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"Guitars & Folk Songs:
An Anthology" is available in both eBook and paperback format |
American Folk Songs
Folk songs come from real experiences and are sung in short, simple melodies. They have clarity and simplicity of form. They contain ideas expressed by simple, often poetic language or by exaggerated humor.
We tend to think that the first way we hear a folk song is the best or original way to sing it. That's seldom true. Folk songs come from common people through oral tradition, changing with every singing. So, no version is the only way to sing it. That's the beauty of folk songs.
We tend to think that the first way we hear a folk song is the best or original way to sing it. That's seldom true. Folk songs come from common people through oral tradition, changing with every singing. So, no version is the only way to sing it. That's the beauty of folk songs.
Here are some songs that have been favorites of Americans
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Why Are
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Songs A - HAA la Puerto del Cielo
A Ram Sam Sam A Tisket A Tasket Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me 'Round Alabama Gal Alcitron All God's Children Got Shoes All Night, All Day Alouette Alphabet Song, Black Sheep, & Twinkle Amazing Grace America, the Beautiful Animal Fair Apple Tree Aquaqua del-a Omar Aunt Rhody Are You Sleeping? Away in a Manger BBand of Angels
Barbara Allen Barnyard Song Battle Hymn of the Republic Bell Horses Billy, Billy Billy Boy Bingo Black Sheep Blue Tail Fly Bluebird Blow, Boys, Blow Blow the Man Down Boat to Cross the Ferry, A Bobby Shafto Boll Weevil, The Bought Me a Cat Bounce Bound for the Rio Grande Bow Wow Wow Brahms' Lullaby Buckeye Jim Buffalo Gals Button, You Must Wander Buy Me Chocolate Bye Baby Bunting Bye Bye, Love Bye'm Bye CCamptown Races
Canoe Song Cape Cod Girls Chase the Squirrel Christ the Lord Is Born Christ Was Born Christmas Is A-Comin' In Chumbara Chicka-ma, Chicka-ma, Craney Crow Child of God Cielito Lindo Cindy Circle Round the Zero Clap, Clap, Clap Your Hands Cobbler, Cobbler Cock Robin Cockles and Mussels Colorado Trail, The Cotton Eye Joe Cripple Creek Cuckoo Cumberland Gap Cut the Cake DDaddy Shot a Bear
Dance Josey Daughter, Will You Marry? De Colores Deaf Woman's Courtship, The Deedle, Deedle Dumpling Deep and Wide Deep in the Heart of Texas Did You Ever See a Lassie? Did You Feed My Cow? Didn't My Lord Deliver Daniel? Dinah Ding Dong Diggi Diggi Dong Do, Do Pity My Case Do Lord Do Your Ears Hang Low Doggie, Doggie, Where’s Your Bone? Doodle Lee Doo Dors, Dors, 'Tit Be'be' Down Came a Lady Down by the Station Down in My Heart Down in the Valley Draw a Bucket of Water Drill, Ye Tarriers Drunken Sailor, The Dry Bones EEarly One Morning
Early to Bed El Rancho Grande Ev'ry Time I Feel the Spirit Ev'rybody Loves Saturday Night Ezekiel Saw the Wheel FFarmer in the Dell, The
Fare Thee Well Father Grumble Fiddle-Dee-Dee Fillimeooreeay Frog in the Meadow Fire in the Mountain Flea Fly Flo Frankie and Johnny Friendly Beasts, The Frog Went A-Courting GGet on Board
Girl I Left Behind Me, The Git Along, Little Dogies Give Me oil in My Lamp Go Down, Moses Go In and Out the Window Go Tell Aunt Rhody Go Tell It on the Mountain God to Sleep Golden Slippers Goodby, Old Paint Goodbye Girls, I'm Going to Boston Goodnight Goodnight, Ladies Goodnight, Sleep Tight Grand Old Duke of York, The Grandma Grunts Great Big House in New Orleans Greensleeves Grey Goose, The Grinding Corn Guantanamera Gypsy Rover, The HHalleluia, Praise Ye the Lord
Hambone Happy Birthday Head and Shoulders He's Got the Whole World in His Hands Hey, Betty Martin Hey Diddle Diddle Hickety Pickety, Bumble Bee Hickory Dickory Dock Hill and Gully Home on the Range Honey, You Can't Love One Hop, Old Squirrel Hoptoads Hot Cross Buns How Many Miles to Babylon Hush, Little Baby Hushaby, Don't You Cry II Like Music
I Love Little Willie I See the Moon Icka Backa Ida Red If the Man in the Moon If You're Happy Ifca's Castle I'll Fly Away I'm Goin' Home on a Cloud I'm Gonna Mail Myself I'm On My Way It Came Upon the Midnight Clear It’s Raining, It’s Pouring It's a Small World Itsy Bitsy Spider I've Been Workin' on the Railroad I've Got a Car I've God the Rhythm in My Head |
Songs J - RJJack and Jill
Jacob's Ladder Jambalaya Jim Along Josie John Henry John Kanaka Johnny Caught a Flea Johnny Come Down to Hilo Johnny Hs Gone for a Soldier Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho Joy to the World Jubilate Deo KLLand of the Silver Birch
Laredo Lavender Blue Le Pont d'Avignon Lead Through That Sugar and Tea Lemonade Let Us Chase the Squirrel Let's Go A-Huntin' Lion Sleeps Tonight, The Little Bo-Peep Little Boy Blue Little Jack Horner Little Johnny Brown Little 'Liza Jane Little Sally Walker Little Sally Water Little Song, A Little Tom Tinker Little Wheel a-Turning 'Liza Jane London Bridge Long-Legged Sailor Long, Long Ago Looby Loo Love Somebody Lucy Locket MMama Buy Me a Chiney Doll
Mama Don't 'Low Marines' Hymn Mary Ann Mary Had a Baby Mary Had a Little Lamb Mary Wore Her Red Dress Matilda Michael Miss Mary Mack Mister Frog Mister Rabbit Mockingbird More We Get Together, The Muffin Man, The Mulberry Bush, The My Bonnie My Good Old Man My Hat (Mein Hut) My Little Rooster My Mama Done Told Me NNanny Nanny Boo Boo
Never Argue with a Bee Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen No One In the House OOats, Peas, Beans, and Barley Grow
Oh! Susanna Oh, Be Careful Oh, Dear! What Can the Matter Be? Oh, How Lovely Oh, My Darling Clementine Oh! Susanna Oh, Wondrous Night Old Abram Brown Old Blue Old Brass Wagon Old Chisholm Trail Old Dan Tucker Old Folks at Home Old Grey Mare Old Jay Bird Old Joe Clark Old MacDonald Old Mister Rabbit Old Mother Witch Old Texas Old Time Religion Oliver Twist On Top of Old Smoky One More River One, Two, Three O'Leary Oranges and Lemons Over My Head PPaper of Pins
Pat-a-pan Paw-Paw Patch Pay Me My Money Down Peas in the Pot Peace Like a River Pick a Bale of Cotton Pizza Hut Polly Wolly Doodle Polly, Put the Kettle On Pony Song Poor Little Jesus Pop! Goes the Weasel! Portland Town Pourquoi Punchinella QQuaker
Que Llueva RRain, Rain, Go Away
Raisins and Almonds Red River Valley Reveille Riddle Song, The Riding in the Buggy Rig-a-jig-jig Ring around the Rosy Rise and Shine Rock-a-My Soul Rocky Mountain 'Round and 'Round Row, Row, Row SSailor Went to Sea, A
Sakura Sally Go Round the Sun Sandy Land Sail Away, Ladies Santa Lucia Sarasponda Scarborough Fair Scotland's Burning Sea Shells See-Saw, Margery Daw Shady Grove Shake Them 'Simmons Down She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain Shoo, Fly, Don't Bother Me Shoot the Bufflalo Short'nin' Bread Show Me the Way Sing-a-ling-a-ling Skin and Bones Skip To My Lou Sleep, Baby, Sleep Snail, Snail Sourwood Mountain Sow Took the Measles, The Step Back, Baby Still, Still, Still Stooping on the Window Streets of Laredo, The Sturdy Blacksmith, The Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Swap Song, The Sweet Betsy from Pike Sweet Music Swing Low, Sweet Chariot |
Composer, philosopher, and music educator Zoltan Kodaly (1882-1967) said . . .
(1) That true musical literacy -- the ability to read, write, and think music -- is the right of every human being . . . (2) That, to be internalized, musical learning must begin with the child's own natural instrument -- the voice . . . (3) That the education of the musical ear can be completely successful only if it is begun early . . . (4) That, as a child possesses a mother-tongue -- the language spoken in his home -- he also possesses a musical mother-tongue in the folk music of that language. It is through this musical mother-tongue that the skills and concepts necessary to musical literacy should be taught . . . the most perfect relationship between language and music is to be found in the folk song . . . (5) That only music of unquestioned quality -- both folk and composed -- should be used. Lois Choksy, The Kodaly Context: Creating an Environment for Musical Learning
(Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1981), 6-8 Kodaly encouraged the use of simple, expressive children's songs and games, and authentic folk music --
"living music, not fabricated or contrived." Lois Choksy, The Kodaly Method: Comprehensive Music Education from Infant to Adult
(Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1974), 18 Countless songs we think of as being all-American folk songs originated in other countries, were brought to the United States by immigrants or slaves, and have changed with the times and the spoken language.
The folk songs on this website have been favorites of Americans for years and, hopefully, will be around for many more years. If you remember some songs differently, that’s fine. Make it yours. You probably know lots of other favorites as well. Be musical! Enjoy! Songs T - ZTTeddy Bear
Tell Me Why Ten In the Bed That's a Mighty Pretty Motion That's the Way, Uh-huh This Is My Father's World This Land Is Your Land This Little Light of Mine This Old Man This Train Three Blind Mice Three Blue Pigeons Tideo Tinga Layo To Work Upon the Railway Tom Dooley Turkey Song Turn the Glasses Over Twelve Disciples, The Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star UVVive l'amour
WWabash Cannonball
Wade In the Water Walter Jumped a Fox Water Come a Me Eye Water Is Wide, The Wayfaring Stranger Weavily Wheat What Month Was Jesus Born In What Shall We Do on a Rainy Day? What Wondrous Love Is This? What'll I Do with the Baby-O? When Billy Was One When the Saints Go Marching In When the Train Comes Along Where Has My Little Dog Gone? Whistle, Daughter, Whistle Who Built the Ark? Who Did Swallow Jonah? Wishy, Washy Witch, Old Witch Who's That Tapping at the Window XYZZebra Dun, The
Zacchaeus Zum Gali Gali |
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