Week 1 - Barbary Allen and Soldier's Joy.

This week we listened to many songs from the early years of the United States.  We listened to "Coo Coo" performed by Dink Roberts in 1974, "Long John" performed by Lightning Washington and fellow convicts in 1934, "Stagolee" performed by Mississippi John Hurt in 1965, two versions of La Cumparsita performed by Carlos Gardel in 1928 and Francisco Canaro y Quinteto Pirincho in 1951, an Afro-Cuban Rumba titled, "Enique Nigue" by AfroCub de Matanzas in 1998, a Mexican Mariachi song titled, "La Negra" performed by Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan in 1959, "Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair" by Stephen Fost and performed by Thomas Hampson in 1992, and "After the Ball" by Charles K. Harris performed by Joan Mirris and William Bolcom in 1990.

We started out with a song titled "Barbary Allen" performed by Jean Ritchie.  This piece of music is known by many names such as "Barbara Allen" and "Barbary Allen."  The song has been passed down from generation to generation and varies with each time that it is performed.

The song is in the traditional "British Ballad Tradition" that Starr and Waterman describe as "one of the main roots of American music and is the predecessor of such diverse genres as urban folk music, country music, and rock 'n' roll" (Starr and Waterman pg. 21).

The song is about a young man named William who is deathly ill and calls for "Barbary Allen."  She comes and says he forgot to mention her during a speech he made for all the young woman at a local bar or tavern.  He says that's because no one can compare to her.  After he dies, she goes home and dies as well.  They are buried next to each other.  From his grave grows a red rose and from her grave a brier.  Eventually they intertwine and become one, even in death.

This particular performance of the piece by Jean Ritchie is reflective of her youth spent in Kentucky.  She changes the words from "Barbara Allen" to "Barbary Allen" because that is characteristic of the dialect of the Kentucky people of that time.

This song is still performed today.  While my students wouldn't listen to it on their own, they might hear it at school or at a folk festival.

In addition to "Barbary Allen," I listened to two different versions of a piece titled, "Soldier's Joy."  The first recording included words.  The performers, Gid Tanner and the Skillet Lickers" performed the piece in 1929.  The piece did not originally include lyrics.  But they added them between fiddler verses.  The second recording was simply a fiddle performed by Tommy Jarrell in the 1980s.  This was performed in a lower key than the first recording.

This piece of music is known was one of the most popular fiddle tunes.  Thought to have originated in Scotland, it made it's way over to the United States.  The piece has changed with each performance as each performer uses their own style.

Both "Barbary Allen" and "Soldiers Joy" indicate a great tradition of music over the past few centuries.  Both pieces were major influences of music that came after and continue to influence composers and performers today.  This shows the great impact of the American vernacular music.



Starr, L., & Waterman, C. (2014). American Popular Music(4th ed.). New York Oxford: Oxford University Press.