Description
Book SynopsisAn engaging survey of what folk songs tell us about the American past
Trade Review“The best, most up-to-date survey of this topic in print, this is a book for those interested in the intersection of music/song and historical events and figures. Recommended.”--
Choice"Those who consider folk song at its best to be the purest form of social history will thoroughly enjoy this book."--
Virginia Quarterly Review"A muscular, detailed, well researched, stylish and celebratory history of folk music from early America to the 20th Century, with side trips into Britain when necessary to illustrate a point or track a song's lineage."--
Sing Out!"
Life Flows on in Endless Song is full of examples that enrich our understanding of the aggregate forces that have transformed America since the colonial era."--
The Journal of American History"A lovely read with fascinating origin tales of many songs readers will delight in remembering."
--Journal of Social History"Wells beautifully explains why some songs have continually touched the American psyche for far longer than these states have been a nation."--
The Journal of Southern History"A historian with a deep interest in and knowledge of folk music, Wells provides interesting insights about folk songs' potential to make American social history more accessible to students and general readers."--Norm Cohen, author of
Long Steel Rail: The Railroad in American Folksong"A fabulous book with wide appeal. Wells opens up contemporary folk songs to provide fascinating glimpses of daily life and everyday responses to historical events."--Scott Reynolds Nelson, author of
Steel Drivin' Man: John Henry, the Untold Story of an American LegendTable of ContentsPreface ix
CHAPTER 1
Who Was Tom Dooley? History and Folk Songs 1
CHAPTER 2
Careless Love: Courtship, Marriage, and Children 9
CHAPTER 4
"Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory": Of God and Country 35
CHAPTER 5
The Man Who Never Returned: Ships, Trains, and Other Transportation 96
CHAPTER 6
Just Lookin' for a Home: Traveling On 121
CHAPTER 7
Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen: Hard Times and Hard Men 147
CHAPTER 8
How Can I Keep from Singing?
Huddie Ledbetter and Woody Guthrie 175
Coda: Thinking about Folk Songs 195
Notes 205
Select Bibliography and Discography 225
Index 233
