Songnotes

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A Companion to the Old Town School Songbook

Compiled and edited byMark Dvorak.

East Virginia

The origins of this song can be traced back to seventeenth century England. One of the first Southern Mountain recordings of it was Clarence Ashley’s “Deep Holler Blues,” which was sung with five string banjo accompaniment. The tune is modal - neither minor nor major.
Ashley later recorded it again this time to guitar and mouth harp accompaniment. Around the same time, the Carter Family also recorded it in a major key and in two part harmony. Later in the 1930s the song developed into the very popular “Greenback Dollar.”

Source: Old Time String Band Song Book, Oak Publications.
Recordings on File by: Almanac Singers (I Don’t Want Your Millions, Mister), Joan Baez, Flatt & Scruggs, Cisco Houston, Mike Seeger, Pete Seeger, Various artists, The Weavers.

El-A-Noy

Carl Sandburg was not only a cherished poet, but also a first rate collector of folk songs and folklore. At his poetry readings, he often performed several folk songs accompanying himself on guitar. His guitar style was very simple but musical, and his singing, as one might guess, highlighted the sounds of the words.
The title of “El-A-Noy” is actually the phonetic spelling of the state name, Illinois, and this song is actually an old-time real estate advertisement. Biblical images were sure to identify with the targeted market of the early 1800s and the song even supplied directions (“Cross the Shawnee Ferry”) in the last chorus.
Sandburg was the first to unearth this tune and included it in his collection, The American Songbag. Win Stracke, who was cofounder of the Old Town School of Folk Music, embraced any song that had its roots in Chicago or Illinois. He sung it around Chicago for years and years and recorded it twice. It was one of his signature pieces.

Recordings on File by: Carl Sandburg, Win Stracke, Art Thieme.

Erie Canal

It took eight years and several thousand wild Irishmen to dig the famous canal that connected the Hudson River with the Great Lakes. By 1825 the canal was finally open and twenty years later, there were four thousand canal boats and twenty five thousand canalers afloat on the 425 mile “ditch.” Midwestern states had increased in population and commerce many times over, with goods and people pouring west in a steady stream.
There must have been a great deal of singing on the canal as there are scores of songs and ballads about life on the E-Ri-E.

Source: Folk Song USA, Alan Lomax, Editor, New American Library.
Recordings on File by: Burl Ives, The Weavers.

Freight Train

The singing and playing of Elizabeth Cotten, from Chapel Hill, North Carolina is well-known to anyone interested in traditional guitar styles. Libba had very individual sound; perhaps so because she played the guitar left-handed, with a right-handed guitar held upside down. Nevertheless, she was a fine musician with many years experience, not just with the guitar, but with life. It shows in the strength of her music.
“Freight Train” is Libba Cotten’s most well known song. She composed it when she was about twelve years old, wondering where the train that ran past her farm might be headed and what the people there might be like. As an adult, Libba worked as a domestic and raised her own family, all the while keeping at her music. It wasn't until she retired at age sixty-five did Libba hit the road as a full time touring musician.
Considered to be an authentic Piedmont region artist, Cotten enjoyed a thirty year career of performances and recordings. Today, her best known songs are sung and picked the world over.

Sources: Traditional and Contemporary Guitar Picking Styles, by Happy Traum, Oak Publications.
Recordings on File by: Elizabeth Cotten, Peter, Paul & Mary.

A Final Note…