Introduction Fragments of time and history filter down to us in the Child ballads. We get whispers and incomplete stories that make us ponder what ‘really’ lies beneath. This is deeply true in the case of “Lamkin.” Like so many … Continue reading →
I love a good man outside the law just as much as I hate a bad man inside the law. — Woody Guthrie (1940) Legend On October 22, 1934, Charles Arthur “Pretty Boy” Floyd – a bank robber suspected by … Continue reading →
“Fatal Flower Garden,” recorded in 1929 by Nelstone’s Hawaiians, is only the second of eighty-four songs on Harry Smith’s epochal Anthology of American Folk Music – a collection justly celebrated in some macabre corners (mine, for instance) for its songs … Continue reading →
I make no claims to having a deep knowledge of folk music, and even less of the much discussed Child ballads. But ever since Ken introduced me to Murder Ballad Monday, I’ve been trying to find just the right song/moment/excuse … Continue reading →
