A song that originated first in Ireland about a horse race sometime around 1790, this song is a classic folk and children's song, one that has been done by just about everyone from Woody Guthrie to Joan Baez and others.
According to music heritage references, this particular song was popular with African Americans in the Southern United States and used to be sung by the chain gangs. It was recorded by Leadbelly, an African American musician who was popular in the early to mid 20th century and is similar to another song called "Run, Molly, Run; Old Tim Brooks; Tim Brooks; The Race Horse Song, a musical offering about the great California mare of the Kentucky horse race of 1878.
Children like songs about animals, and many children's songs are about them. This song crosses generations, as it appeals to children and adults alike. It is done here with accordion, guitar and vocals.
The working man's lot has been written about and songs have been written about it for many years, particularly during the initial times when the struggle for equality was at is height.
But these days the struggle remains in a different way. As local and national budgets become restricted, often worker pensions, raises and other benefits are the first to go, even before reduction in force.
Nowhere are the rights of the workers better expressed than in the song about the controversial Joe Hill. History records him as the authorities found him a petty thief and one involved in desperate crimes, however his efforts for the working man are also shown to demonstrate how people used, and abuse, the protests against unfair labor practices. The song, "Which Side Are You On" by Pete Seeger, shows how controversial the issue has been.
Paul Robeson was one of the first singers to express the sentiments of Joe Hill. Joan Baez, an advocate for equal rights and a major folk singer in America, also has performed and recorded Joe Hill, using her beautiful soprano voice as a major emotional emphasis to the issues raised about the working man.
The song Joe Hill is a traditional folk song, while "Which Side Are You On" represents the variety of songs by Pete Seeger. They are both done here together in honor of the working man and Labor Day as well, a day that remembers the contributions of ordinary folk to the rise of the middle class throughout most of the developed world.
One of the more popular folk songs of the 1960's was performed by a variety of folk artists, including Joan Baez, Pete Seegar, and Odetta.
The song was written by Holly West, although there is some discussion about it as there are similar songs that have been written, dating back decades. It has words and a rhythm that make it easy to remember and difficult to forget, as is the case of many folk songs that endure.
900 miles is a classic folk song that is part of the history of music in the United States but represents the style of music that continues to delight people now and likely people in the future.
One of the songs that most clearly defined the 1960's, especially the folk music movement, was Where Have All the Flowers Gone. The song was written by Pete Seegar, who took some of the ideas from a poem he read some years before and found appropriate for the era of the 60's, which personified some of the issues of the time, namely war and the loss of youth.
Pete Seeger had years of standing up for liberal social causes. His music reflected that stance, as he espoused women's rights, the rights of labor and the reduction of violence in any form.
Peter, Paul and Mary as well as Bob Dylan and Joan Baez all performed Where Have All the Flowers Gone. It was virtually an anthem of most folksingers and has been performed around many a campfire for decades.
It is performed here with vocal and guitar in its simplest form, the way it was done by those folk artists of the past and that continues to reflect the roots of the music of the 1960's and the era that set the tone for decades to come.
No one knows for certain the identity of the maidservant in
the song, the woman who gives birth to the King's child, then aborts it.
There are a number of versions of the song. In all of them, Mary is
the servant of the Queen of Scots, but which Queen is not identified.
When the child is born, Mary Hamilton kills it. She could have aborted it
or killed the live child; we don't know. But the consequences are severe,
when the crime is seen, she is convicted and is executed for the crime.
In at least one version, by Joan Baez, the King comes out before the execution
and vows to save Mary Hamilton's life, but she demurs and the execution is
carried out.
Some music historians consider the song was written about one of the
maidservants of the Queen of Scotland and that she was executed there.
Others believe Mary was the servant of the Queen of Russia. Some
also say the song fuses several events to come up with mix of details, allowing
the listener to be unable to know which person(s) and events were actually involved.
The song tells Mary's story in the first person, as she recounts the events of
her life, specifically the love affair with the King, the pregnancy and birth,
and then ending with her knowledge that of the four Mary's in her region, there
will be only three after the execution.
The traditional version of the song, Mary Hamilton is here:
Twelve Gates to the City is one of those standard sacred tunes that has lasted for generations, recorded by Joan Baez, Carly Simon, Bob Dylan, The Weavers, the Davis Sisters and a host of entertainers over the years because of its lyrics and melody, both of whom that have an everlasting appeal for many people. The origin of the song Twelve Gates to the City is obscure but it is likely among the gospel songs handed down from generations of people longing for the freedom of the prophecy concerning the twelve gates to the city. It was especially important for African Americans held in bondage in America during the time of slavery. The prospect of those heavenly gates gave them something to sing about. In the Old Testament when Jerusalem was rebuilt, Neremiah named the twelve gates to the City of Jerusalem, a symbol of the return of the Jews to the Promised Land to wait for the Messiah or as precursor to Christ's Second Coming, according to Christians, with those gates representing the way to heaven. The song is done here in its standard version:
Queen Jane is a character of myth and history, as is a song
written about her. A folk song relates the details of the death of
Queen Jane Seymour, third wife of King Henry VIII, whom the King married after
the beheading of Ann Boleyn for adultery. Queen Jane was a popular Queen who
died after giving birth to the King's only male heir. It is a traditional
English ballad, recorded by such luminaries as Joan Baez on one of her
earliest albums. But the song has been recorded by many others,
including Tracy Chapman and Bob Dylan.
"Brian Jones, who was The Stones
guitarist until his death in 1969, played the dulcimer, an instrument you play
on your lap by plucking or strumming the strings. Jones could learn just about
any instrument very quickly. He had just recently learned how to play it when
they recorded this.Keith Richards: "Brian was getting into dulcimer then
because he dug Richard Farina. We were also listening to a lot of Appalachian music
then too. To me, Lady Jane is very Elizabethan. There are a few places in
England where people still speak that way, Chaucer English."Mick Jagger:
"Lady Jane is a complete sort of very weird song. I don't really know what
that's all about myself. All the names are historical but it was really
unconscious that they should fit together from the same period."
Bob Dylan's song about Queen Jane is called, "Queen
Jane Approximately" in which the singer admonishes her and tells her she will meet
a sad end. Others, like Joan Baez, remain true to the folk version of the
song, relating the story of the Queen's demise and how women died in labor in
those early days and how that included members of the royal family.
