Appalachia Music Roots

Subject: Appalachia Music Roots
From: wilco
Date: 30 Sep 02 - 10:08 AM

I'm looking for some more songs for school programs. I'm in East Tennessee (USA), where much of old music survives. I need a few songs that came from Ireland, Scotland, and England that were modified when they got to the USA. Preferably songs for nine to eleven year olds. One that I use is "How Old are You My Pretty Little Miss" (US version) and "Whaur are ye gaun, my Bonnie Wee Lass." Ideally, these would be songs the kids could respond to with their own lyrics.

Thanks!!!!!

Wilco IN Tenneseee

Subject: RE: Appalachia Music Roots
From: catspaw49
Date: 30 Sep 02 - 10:38 AM

Almost any of the ballads......Not much problem finding songs, but I'd also suggest you find an excellent book through the library or buy it if you can called "Finding Her Voice; The Saga of Women in Country Music."   In it you will find an outstanding several chapters on how the songs changed and the why behind it.....the effect of the mountain culture on the tales told so to speak. You will not regret the effort!!!

Spaw

Subject: RE: Appalachia Music Roots
From: GUEST,Richie
Date: 30 Sep 02 - 01:02 PM

I'm putting fiddle lyrics on my web-site. There are a lot of great fiddle tune lyrics that are directly from England/Europe.

Tunes like the Cuckoo, Aunt Rhody are from overseas. Click here

Good luck,

Richie

Subject: RE: Appalachia Music Roots
From: Desert Dancer
Date: 30 Sep 02 - 02:18 PM

Froggy Went A-Courting/ The Frog and the Mouse is a good example. Lots of versions on both sides. (I'll leave it to you to do the choosing.)

Last fall the fifth grade at my local elementary school was lucky enough to be visited by Mike Seeger, then a few months later, Englishman John Roberts (I confess, it was all my fault). Mike Seeger did "Johnson Jinkson", and John Roberts did the "Three Butchers". Mike's Johnson Jinkson is from the Todd & Sonkin Migrant Worker Collection at the Library of Congress (go to this site, browse by "song titles" and look for "Johnson Jinkson"). John Roberts does the Three Butchers on "A Present from the Gentlemen" (available from Golden Hind Music).

I like to use the Gant family's Texas version of The Nightingale/One Morning in May collected by John Lomax: "The Wild Rippling Water". (The DT version is as adapted by Judy Collins. You can get the original from Alan Lomax's Folk Songs of North America.) The version the Clancy Brothers sang was actually from Oxfordshire, England.

There are of course LOTS more examples. You could start with any ballad in Cecil Sharp's "English Folk-Songs from the Southern Appalachians". Or browse your way through the Ballad Index.

~ Becky in Tucson

Subject: RE: Appalachia Music Roots
From: GUEST
Date: 30 Sep 02 - 03:32 PM

Other books- you may be lucky enough to have in your library North Carolina Folklore, in 7 volumes, Frank C. Brown Collection, which really covers a lot of territory. Almost as good and more easily available is Vance Randolph's Ozark Folksongs (4 vol., but the one vol. abridgement by Norm Cohen, in paperback, is excellent. Many of the "Appalachian" ballads are here as well.
The nine to eleven year olds are certainly old enough to get great fun out of the murder ballads. Or trace the story and history of "East Virginia" to the old British Isles ballads "Awake, ye drowsy sleeper," many versions, many posted in this website, with bloody daggars and other things of interest to kids; threads 35233 and 50807. East VA and East VA
When I was in grade school, my outside reading included everything I could find on vampires and sorcery, but not many songs about these topics. Now I guess they all have read the Harry Potter stuff, which is very mild.

Subject: RE: Appalachia Music Roots
From: wilco
Date: 01 Oct 02 - 09:57 AM

Thanks!!!!! As usual, great help from the mudcatters!!!!!

Wilco in Tennessee