Mark Breedlove’s folk song history page
JUG OF PUNCH “Jug Of Punch” is probably an Irish importation, brought to East Anglia by migrant potato-lifters. A brief song, it opens politely and proceeds on a rapid downhill slide into maudlin defiance, resembling a gent with sprigged waistcoast and churchwardens pipe striving to shore up his dignity while the world is slipping out […]
TEACH YOUR CHILDREN “Teach Your Children” is a song by Graham Nash. Although it was written when Nash was a member of the Hollies, it was never recorded by that group, and first appeared on the album Déjà Vu by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young released in 1970. The recording features Jerry Garcia on steel […]
COLD MISSOURI WATERS James Keelaghan wrote a song about this fire entitled “Cold Missouri Waters” after being inspired by Young Men and Fire. The song was covered by Richard Shindell, Dar Williams, and Lucy Kaplansky on their album Cry Cry Cry. It was also covered by Hank Cramer in his album, Days Gone By. It […]
BIG YELLOW TAXI “Big Yellow Taxi” is a song written, composed, and originally recorded by Joni Mitchell in 1970, and originally released on her album Ladies of the Canyon. It was a hit in her native Canada (No. 14) as well as Australia (No. 6) and the UK (No. 11). It only reached No. 67 […]
DEPORTEE (PLANE WRECK AT LOS GATOS) “Deportee (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos)” is a protest song with lyrics by Woody Guthrie detailing the January 28, 1948 crash of a plane near Los Gatos Canyon, 20 miles (32 km) west of Coalinga in Fresno County, California, United States. The crash occurred in Los Gatos Canyon and […]
WEARING OF THE GREEN “The Wearing of the Green” is an Irish street ballad lamenting the repression of supporters of the Irish Rebellion of 1798. It is to an old Irish air, and many versions of the lyric exist, the best-known being by Dion Boucicault. The song proclaims that “they are hanging men and women […]
HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN “The House of the Rising Sun” is a traditional folk song, sometimes called “Rising Sun Blues”. It tells of a life gone wrong in New Orleans; many versions also urge a sibling to avoid the same fate. The most successful commercial version, recorded in 1964 by the British rock group […]
DICEY REILLY “Dicey Reilly” or Dicey Riley as it is sometimes spelt is a song about a woman alcoholic from Dublin. Despite the seriousness of the subject, the song is warm and light hearted. It’s uncertain whether Dicey was a real person, and if she was, whether or not she used prostitution to finance her […]
PARADISE “Paradise” is a song written by John Prine for his father, and recorded for his 1971 debut album, John Prine. Prine also re-recorded the song for his 1986 album, German Afternoons. The song is about the devastating impact of strip mining for coal, whereby the top layers of soil are blasted off with dynamite […]
CANADIAN RAILROAD TRILOGY The “Canadian Railroad Trilogy” is a song written, composed, and performed by Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot that describes the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway. This song was commissioned from Lightfoot by the CBC for a special broadcast on January 1, 1967, to start Canada’s Centennial year. It appeared on Lightfoot’s The […]