Mark Breedlove’s folk song history page
SHE MOVES THROUGH THE FAIR “She Moved Through the Fair” (or “She Moves Through the Fair”) is a traditional Irish folk song, which exists in a number of versions and has been recorded many times. The melody is in Mixolydian mode. John Loesberg speculates: “From its strange, almost Eastern sounding melody, it appears to […]
TIME IN A BOTTLE “Time in a Bottle” is a hit single by singer-songwriter Jim Croce. Croce wrote the lyrics after his wife Ingrid told him she was pregnant with his son, Adrian, in December 1970. It appeared on his 1972 ABC debut album You Don’t Mess Around with Jim. ABC originally did not […]
ASHOKEN FAREWELL “Ashokan Farewell” is a piece of music composed by Jay Ungar in 1982. It has served as a goodnight or farewell waltz at the annual Ashokan Fiddle & Dance Camps run by Ungar and his wife Molly Mason, who gave the tune its name, at the Ashokan Field Campus of SUNY New […]
COME ALL YOU FAIR AND TENDER LADIES “Come All You Fair and Tender Ladies” (aka “Tiny Sparrow” or “Little Sparrow”) is an American folk music ballad, originating from the Appalachian region. It has been recorded under either of its two title variations by numerous artists, including The Carter Family, Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, Odetta, […]
ARROW “Arrow” is a song by Cheryl Wheeler. The story about the song is almost as good as the song itself. Cheryl got up in the middle of the night and wrote most of the song in one sitting. And it was almost never recorded. Cheryl was putting together a tape of songs to […]
BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER “Bridge over Troubled Water” is a song by American music duo Simon & Garfunkel. Produced by the duo and Roy Halee, the song was released as the follow-up single to “The Boxer” on January 26, 1970. The song is featured on their fifth studio album, Bridge over Troubled Water (1970). […]
CALEDONIA “Caledonia” is a modern Scottish folk ballad written by Dougie MacLean in 1977. The chorus of the song features the lyric “Caledonia, you’re calling me, and now I’m going home”,[2] the term “Caledonia” itself being a Latin word for Scotland. The song became the most popular of all MacLean’s recordings and something of […]
DIRTY OLD TOWN “Dirty Old Town” is an English song written by Ewan MacColl in 1949 that was made popular by The Dubliners and has been recorded by many others. The song was written about Salford, Greater Manchester, England, the city where MacColl was born and brought up. It was originally composed for an […]
EVE OF DESTRUCTION “Eve of Destruction” is a protest song written by P. F. Sloan in mid-1964. Several artists have recorded it, but the best-known recording was by Barry McGuire. This recording was made between July 12 and July 15, 1965 and released by Dunhill Records. The accompanying musicians were top-tier LA session players: […]
GENTLE ARMS OF EDEN “Gentle Arms Of Eden” is a song written and performed by Dave Carter. He was an American folk singer-songwriter who described his style as “post-modern mythic American folk music.” He was one half of the duo Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer, who were heralded as the new “voice of modern […]