Firm Foundations
“Omie Wise” has been with us a long time, and been “folk processed” in a number of different directions. That it is still with us is evidence of its power to move and affect the singer and the listener. That … Continue reading →
Seeking resolution
Elvis Costello appeared five or six years ago as part of “The Harry Smith Project,” a musical renewal of the songs collected by Smith in the Anthology of American Folk Music, providing his proposed resolution of the Omie Wise tale. … Continue reading →
SiriusXM’s “The Village” now web-only
SiriusXM satellite radio broadcasting company announced that its folk/trad music station “The Village” will no longer be broadcast via satellite and will be available only through their web-based client and mobile app. Listeners will still be required to purchase premium … Continue reading →
Who writes “The Ballad of Nancy and Henry”?
Harry Smith’s Anthology incorporated his somewhat idiosyncratic, news-brief style summaries for the songs he included. The brief on “Ommie Wise” reads as follows: GREEDY GIRL GOES TO ADAMS SPRING WITH LIAR; LIVES JUST LONG ENOUGH TO REGRET IT … Continue reading →
Omie Wise
This week’s installment is a decidedly American contribution to the genre, and one not completely shrouded in the mists of history, but only partly so. The events of “Omie Wise” can be pinned down to a known historical event—the drowning … Continue reading →
Who’s really guilty here? Or, if it’s not Scottish…
Here we have Ewan MacColl’s version of Child #73, from his Classic Scots Ballads. Thanks, Pat, for mentioning it. The song is sung in Scots, and there are a few passages which I have yet to understand clearly, but the … Continue reading →
A bit older this time, perhaps
I listened to this version for the first time this morning: I had never heard this tune for the song before. Here is where we have want of a musicologist. On the face of it, it seems like this tune … Continue reading →
Fair Ellender
For the first selection: Fair Ellender. Here is Jerry Garcia and David Grisman’s version from “Shady Grove.” Fair Ellender (Spotify) Here’s the same song on YouTube: (link replaced 12/10/14) While not the most famous of the genre, this one … Continue reading →
Introduction to Murder Ballad Monday
The murder ballad fascinates me. Not murder, of course, but songs about it—how the person or people who craft and carry on the song use something terrible to make something beautiful, or at least something useful or emotionally or morally … Continue reading →
Ron’s Top 10 Favorite Folk CDs of 2011
Okay, there are 12 CDs on my list of top 10. Sue me. Since folk music is such a diverse genre, and because we were blessed with so many great recordings during the past 12 months, I felt it was okay … Continue reading →