Folk Files Olivia Harding

Wayfaring Stranger is the featured song in this episode of Folk Files, which explores the history of Appalachia, shape note tradition, and the difficulties of tracing the origins of early American folk music. 

Host: Olivia Harding

Special thanks to: Aaron J. Morton, Jo Morton, Lucas "Whiskey Richards" Husted, and Mary White-Harding

Musical excerpts:

ARTIST: Jack White

WORK: Wayfaring Stranger

SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25P08So3rfI



ARTIST: Cherokee National Youth Choir

WORK: North Wind

SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_7j3qx-Qrs



ARTIST: Detlef Korsen

WORK: Ich Bin Ein Gast Auf Erden

SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0ia7MiVqRc



ARTIST: Ireland Sacred Harp Convention

WORK: Wayfaring Stranger

SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dL4AVKA6tM



ARTIST: The United Shape Note Singers of West Georgia and the Associated Note Singers of Atlanta

WORK: What a Happy Time

SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUwHIEb19Ug



ARTIST: Texas Sacred Harp Singers

WORK: What Wondrous Love

SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRpV9H9ZpB0



ARTIST: ARRR!!!

WORK: The Ballad of Captain Kidd

SOURCE: Let’s Get Kraken: https://arrr-pirates.bandcamp.com/album/lets-get-kraken



ARTIST: Rhiannon Giddens

WORK: Wayfaring Stranger

SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1Z4PAZX9Bs



ARTIST: Ewan McColl

WORK: Dowie Dens of Yarrow

SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NfTplWa0mg



ARTIST: Second Wind

WORK: Wayfaring Stranger

SOURCE: Deco Lounge, April 6 2024

This episode of Folk Files traces the roots of popular sea shanties to Black work songs and African folk traditions.

Full list of referenced works: https://jmp.sh/gcOBH83N

To jump into the Black origins of country music, start here:

https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2022/10/black-country-music-legacy/671818/

https://time.com/5673476/ken-burns-country-music-black-artists/

Host: Olivia Harding

Special thanks to Cherie and Michael Albert

Musical excerpts:

ARTIST: Paul Clayton and the Fo’c’sle Singers

WORK: Haul Away Joe

SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x73TAgmZYAM



ARTIST: The Longest Johns

WORK: Spanish Ladies

SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3wzlHYzsg8



ARTIST: Ed Lewis and Prisoners from Parchman, Mississippi

WORK: I Be So Glad When the Sun Goes Down

SOURCE: https://youtu.be/C-zlSq4mWiE?si=fnGu-f8ZgGbMmv0-



ARTIST: Music the Gathering

WORK: Sundown Below

SOURCE: LVL 1



ARTIST: Assassin’s Creed: Rogue

WORK: Donkey Riding

SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgfLP3gMh0Y



ARTIST: David Coffin

WORK: Roll the Old Chariot

SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJtgjG0x9Mw



ARTIST: Planxty

WORK: Sally Brown

SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0Bq4-fCH0c



ARTIST: Sam Lee

WORK: Knock a Man Down

SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NoUAQhY-g8



ARTIST: Bernard Wrigley et. al.

WORK: Haul Away for Rosie

SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1DugYkOOd0



ARTIST: Coon Creek Girls

WORK: Jim Along Josie

SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztG-7-P_G-w



ARTIST: Lead Belly

WORK: Haul Away Joe

SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NoUAQhY-g8



ARTIST: The Barroualie Whalers

WORK: Tinnego

SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwL5lpVt1Mk



ARTIST: The Menhaden Chanteymen

WORK: [Title Unknown]

SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NoUAQhY-g8

Ahoy! This episode of Folk Files explores the strange history of Mingulay, the island at the center of the Mingulay Boat Song. The episode also delves into the difference between sea shanties and fo’c’sle songs and discusses the tradition of naming songs “[Scottish Island] Boat Song”. 

Host: Olivia Harding

Special thanks to Aaron J. Morton, Asia Lupo, Marc Mills, Arne Parrott, Joseph Maurer, Cherie Hopton Albert, and Michael Albert



Musical excerpts:

ARTIST: ARRR!!!

WORK: Mingulay Boat Song

SOURCE: Scourge of the Open Waters



ARTIST: Tom Sullivan

WORK: Paddy Lay Back

SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhWNp9vh39E



ARTIST: Mystic Seaport Sea Music Festival demonstration on the Joseph Conrad

WORK: Blood Red Roses

SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syAn2xv5HSU&t=48s



ARTIST: The Longest Johns

WORK: Mingulay Boat Song

SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDt81x1B8nk



ARTIST: Robin Hall & Jimmy McGregor with the Galliards

WORK: Mingulay Boat Song

SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LF3CpSf7NxQ



ARTIST: Harbottle and Jonas (from Folk at the Corner House)

WORK: Mingulay Boat Song

SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nIdRnL7vRU



ARTIST: The Kilt Lifters

WORK: Queen Mary’s Escape

SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7XpB1I-FSk



ARTIST: Mairi MacInnes

WORK: Cuachag Nan Craobh

SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=298ngsE8dTY



ARTIST: Bear McCreary (feat. Griogair Labhruidh)

WORK: The Skye Boat Song

SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnsVFslhy6I

ARTIST: Music the Gathering

WORK: Mingulay Boat Song (WIP)

SOURCE: Soon to be released on LVL 3. Check here for updates: https://www.musicthegathering.com/

In this holiday episode of Folk Files, we explore the old, wild, wonderful world of wassailing. Wæs hæl!

Host: Olivia Harding

Special thanks to Aaron J. Morton.



Musical excerpts:

ARTIST: The Brown University Madrigal Singers

WORK: Wassail Song, arr. Ralph Vaughan Williams

SOURCE: 2010 Holiday Concert



ARTIST: Magpie Lane

WORK: The Somerset Wassail

SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhWNp9vh39E



ARTIST: The King’s Singers

WORK: Here We Come A Wassailing

SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YUGXr8FcdY



ARTIST: Ian Giles

WORK: God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen

SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nppGaVz_8cw



ARTIST: Electra Women’s Choir

WORK: Yorkshire Wassail

SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCXM9G9uyt4



ARTIST: Unknown, recorded by Smithsonian Folkways

WORK: John Canoe Music

SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nIdRnL7vRU



ARTIST: Lady Maisery, Jimmy Aldridge, and Sid Goldsmith

WORK: Cornish Wassail

SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fo1aGvEUtcI



ARTIST: Phil Tanner

WORK: The Wassail Song (Gower)

SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqCxKtHr778



ARTIST: Rhodri McDonagh

WORK: Deck the Halls (Welsh version)

SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGuTncYncbU

Welcome to Folk Files, a podcast hosted by Olivia Harding that seeks to uncover the mysteries of folk music throughout the ages and dive deep into the tangled history of murder ballads, sea shanties, rebel songs, and other music that has withstood the test of time!



In this inaugural episode, we will discuss the meaning of "folk music" and explore the origins of the song "Health to the Company".



Special thanks to Misti Bernard, Jerry Barry, and Aaron J. Morton.



ARTIST: Sherrill Milnes, Liberty Tree Wind Players, American Fife Ensemble, Jon Spong

WORK: Liberty Song

SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZI1MJuszYM



ARTIST: Vin Garbutt

WORK: We May Or Might Never All Meet Here Again

SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1Hg5V5YWWg



ARTIST: The Chieftains

WORK: Here's a Health to the Company

SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkuDYhdVers



ARTIST: The Minstrels of Mayhem

WORK: Health to the Company

SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7PVJuo4yw4



ARTIST: Owain Phyfe

WORK: A Health to the Company

SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcS88F1jR4U



ARTIST: Winnie Ryan

WORK: I Am a Poor Girl and My Life it is Sad

SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goAyQLQA1xg



ARTIST: Silly Wizard

WORK: If I was a Blackbird

SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXi_uYP0tlM