Sure, we all feel something special about folk and blues that touches us deeply enough that we have to pursue it. That is not necessarily what I am talking about here. Let me tell you a story.

My sister and her kids and my father paid a visit to Mystic Seaport last year. While standing on the deck of the Charles W. Morgan my father explained to the rest of the family members present that our great-great-grandfather, old Joe Spencer, was the first captain of the great clipper ship Davy Crocket. This is an old family story and one which I think of every time I sing The Leavin' of Liverpool.

One of the Seaport employees was standing nearby and turned around when that story was told, looked at them and said, "That's my great great grandfather too!"

As it turns out Joe Spencer's daughter married a man named Keene and led a rather interesting life of her own. After she had raised her children she went to medical school in Philadelphia and became one of Connecticut's first female doctors. That's another story but it is the point at which the family branched out.

My point is that my family has a connection to that song, The Leavin' of Liverpool, or to be more accurate the ship in that song. How many of you have a similar connection? What is it? Surely there are immigrant songs or local ballads which have mentioned places in your family histories or events at which your family members were present. There can be more than a emotional connection to folk music. What is yours?