Wow, a fine thread. I sang "The Faded Coat of Blue" at the Washington Folk Festival. I followed a gut-wrenching song by Joe Hickerson about a guy who was wrongfully hanged, so I introduced it with "This is the LEAST depressing of the songs I have prepared." (I had already done "Tenting Tonight," and had also prepared "All Quiet Along the Potomac Tonight," which is a tear-jerker but doesn't really move me, and "The Vacant Chair.") I love "The Vacant Chair," especially because it was written for the family of the boy who was killed.

No one has mentioned "The Heart of the Appaloosa," by ?Frank Small?. I know a woman who said it took her 6 months to learn: 1 month to get the words and tune right, another 5 to get through it without breaking down.

I love "The Death of Queen Jane." To me it's one of the most personal and moving Child ballads. Every time I finish singing it, it takes me about a minute to come out of Queen Jane's funeral procession, with Henry the Eighth walking behind wringing his hands, and back to the 20th century.

Also love the ballad "Sheath and Knife," which is like Queen Jane in that it's a personal tragedy as well as a royal one. ALso love but can hardly bear, "Bonnie Susy Clelie." There, the pride and stubborness of Susy and her parents just tears me up.

Art, I rolled on the floor cackling at your nomination of "Waltzing with Bears" as the saddest song you know. Bill thinks it's pretty sad, too; he made it known, about 6 months after our crowd took it up, that he felt it suffered from over exposure and should be retired until about Y2K.

Darn it, people, I have just got to spend less time on Mudcat, and what happens? I ended up reading every darned post on this thread (and enjoyed every ill-spent minute). - Rita F