"Proper Cup of Coffee" or "What I Want Is a Proper Cup of Coffee" (Roud: V53398) [1] is a 1926 novelty song by music hall composers Bert Lee and R. P. Weston. [2] [3] An early recording was by Ernie Mayne and it was recorded by the Andrews Sisters in 1958. [4] [5] It has since been covered by several artists, most notably Cosmotheka and Trout Fishing in America. [2] [5] It is often performed at folk clubs. [4]
"Barbara Allen" is a traditional folk song that is popular throughout the English-speaking world and beyond. It tells of how the eponymous character denies a dying man's love, then dies of grief soon after his untimely death.
"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.
Cecil James Sharp was an English collector of folk songs, folk dances and instrumental music, as well as a lecturer, teacher, composer and musician. He was a key figure in the folk-song revival in England during the Edwardian period. According to Roud's Folk Song in England, Sharp was the country's "single most important figure in the study of folk song and music."
"My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean", or simply "My Bonnie", is a traditional Scottish folk 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.
Jean Ruth Ritchie was an American folk singer, songwriter, and Appalachian dulcimer player, called by some the "Mother of Folk". In her youth she learned hundreds of folk songs in the traditional way, many of which were Appalachian variants of centuries old British and Irish songs, including dozens of Child Ballads. In adulthood, she shared these songs with wide audiences, as well as writing some of her own songs using traditional foundations.
"The Raggle Taggle Gypsy" (Roud 1, Child 200), is a traditional folk song that originated as a Scottish border ballad, and has been popular throughout Britain, Ireland and North America. It concerns a rich lady who runs off to join the gypsies (or one gypsy). Common alternative names are "Gypsy Davy", "The Raggle Taggle Gypsies O", "The Gypsy Laddie(s)", "Black Jack David" (or "Davy") and "Seven Yellow Gypsies".
Trout Fishing in America is an American musical duo from Houston, Texas. The members are Keith Grimwood and Ezra Idlet. Both musicians were previously members of the folk rock band Wheatfield, also known as St. Elmo's Fire. They took their name from the novel Trout Fishing in America by Richard Brautigan. The duo has released 24 studio albums through their own label, Trout Music. Trout Fishing in America is known for varied musical styles, with albums alternating between folk rock and children's music, as well as the contrast between Grimwood's and Idlet's stage presence. In addition to their music, Trout Fishing in America holds songwriting workshops with children. Four of their albums have been nominated for Grammy Awards.
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 Mermaid is a ballad, catalogued as Child Ballad #289, Roud 124. Dating to around the mid-18th century, this song is known by a number of names, including Waves on the Sea, The Stormy Winds and The Wrecked Ship.
William Herbert Lee was an English songwriter. He wrote for music hall and the musical stage, often in partnership with R. P. Weston.
"Lady Isabel and the Elf Knight" is the English common name representative of a very large class of European ballads.
Steve Roud is the creator of the Roud Folk Song Index and an expert on folklore and superstition. He was formerly Local Studies Librarian for the London Borough of Croydon and Honorary Librarian of the Folklore Society.
The Farmer's Curst Wife is a traditional English language folk song listed as Child ballad number 278 and number 160 in the Roud Folk Song Index.
"Wade in the Water" is an African American jubilee song, a spiritual—in reference to a genre of music "created and first sung by African Americans in slavery." The lyrics to "Wade in the Water" were first co-published in 1901 in New Jubilee Songs as Sung by the Fisk Jubilee Singers by Frederick J. Work and his brother, John Wesley Work Jr., an educator at the historically black college in Nashville, Tennessee, Fisk University. Work Jr. (1871–1925)—who is also known as John Work II—spent thirty years collecting, promoting, and reviving the songcraft of the original Fisk Jubilee Singers, which included being a member and director of the Fisk Jubilee Quartet. The Sunset Four Jubilee Singers made the first commercial recording of "Wade in the Water" in 1925—released by Paramount Records. W. E. B. Du Bois called this genre of songs the Sorrow Songs. "Wade in the Water" is associated with songs of the Underground Railroad.
"The House of the Rising Sun" is a traditional folk song, sometimes called "Rising Sun Blues". It tells of a person's life gone wrong in the city of New Orleans. Many versions also urge a sibling or parents and children to avoid the same fate. The most successful commercial version, recorded in 1964 by the British rock band The Animals, was a number one hit on the UK Singles Chart and in the US and Canada. As a traditional folk song recorded by an electric rock band, it has been described as the "first folk rock hit".
"What Wondrous Love Is This" is a Christian folk hymn from the American South. Its text was first published in 1811, during the Second Great Awakening, and its melody derived from a popular English ballad. Today it is a widely known hymn included in hymnals of many Christian denominations.
Percy Ernest Barratt was an English music hall entertainer who performed under the name Ernie Mayne. Mayne was one of the first music hall stars to broadcast on radio in 1922.
Walter Pardon was an English carpenter, folk singer and recording artist from Knapton, Norfolk, England. He learned songs and tunes from older members of his family and remembered and performed them at a time when most people of his generation were uninterested in traditional music. He was then able to pass his songs and tunes on to a new generation of folk music collectors and performers.
Samuel James Larner was an English fisherman and traditional singer from Winterton-on-Sea, a fishing village in Norfolk, England. His life was the basis for Ewan MacColl's song The Shoals of Herring, and his songs continue to be recorded by revival singers.
George "Pop" Maynard was an English folk singer and marbles champion. The folk singer Shirley Collins considers Maynard to have been the "finest traditional English singer, matched only by Harry Cox".