Folk Songs In Movie Soundtracks

Subject: Folk Songs In Movie Soundtracks
From: Rabbi-Sol
Date: 06 Nov 04 - 08:46 PM

How many films can you name that have Folk Music songs as part of their soundtrack ? For example I will start off with this. The Australian folk song "Overlanders" was the main theme of the soundtrack for the movie "The Sundowners", which I believe was about the "drovers" (Australian cowboys). SOL ZELLER

Subject: RE: Folk Songs In Movie Soundtracks
From: Padre
Date: 06 Nov 04 - 08:51 PM

Several examples in "The Long Riders," about the James/Younger gang

Subject: RE: Folk Songs In Movie Soundtracks
From: GUEST
Date: 07 Nov 04 - 03:28 AM

How about songs in films that are NOT folks songs but because they were sung as folk songs, people have forever after assumed that they were...example:

"Love me Tender" in some Elvis movie that takes place in the Civil War. If I had a dollar for every time somebody has tried to convince me that "love me tender" is some old traditional song, sung during the Civil War...I'd be a rich republican who voted for Bush.

Subject: RE: Folk Songs In Movie Soundtracks
From: Keith A of Hertford
Date: 07 Nov 04 - 04:02 AM

Far From The Madding Crowd is rich in traditional song.
I remember, Seeds Of Love, Trooper And The Maid, Bushes And Briars.

The John Ford John Wayne cavalry films usually had songs. I remember, Bold Fenian Men, Yellow Ribbon, Girl I Left Behind Me, Garyowen.

Subject: RE: Folk Songs In Movie Soundtracks
From: GUEST,Barrie Roberts
Date: 07 Nov 04 - 04:53 AM

'Love me Tender' is a slight variant of 'Aura Lee', a nineteenth century love ballad. 'Aura Lee' can be heard on the sound track of 'East of Eden'.

Subject: RE: Folk Songs In Movie Soundtracks
From: Dave Hanson
Date: 07 Nov 04 - 05:09 AM

Lots of traditional shanty's in the Gregory Peck version of Moby Dick, even a brief glimpse of A L Lloyd singing Blood Red Roses.

eric

Subject: RE: Folk Songs In Movie Soundtracks
From: Chris Green
Date: 07 Nov 04 - 10:20 AM

There's few in Pasolini's version of The Canterbury Tales (1972). It's a rather odd viewing experience (even by Pasolini standards) as it features several well-known British actors who've been dubbed into Italian and then re-subtitled into English! I guess the obvious one for folksong in film would be The Wicker Man (1973) - some of them are original compositions by Paul Giovanni, but they all sound like the genuine article!

Subject: RE: Folk Songs In Movie Soundtracks
From: katlaughing
Date: 07 Nov 04 - 11:23 AM

Another modern one which sounds as though it could be an old one is from Legends of the Fall (scroll down for a midi of it.) I think it is called "Twilight and Mist" but haven't looked for the lyrics, yet.

Dare I mention the obvious, O'Brother? Or, A Mighty Wind?**bg**

Subject: RE: Folk Songs In Movie Soundtracks
From: Nerd
Date: 07 Nov 04 - 11:47 AM

The main theme of The Piano is a Tannahill song called "Gloomy Winter's Noo Awa'," and the main theme of Brassed Off is "The Dalesman's Litany."

A Mighty Wind has no actual folk songs in it, and indeed no parodies of folk songs; there are only parodies of songs written in the 1960s. But there were two traditional song parodies cut out of the film: "Corn Wine," a John Barleycorn-type thing, and "Killington Hill," a brutal murder ballad. Look for them on the DVD!

"Songcatcher" has some good performances.

Subject: RE: Folk Songs In Movie Soundtracks
From: Phil Cooper
Date: 07 Nov 04 - 12:25 PM

Don't forget Barry Dransfield's Water is Wide and some tunes in the Mel Gibson/Anthony Hopkins version of The Bounty.

Subject: RE: Folk Songs In Movie Soundtracks
From: Geoff the Duck
Date: 07 Nov 04 - 03:59 PM

Tunes rather than songs on the soundtrack of Barry Lyndon (Starring Ryan O'Neil). Music played by The Chieftains tunes include "Women of Ireland".
Quack!!
GtD.

Subject: RE: Folk Songs In Movie Soundtracks
From: Rabbi-Sol
Date: 07 Nov 04 - 05:05 PM

Don't forget Sacco & Venzetti by Joan Baez. SOL ZELLER

Subject: RE: Folk Songs In Movie Soundtracks
From: Tannywheeler
Date: 07 Nov 04 - 08:19 PM

Hi, guys. There was a movie made of McCourt's "Angela's Ashes". At the party scene at the end "Angela" sings a song about taking care of your mother, 'cause you'll miss her when she's gone. This song was very popular at a local weekly session that went on in Austin during the early 1980s. (We had a group of songs referred to as "the death spiral" we might sing if there'd been a death in someone's family recently. Some of them were deep and bitter, some matter-of-fact, some facetious.) One of the lines of this song was "...though withered, old, and gray. You'll never miss your mother's love 'til she's buried beneath the clay." I never heard that song attributed to any one. I thought of it as public domain, at least. When we recognized (my hubby and I had been invited to a sneak preview of this movie) the song after the first 3 notes/words, we clutched hands, looked at each other, tried not to laugh out loud.      Tw

Subject: RE: Folk Songs In Movie Soundtracks
From: Splott Man
Date: 08 Nov 04 - 03:20 AM

The Wonder Boys with Michael Douglas has a superb OST album, not much in the way of trad, but tracks by Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Tom Rush among others.

Subject: RE: Folk Songs In Movie Soundtracks
From: Dave Hanson
Date: 08 Nov 04 - 10:24 AM

A few songs in ' Far From The Madding Crowd. '

Thomas Hardy was a traditional fiddler.

eric

Subject: RE: Folk Songs In Movie Soundtracks
From: greg stephens
Date: 08 Nov 04 - 10:45 AM

There are too many to attempt any kind of list. I'll pick out a couple of unusual ones. Mick Jagger sang "The Wild Colonial Boy" in the Ned Kelly film. Marlon Brando sang a snatch of "Long gone Lost John" in a film I've been trying to identify for years, and nobody remembers this except me, so if you could add the name of this film here I'd be eternally grateful.
    An interesting list would be the number of films that have got a fiddler playing Soldiers Joy in. Hundreds, I would think!

Subject: RE: Folk Songs In Movie Soundtracks
From: Rozza
Date: 08 Nov 04 - 12:00 PM

I love the Irs DeMent version of "Pretty Saro" from "Songcatcher", but haven't heard any other tracks or seen the film. Any opinions?

Subject: RE: Folk Songs In Movie Soundtracks
From: GUEST
Date: 08 Nov 04 - 12:03 PM

My failing memory seems to recall several tunes that would qualify from the old movie, Tom Jones.

Lin

Subject: RE: Folk Songs In Movie Soundtracks
From: Nerd
Date: 08 Nov 04 - 04:19 PM

Rozza,

Songcatcher is worth seeing. If you are a historical purist it may annoy you, since it is fictional. I have known a few people to get annoyed at it. But there are good performances, both from actual trad singers and from actors who do a pretty darn good job. In addition to the soundtrack album, they put out a number of "music that inspired Songcatcher" CDs with folks like Doc Watson, Almeda Riddle, etc. Those are definitely worth it if you don't have those tracks on other albums already.

Subject: RE: Folk Songs In Movie Soundtracks
From: Uncle_DaveO
Date: 08 Nov 04 - 04:44 PM

No-one has yet mentioned O Brother. Quite a number, though many people don't like what was done with some of them.

Dave Oesterreich

Subject: RE: Folk Songs In Movie Soundtracks
From: Nerd
Date: 08 Nov 04 - 04:52 PM

Actually, Uncle Dave-O, Katlaughing did at 07 Nov 04 - 11:23 AM

Subject: RE: Folk Songs In Movie Soundtracks
From: Folkiedave
Date: 08 Nov 04 - 07:16 PM

Errr.............the film "Heartlands" about to come out on DVD features Kate Rusby and would have starred Sheffield City Morris had we not ended on the cutting room floor. Fingers crossed - we may be in the Director's Cut.


Dave Eyre

Subject: RE: Folk Songs In Movie Soundtracks
From: Blissfully Ignorant
Date: 08 Nov 04 - 07:52 PM

I actually bought the O Brother soundtrack. Never regretted it. For one thing, it introduced me to Gillian Welch, for which i am eternally grateful.

What about the Wicker Man? hehehehhehee....

Subject: RE: Folk Songs In Movie Soundtracks
From: Seamus Kennedy
Date: 09 Nov 04 - 12:36 AM

In the 1951 Alastair Sim movie Scrooge - the definitive one IMHO - Barbara Allen was played a lot, both as a theme/motif and as a party song in Scrooge's nephew's party.
Tanny wheeler, the song you were recalling is A Mother's Love's A Blessing.

A mother's love's a blessing,
No matter where you roam,
Keep her while she's living,
You'll Miss her when she's gone.
Love her as in childhood,
Though feeble, old and gray,
For you'll never miss your mother's love
Till she's buried beneath the clay.

Seamus

Subject: RE: Folk Songs In Movie Soundtracks
From: sledge
Date: 09 Nov 04 - 02:25 AM

The songs used are contemporary but Joan Baez sings beautifully for the sci-fi movie silent running.

Cheers

Sledge

Subject: RE: Folk Songs In Movie Soundtracks
From: katlaughing
Date: 09 Nov 04 - 02:36 AM

I don't know if they are folk songs or not, but ever since I was little, I've loved hearing Sean Connery sing in one of his earliest roles in Disney's Darby O'Gill and the Little People. The songs are listed as "The Wishing Song" and "Pretty Irish Girl."

What about Dances with wolves? Were there any in it?

(I knew that Mighty Wind didn't have any! Was just joking:-)

Dave, please let us know. That would be realy neat!

Subject: RE: Folk Songs In Movie Soundtracks
From: Hovering Bob
Date: 09 Nov 04 - 04:27 AM

The film 'The Sirens' opens with a very atmospheric scene of a liner sailing on her way to Australia, where the rest of the film is set, to the accompaniment of "The Grey Funnel Line" without the chorus/refrain line.
Given that it was a passenger liner I can see why they dropped The Grey Funnel Line bit, but it jarred!!!

Subject: RE: Folk Songs In Movie Soundtracks
From: Dead Horse
Date: 09 Nov 04 - 07:16 AM

Cold Mountain, with the banjo & vocals provided by Riley Baugus.
Did I mention that Riley is appearing at Roots our local folk & blues hangout?
That will be on Wednesday 17th November.

Subject: RE: Folk Songs In Movie Soundtracks
From: Dave Hanson
Date: 09 Nov 04 - 07:20 AM

What about Robert Shaw in ' Jaws ' singing ' Farewell and Adieu You Sweet Spanish Ladies '

eric

Subject: RE: Folk Songs In Movie Soundtracks
From: s6k
Date: 09 Nov 04 - 08:54 AM

i highly recommend cold mountain, lots of good ones on there including a couple by jack white, of the white stripes, who has a true love of real blues and folk songs

Subject: RE: Folk Songs In Movie Soundtracks
From: Tradsinger
Date: 09 Nov 04 - 01:28 PM

I echo the previous posting about "Songcatcher" - a great film for folkies with some great singing, music and dance. It's not available in the UK but you can get it mail order so long as your DVD player can cope with region 1. Well worth it. Nice NC versions of Mathy Groves and Barbara Allan.

Gwilym

Subject: RE: Folk Songs In Movie Soundtracks
From: Blissfully Ignorant
Date: 09 Nov 04 - 01:33 PM

I want to see Cold Mountain because Jack White's in it...

Subject: RE: Folk Songs In Movie Soundtracks
From: GLoux
Date: 09 Nov 04 - 03:07 PM

I vaguely remember Greensleeves in a John Wayne movie (I think) The Sons of Katie Elder...

-Greg

Subject: RE: Folk Songs In Movie Soundtracks
From: GUEST
Date: 09 Nov 04 - 03:45 PM

There have been a couple of good ones recently that I can think of.

Of course you have the Pogues appearing in several films: Two if By Sea, Grosse Point Blank, Sid and Nancy though usually their film material is their least traditional.

Patrick Street's Music for a found harmonium appears in Hear My Song.

The whole score for Miller's Crossing sounds an awful lot like a track on a Boys of the Lough album. As a side note if anyone knows what track this is from the boys of the lough I would appreciate.

So there are a couple.

Subject: RE: Folk Songs In Movie Soundtracks
From: Tannywheeler
Date: 09 Nov 04 - 06:56 PM

Right, Seamus K. That's the cho. One of the verses starts out about an Irish boy "...leaving his native home to cross the wide Atlantic, where (something, something) roam...". The other verse talks about finding a wife, settling down in life, gathering his children around his knee, where he would "...teach them the same lesson that my mother she told to me -- WHICH IS,..." then that cho. again.
erictr, there was also "Show me the way to go home" in that movie.
And I wish some clever person would do something with "You're gonna need a bigger boat" that would make it a classic song. Deserves it.
BTW, I have long felt that someone should write something really strong, cutting, biting, ironic, pointed, ungentle with the phrase from "Wizard of Oz"-- "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain; IIII am the great and powerful wizzud ..." Seems like now is the needed time....      Tw

Subject: RE: Folk Songs In Movie Soundtracks
From: GUEST
Date: 10 Nov 04 - 06:29 PM

A lot of films made on Scottish and Irish themes have trad music performers in them, or providing tracks:

Brothers McMullen soundtrack was done by Seamus Egan and friends.

Capercaillie performs in the film 'Rob Roy' in addition to contributing to the soundtrack along with Davy Spillane, I think.

Bravehart had Chieftains didn't it?

And what about that Jodie Foster movie 'Nell'? Didn't that have trad music too?

I'll think of more later, I'm sure.

Subject: RE: Folk Songs In Movie Soundtracks
From: GUEST,MurkeyChris
Date: 10 Nov 04 - 09:15 PM

I was thinking about the guy singing Spanish Ladies in Jaws too. If I remember correctly, the tune was also quoted in the score.

On a world music tip, Peter Gabriel does a brillaint soundtrack to Scorcese's 'The Last Temptation of Christ', full of world music samples and collaborations. The soundtrack CD is entitled 'Passion'. And Nusrat Fatah Ali Khan is on the Trent Reznor curated 'Natural Born Killers' soundtrack.

Richard Thompson did the soundtrack to a TV series called 'The Marksman' but sadly no film work yet!

Chris

Subject: RE: Folk Songs In Movie Soundtracks
From: GUEST
Date: 11 Nov 04 - 12:08 AM

Didnt Kirk Douglas sing...something, in 20.000 Leages Under the Sea.

Subject: RE: Folk Songs In Movie Soundtracks
From: Flash Company
Date: 11 Nov 04 - 10:18 AM

Kirk sang 'A Whale of a tale' which was made to look like a folk song, but wasn't.
I seem to remember 'Ox Driving song' and a snatch of 'Unfortunate Miss Bailey' in How the West was won.

FC

Ps Sorry about the snatch, quite unintentional
Fc

Subject: RE: Folk Songs In Movie Soundtracks
From: NH Dave
Date: 11 Nov 04 - 12:11 PM

The Quiet Man had Wild Colonial Boy, Rakes of Mallow, and another who's name I have forgotten but which was covered in another thread.

Dave

Subject: RE: Folk Songs In Movie Soundtracks
From: Marje
Date: 11 Nov 04 - 01:38 PM

And don't forget the lower-deck music session in "Titanic" which, oddly enough, had exactly the same tunes you'd get in a present-day Irish session anywhere. Were there songs? I can't remember any.

Marje

Subject: RE: Folk Songs In Movie Soundtracks
From: GUEST,Claire
Date: 11 Nov 04 - 03:16 PM

Gangs of New York.... watch carefully and you even get to see a Maura O'Connell cameo appearance as she wonders down the street singing.

Subject: RE: Folk Songs In Movie Soundtracks
From: shepherdlass
Date: 11 Nov 04 - 03:46 PM

A couple of crossover songs that might be of interest:

"Michael Collins" had a killer version of She Moved through the Fair from Sinead o'Connor.

Also, have vague recollections of a Loreena McKennitt song (though it might not have been traditional - could have been one of her self-penned ones) on one of the Highlander films.

Subject: RE: Folk Songs In Movie Soundtracks
From: DougR
Date: 11 Nov 04 - 05:33 PM

I just saw an interesting film last night that Horton Foote adapted from a story by William Faulkner, "Tomorrow." It starred Robert DuVal and the soundtrack was totally based on trad music. It was set in Missippi in the early 1930's. A sad but excellent movie.

"So Dear to My Heart," made in the 1940s also had lots of folk songs on the soundtrack, including, I believe, "Laverder's Blue."

DougR

Subject: RE: Folk Songs In Movie Soundtracks
From: PoppaGator
Date: 12 Nov 04 - 10:29 AM

Here's a thread about the Irish song "Parting Glass" and two films in which it appears ("Waking Ned Devine" and the excellent but little-known "Evelyn"):

thread.cfm?threadid=52533#1093480

Subject: RE: Folk Songs In Movie Soundtracks
From: GUEST,Sharon G
Date: 12 Nov 04 - 01:27 PM

Not a folk song, but a fiddle tune.... War of the Worlds has a square dance scene with a band playing Mississippi Sawyer....

Subject: RE: Folk Songs In Movie Soundtracks
From: GUEST,Pete
Date: 12 Nov 04 - 01:32 PM

"Gangs of New York" has already been mentioned but if you're really quick you may also catch a verse of "New York Girls" being sung, I think, by one of the Fureys

Subject: RE: Folk Songs In Movie Soundtracks
From: GUEST,Barrie Roberts
Date: 12 Nov 04 - 04:07 PM

Ernest Gold (?) wrote the music for 'On the Beach' and created a set of variations on 'Waltzing Matilda'. Does anyone know of a current recording of his theme?

Subject: RE: Folk Songs In Movie Soundtracks
From: Margret RoadKnight
Date: 12 Nov 04 - 06:12 PM

Negro Spirituals & African American Gospel songs often used.
Actor/ musician Theodore Bikel appeared with guitar in at least one of his movies.

Subject: RE: Folk Songs In Movie Soundtracks
From: Phil Cooper
Date: 12 Nov 04 - 08:19 PM

Outlaw Josey Wales has bits of Rose of Alabama and Sweet Betsy from Pike.