"John Barleycorn" is an English and Scottish folk song. The song's protagonist is John Barleycorn, a personification of barley and of the alcoholic beverages made from it: beer and whisky. In the song, he suffers indignities, attacks, and death that correspond to the various stages of barley cultivation, such as reaping and malting.
"Whiskey in the Jar" is an Irish traditional song set in the southern mountains of Ireland, often with specific mention of counties Cork and Kerry. The song, about a rapparee (highwayman) who is betrayed by his wife or lover, is one of the most widely performed traditional Irish songs and has been recorded by numerous artists since the 1950s.
"Lily of the West" is a traditional British and Irish folk song, best known today as an American folk song, listed as number 957 in the Roud Folk Song Index. The American version is about a man who travels to Louisville and falls in love with a woman named Mary, Flora or Molly, the eponymous Lily of the West. He catches Mary being unfaithful to him, and, in a fit of rage, stabs the man she is with, and is subsequently imprisoned. In spite of this, he finds himself still in love with her. In the original version, the Lily testifies in his defense and he is freed, though they do not resume their relationship.
"My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean", or simply "My Bonnie", is a traditional Scottish folk song and children’s song that is popular in Western culture. It is listed in Roud Folk Song Index as No. 1422. The song has been recorded by numerous artists since the beginning of the 20th century, and many parody versions also exist.
"The Black Velvet Band" is a traditional folk song collected from singers in Ireland, Australia, England, Canada and the United States describing how a young man is tricked and then sentenced to transportation to Australia, a common punishment in the British Empire during the 19th century. Versions were also published on broadsides.
Harry Fred Cox, was a Norfolk farmworker and one of the most important singers of traditional English music of the twentieth century, on account of his large repertoire and fine singing style.
"(The) Leaving of Liverpool", also known as "Fare Thee Well, My Own True Love", is a folk song. Folklorists classify it as a lyrical lament and it was also used as a sea shanty, especially at the capstan. It is very well known in Britain, Ireland, and America, despite the fact that it was collected only twice, from the Americans Richard Maitland and Captain Patrick Tayluer. It was collected from both singers by William Main Doerflinger, an American folk song collector particularly associated with sea songs in New York. The song's narrator laments his long sailing trip to California and the thought of leaving his loved ones, pledging to return to her one day.
"The Wind That Shakes the Barley" is an Irish ballad written by Robert Dwyer Joyce (1836–1883), a Limerick-born poet and professor of English literature. The song is written from the perspective of a doomed young Wexford rebel who is about to sacrifice his relationship with his loved one and plunge into the cauldron of violence associated with the 1798 rebellion in Ireland. The references to barley in the song derive from the fact that the rebels frequently carried barley or oats in their pockets as provisions for when on the march. This gave rise to the post-rebellion phenomenon of barley growing and marking the "croppy-holes," unmarked mass graves into which rebel casualties were thrown. To many Irish nationalists, these "croppy-holes" symbolised the regenerative nature of resistance to British rule in Ireland. Barley growing every spring was said by nationalist authors to symbolize continuous Irish resistance to British rule, particularly in nationalist literature and poetry written about the rebellion.
"South Australia" is a sea shanty and folk song, also known under such titles as "Rolling King" and "Bound for South Australia". As an original worksong it was sung in a variety of trades, including being used by the wool and later the wheat traders who worked the clipper ships between Australian ports and London. In adapted form, it is now a very popular song among folk music performers that is recorded by many artists and is present in many of today's song books.
"The Irish Rover" is an Irish folk song about a magnificent though improbable sailing ship that reaches an unfortunate end. It has been recorded by numerous artists, with the lyrics changing over time due to the folk process.
"Our Goodman" is a Scottish and English humorous folk song. It describes the efforts of an unfaithful wife to explain away the evidence of her infidelity. A version of the song, "Seven Drunken Nights", was a hit record for The Dubliners in the 1960s.
"Seventeen Come Sunday", also known as "As I Roved Out", is an English folk song which was arranged by Percy Grainger for choir and brass accompaniment in 1912 and used in the first movement of Ralph Vaughan Williams' English Folk Song Suite in 1923. The words were first published between 1838 and 1845.
"Greenland Whale Fisheries" is a traditional sea song, originating in the West Indies but known all over the Atlantic ocean. In most of the versions collected from oral sources, the song opens up giving a date for the events that it describes. However, the song is actually older than this and a form of it was published as a ballad before 1725. It has been given a Roud number of 347.
"I'll Tell Me Ma" is a traditional children's song. It was collected in various parts of the United Kingdom in the 19th century and again appears in collections from shortly after the turn of the 20th century. In Ireland, especially within Ulster, the chorus usually refers to Belfast city and is known colloquially as "The Belle of Belfast City", although it is also adapted to other Irish cities, such as Dublin. Other versions refer to the "Golden City" or "London City". This song is Roud Folk Song Index number 2649.
"The Newry Highwayman" is a traditional Irish folk song about a highwayman's life, deeds, and death. It is also found in Ireland, the United States and Canada with titles such as "Rambling Boy" and "Rude and Rambling Man". The earliest known version is from 1788, likely printed by John Brown, in a chapbook entitled "The irish robbers's [sic] adventure. To which is added An Elegy on the Death of Captain Allen." The earliest broadside is from 1824. Some versions mention "Mansfield" and this is sometimes taken to be William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield (1706-1793). The 1788 version mentions "Reddans Town" instead of Newry, though the rest of the song is nearly identical to later versions. British variants are generally classified as Roud 490; American variants are classified as Laws L12.
A sporting song is a folk song which celebrates fox hunting, horse racing, gambling and other recreations.
"Spanish Lady" is a traditional Irish folk song, also found in England. The Bodleian Library has several broadsides of an English ballad with this name, one dating from the 17th century. Fragmentary or related versions from the US date from 1883. It is #542 in the Roud Folk Song Index. It should not be confused with "Spanish Ladies" or "Lady of Spain," both of which are entirely different songs. Spanish Lady is an etymological name for a female fairy, ie the little folk.
"Go to Sea Once More" or "Off to Sea" is a sea shanty and folk song originating from the English Merchant Navy, likely from the period of 1700 - 1900.
Summat's Brewin', the fourth album by the Yorkshire-based folk music duo O'Hooley & Tidow, was released in August 2015 in a limited edition of 1,000 signed copies. The songs on the album explore society’s fascination with drink, drinking and real ale.
High Germany, is a traditional folk song, once known throughout England, Ireland and Scotland, with a history spanning hundreds of years. There are three songs known as High Germany. This page focuses on the best known one, the others being The Two Lovers or True Lovers and The Wars of Germany.
