Folk Music 101, Part V: 101 Essential Folk Songs

date: 06/14/00

It's impossible to list all the songs that are central to the American folk tradition, but here is a start. My criteria are 1) literary & musical excellence: each of these songs has a complexity of language, melody, character or plot that keeps it interesting and makes it a unique work of art. 2) historical importance: each has had an important impact either at the time it was written or during its lifetime. 3) currency: each is relatively current - contemporary folksingers, folk audiences, and (even some singer-songwriters!) know it and play it. They're not the top 100 folksongs, just 100 songs that cover a lot of ground in the major areas of folk music. They're the kinds of songs that it couldn't hurt to learn - some might work well at an open stage, others at a campfire - together they serve as a trail of breadcrumbs back to the place where songs come from.

Some items have links to short articles about the song - explaining what makes it tick and discussing its historical significance. I've included links to streaming Real Audio files or MP3s when I could find them.Also check out my page of "Guitar Tabs for 25 Top Folk Songs"

Traditional Songs - British/Irish Roots

  1. Barbara Allen. Link takes you to the Contemplator page, with notes, lyrics,
  2. Mary Hamilton
  3. Lord Randall - Link takes you to the Contemplator page with lyrics, interesting facts and variants of this song. A midi version of the melody plays automatically when you go to the page - it's downloadable too. For an important tie to Dylan, go here.
  4. House Carpenter
  5. Fenario/Pretty Peggy-O
  6. John Barleycorn Must Die
  7. Scarborough Fair / Elfin Knight
  8. Gallows Pole/Young Maid Freed From the Gallows
  9. Star of the County Down
  10. Reynardine
  11. She Moved Through the Fair
  12. The Water Is Wide
  13. The Twa Corbies
  14. The Diggers

Traditional Songs - American

  1. John Henry
  2. Jesse James
  3. Big Rock Candy Mountain
  4. Mole in the Ground
  5. The Cuckoo
  6. Frankie & Johnnie
  7. Streets of Laredo
  8. Wayfaring Stranger
  9. Stackolee
  10. Lakes of Pontchartrain
  11. Tom Dooley
  12. Stewball


Blues/Spirituals

  1. John the Revelator
  2. Love In Vain (Robert Johnson)
  3. Go Down Moses
  4. Follow the Drinking Gourd
  5. See That My Grave is Kept Clean (Blind Lemon Jefferson)
  6. St. James Infirmary
  7. Ezekiel Saw the Wheel
  8. Will the Circle Be Unbroken
  9. Freight Train (Elizabeth Cotten)
  10. Amazing Grace

Labor/Peace Classics

  1. Union Maid (Joe Hill)
  2. I Dreamed I Saw Joe Hill Last Night (Fred Hellerman)
  3. Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream (Earl Robinson)
  4. Plane Wreck Over Los Gatos/Deportees (Woody Guthrie)
  5. Pastures of Plenty (Woody Guthrie)
  6. This Land Is Your Land (Woody Guthrie)
  7. 1913 Massacre (Woody Guthrie)
  8. If I Had a Hammer (Seeger/Hellerman)
  9. Where Have All the Flowers Gone (Seeger)
  10. Do Re Mi (Woody Guthrie)

1850s-1950s ("Oldies": Minstrelshows, Vaudeville & Old Country)

  1. Sewanee River (Stephen Foster)
  2. Hard Times (Stephen Foster)
  3. Irene Goodnight (Leadbelly)
  4. So Lonesome I Could Cry (Hank Williams)

Sixties

  1. Big Yellow Taxi (Joni Mitchell)
  2. Both Sides Now (Joni Mitchell)
  3. Circle Game (Joni Mitchell)
  4. Suzanne (Leonard Cohen)
  5. Sisters of Mercy (Leonard Cohen)
  6. Power and Glory (Phil Ochs)
  7. Small Circle of Friends (Phil Ochs)
  8. When I'm Gone (Phil Ochs)
  9. Draft Dodger Rag (Phil Ochs)
  10. Alice's Restaurant (Arlo Guthrie)
  11. Blowin in the Wind (Bob Dylan)
  12. A Hard Rain's A Gonna Fall (Bob Dylan)
  13. The Times They Are A Changin' (Bob Dylan)
  14. All Along the Watchtower (Bob Dylan)
  15. Four Strong Winds (Ian Tyson)
  16. Time for Goin' (Joni Mitchell)
  17. Ramblin' Boy (Tom Paxton)
  18. Bottle of Wine (Tom Paxton)

Seventies

  1. American Pie (Don McLean)
  2. Vincent (Don McLean)
  3. Old Man (Neil Young)
  4. Harvest (Neil Young)
  5. Teach Your Children (CSNY)
  6. Famous Blue Raincoat (Leonard Cohen)
  7. Imagine (John Lennon)
  8. Cat's In the Cradle (Harry Chapin)
  9. Fire and Rain (James Taylor)
  10. Sweet Baby James (James Taylor)
  11. You've Got A Friend (Carole King)
  12. Angel From Montgomery (John Prine)
  13. The Dutchman (Michael Smith)
  14. Country Road (John Denver)
  15. Bridge Over Troubled Waters (Paul Simon)
  16. Sounds of Silence (Paul Simon)
  17. America (Paul Simon)
  18. Mrs. Robinson (Paul Simon)
  19. Ripple (Grateful Dead)
  20. Uncle John's Band (Grateful Dead)
  21. Friend of the Devil (Grateful Dead)

 

Contemporary Classics

  1. February (Dar Williams)
  2. The Great Unknown (Dar Williams)
  3. The Great American Dream (David Massengill)
  4. On the Road to Fairfax County (David Massengill)
  5. Birches (Bill Morrissey)
  6. Fleur de Lys (Richard Shindell)
  7. Mary Magdalene (Richard Shindell)
  8. Father's Shoes (Cliff Eberhardt)
  9. The Queen and the Soldier (Suzanne Vega)
  10. Killkelly Ireland (Peter Jones)
  11. Love Is Our Cross to Bear (John Gorka)
  12. From A Distance (Julie Gold)
  13. 64 Dodge (Greg Brown)
  14. Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen)

 

Next Article: Children's Songs

 

Hugh Blumenfeld, Editor
hugh@balladtree.com

 

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