Two Soldiers
The Veteran in a New Field – Winslow Homer, 1865 I mentioned in my last week of posts that I’m preparing to take my 8th grade students to Gettysburg, and that all things Civil War occupy my mind this time … Continue reading →
Shelter me from the powder and the finger
As we saw earlier in the week, there’s great controversy about “Powderfinger” and what story it is trying to tell us. What always gets to me about this song are the two things that I know it’s about for sure. … Continue reading →
The thought that pulls the trigger
As I mentioned in my first post, there’s no small controversy over what, exactly, “Powderfinger” is about. Aided by the abundance of specific details in the lyrics, especially about that boat, almost all interpretations nod to Young’s political sensibilities in … Continue reading →
Powderfinger
Neil Young This week we take a look at “Powderfinger,” the classic Neil Young song. Although it’s been discussed ad nauseam by die-hard Young fans and is the subject of no small controversy among them (we’ll get to that in … Continue reading →
Rest in Peace, Doug Dillard
We sadly note the passing of Doug Dillard: Founding member of the Dillards, a bluegrass band that made headway for the country folk/rock genre. The Dillards were also well-known for their recurring role the Darlings, a gritty and fun bluegrass … Continue reading →
The Natural and the Unnatural, Naturally
Study for “There Were Three Maidens Pu’d Flower” by Charles H. Mackie Death Before Dishonor?The themes in “Babylon” pointed me back to reviewing Pat’s excellent series of posts on “Edward,” (Child 13), particularly this one, which is a careful, reluctant, … Continue reading →
51st Annual Philly Folk Fest Announcement
51st Annual Philadelphia Folk Festival August 17-19, 2012 Upper Salford Township (near Schwenksville), PA PHILADELPHIA – It’s hard to imagine the summer without the PHILADELPHIA FOLK FESTIVAL. This beloved event is the longest continuously-running outdoor musical festival of its kind … Continue reading →
The Underbelly of Myth
Thereby Hangs a (Folk) Tale In the last post, I suggested that there seemed to be a certain implausible, or perhaps contrived, quality, to the narrative of “Babylon,” “The Bonnie Banks o’ Fordie,” or “Fair Flowers of the Valley,” … Continue reading →
Babylon
“The Bonnie Banks O’Fordie,” by Charles Hodge Mackie (1892) Fair Flowers of the Valley While it’s not exactly our intention to ring the changes on the varieties of family-based murder ballads, we’ll turn this week to Child Ballad 14, “Babylon” … Continue reading →
While travelling through Kentucky…
Introduction My first post this week introduced “Hiram Hubbard”, a Kentucky murder ballad from the era of the Civil War. The performance of Jean Ritchie and Doc Watson was our springboard. For the sake of avoiding multiple clicks across posts, … Continue reading →