded by a black person, performed by josh white in 1944-45, who covered it as a lullaby.
However, it wouldn't be until the 90s, during its 3rd wave of popularization that it became its most grotesque. "cotton eye joe" was recorded and released by Swedish Eurodance band Rednex in 1995 as a, to paraphrase reviews, 'Way to make fun of backwater southerners'. This song became incredibly popular throughout Europe and in the USA as well, charting as a number-one song in several countries, sometimes for weeks. Not only is this song incredibly classist, it is, whether by omission or deliberately, fundamentally racist, adding to the whitewashing of black folk and minstrelsy of black people. The attitude and humor derived from the Swedish version are the same as the version in 1882 when it was a "classic slave song".
So, why is Terry Callier's version important, why talk about it? Terry Callier's version is the first version of the song that I have heard and it is not a comedy. It isn't meant to be funny. It slows the melody down and draws attention to itself. It's almost a ballad, showcasing Joe as a tragic but mysterious hero, maybe a love song. His voice is angelic as well. Terry Callier once again, subverts expectations and creates something beautiful out of a song that has been so whitewashed and appropriated that no one remembers its tragic origins.
Thomas W. Talley
some other versions by black folks Josh white 1944-46 Nina simone 1959 The Ebony Hillbillies 2004 Leon bibb 1962 Ella Jenkins 1960 Josh White Jr 1964 Queen Ida 1985
Joan Baez performing "We shall Overcome" at the march on Washington, 1963
Broadsword Magazine #179, 1987
Song of The Day
do you want the history of a folk song? dm me or submit an ask and I'll do a full rundown
"Turn! Turn! Turn!"
The Byrds, 1965
"Turn! Turn! Turn!"/"To Everything There Is a Season" was a song written by Pete Seeger in 1959 and first recorded in 1962 by the Limeliters and then Seeger a few months later. It was featured in Sing Out! magazine in 1964
sing out! vol 14 iss 4 It was based on the Book of Ecclesiastes of the Hebrew Bible, which starts the same way "To Everything there is a season; a time for every purpose under heaven" The song was popularized by the 1965 version by The Byrds.
I like this song, I think it's sweet. I like the original poetry of the Book of Ecclesiastes as well. I like the message, I like the idea that while there is a time war or for rage, there is also a time to mourn and to mend. I think that this song has the attitude of a traditional folk song.
Nina Simone and Judy Collins also covered it
He also did it as a duet with Judy Collins in 1966
song for tonight
National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institute
Dulcimers, most belonging to Jean Ritchie