musi
American Music
Folk Music
Objectives
Identify the characteristics of folk music.
Define ballad, work song, and protest song.
Name three influential folk singer/songwriters.
Describe the influence of Bob Dylan on popular music.
What Is Folk Music?
Informal, simple
Sung unaccompanied or played by singer
Strophic form
Oral tradition
Passing down by word of mouth
Not written down, constantly changing
Creators/composers often unknown
Types of Folk Songs
Ballads
Work Songs
Protest Songs
1. Ballads
A song that tells a story
Originally from England/Scotland
Brought to America by immigrants
Can be traced to 1666
Jean Ritchie (b. 1922-2015) = KY folksinger
All in the merry month of May
When green buds they were swellin’,
Young William Green on his deathbed lay
For the love of Barbry Allen.
He sent his servant to the town,
To the place where she was dwellin’.
Sayin’, “Master’s sick and he sends for you,
If your name be Barbry Allen.”
So slowly, slowly she got up,
And slowly she came a-nigh him.
And all she said when she got there,
“Young man, I think you’re dyin’.”
2. Work Songs
To accompany labor
Prison songs, sea chanties, field hollers
Call-and-response form
“Don’cha Hear Poor Mother Callin’?”
John and Alan Lomax (1930s & 40s)
Collected folk music for Library of Congress
Believed that all cultures should be recorded and presented to the public
“Leadbelly”
Huddie Ledbetter (1885-1949)
Discovered by Lomaxes in a southern prison
Recorded songs when released on parole
3. Protest Songs
Express opposition to an injustice
Woody Guthrie (1912-1967)
Wrote over 1000 songs
Hardships of Great Depression
“Dust Bowl”
Union organization
A Story of Two Songs
God bless America,
Land that I love.
Stand beside her, and guide her
Through the night with a light from above.
From the mountains
To the prairies,
To the oceans, white with foam
God bless America, my home sweet home.
This land is your land,
this land is my land,
From California
to the New York Island;
From the red wood forest
to the Gulf Stream waters
This land was made for you and me.
Daily Activity
Do the first four stanzas demonstrate Guthrie’s bitterness? Explain.
What is the meaning in lines 17-20?
Why does Guthrie select a steeple in line 21?
Folk Revival (1960s)
Hootenanny
Gathering at which folksingers entertain
Audience often joins in
1963-64: ABC television show
The Times They Are A- Changin ’
Bob Dylan (b. 1941)
2016 Nobel Prize for Literature
Incalculable influence on popular music
Pioneer of songwriting styles
Confessional singer/songwriter
Winding, hallucinatory, stream-of-consciousness narratives
Changed vocalist’s role (voice quality)
Pivotal point in folk music
Away from traditional songs
Toward personal songwriting
Daily Activity
Choose one stanza. Are the lyrics still relevant? Explain.
Who is your generation’s Bob Dylan?
The Return of the Protest Song
J. Cole
Lauryn Hill
John Legend
New York Times
Pussy Riot
Protest Music Playlist
Due April 22nd
Dropbox submissions only
Instructions, rubric, example provided
2019 Grammies
Best Folk Album
All Ashore
Punch Brothers
Folk Music in Film
A Mighty Wind
O Brother, Where Art Thou
Songcatcher
Objectives
Identify the characteristics of folk music.
Define ballad, work song, and protest song.
Name three influential folk singer/songwriters.
Describe the influence of Bob Dylan on popular music.
American Music
Folk Music