Songs in English
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These songs are from England, Scotland, Ireland, and North America
- "Doffin' Mistress." A factory's weavers admire their sassy supervisor and the way she stands
up for them when the big boss comes 'round.
- "How Stands the Glass Around?" An 18th century English song beloved by all soldiers during
the Revolutionary war.
- "The White Cockade." A young man is snatched up and conscripted into the army by a press
gang.
- "Death and the Maiden." A young girl, meeting up with Death on the road, tries to persuade
him to leave her a few more years, but he is inexorable.
- "Brave Wolfe." The story of General Wolfe, who won against the French outside Quebec but
died of his battlefield injuries.
- "William Glenn." A ship is brought to despair and destruction because the man at the helm is
a murderer.
- The Harvest Hymn: a shape-note hymn which compares harvest time to the end of the world; it also offers interesting insight into colonial agricultural practices!
- Tobacco: written by Tobias Hume in 1603, it compares tobacco to love, showing the high esteem this very profitable export garnered in the colonies.
- Reynardine: A girl wandering in the mountains is spirited away by a were-fox
- King Henry: A king breaks the spell on a huge ghost
- The Knickerbocker Line: A girl gets hauled off by the police for stealing a watch
- We Are Stole and Sold: an abolitionist lament on slavery.
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Songs from other countries
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The challenge, of course, is to make the stories come alive for those who do not understand the words! We
make sure to narrate with verve - so that audiences find the material intriguing and appealing.
Eastern Europe
- Bulgaria: "Djulber Nedo." Beautiful Nedo is swinging on her swing when Ivan comes up and
asks her: "Did you ask your parents whether they would give you to me?" "Well, Ivan, they are
willing to give me to you, except I don't want you. I love Yavor, the boy who brings the groceries."
- Macedonia: "Kelesh Doncho." Based on the actual historical story of Doncho, who was caught
by the Turks with bombs and ammo hidden under the rye in his wagon. They caught him and threw
him in prison, but he never betrayed his people. (Historical note: he didn't know the bombs were
there, because some other people stowed them there.) The people of the Balkans have always
maintained that if it weren't for their tireless guerrilla warfare against the Turks, Europe would
have become a Moslem continent.
- Serbia: "Okrug Selo." Our heroine tells us her boyfriend wants her to marry him, but she
doesn't want to spend her life digging potatoes.
- Bosnia: "Kad Ja Podjoh." A woman tells her sweetheart to come meet her at her gate at a
certain hour. He comes, but he's late too late she has married somebody else.
- Russia: "Pod Moscovniye Vechera." Famous song known as "Moscow Nights."
Western Europe
- France: "Roulez!" A sea chantey. Three beautiful maidens come and inquire: "How much
would it cost to buy all the grain on your ship?" "Come aboard and find out!"
- Holland: "Zo rijmt Zikh Dat Tezaam." An 18th century rhyming song.
- Greece: "Perikles." A young man boasts that he is the best fellow around. Why doesn't his girl
want him any more? She is going to be sorry.
- Rhodes (Sephardic tradition): "A La Una." A man celebrates his mother and his beloved as he
prepares to go off to war for the "dark one."
- Finland: "Kylla Vuotti." A wedding song couched in bird metaphor.
- Spain: "Los barbis." A bunch of scissor-sharpeners and other tradespeople sneak off to a
wedding.
- Poland (Yiddish tradition): "Lid fun Titanik." Somebody who perhaps never even saw the
ocean (or knew what electricity is) describes the sinking of this great ship, as conveyed in the
newspapers across Europe.
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Instrumental music
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We complement these songs with instrumental music of all kinds:
- England: 17th and 18th century English country dances, horn pipes, "maggotts"
- Ireland: jigs, reels, airs, music of O'Carolan, harp tunes
- Scotland: jigs, reels and strathspeys
- North Carolina: versions of all the above, plus native fiddle tunes and country dances
- Europe: French musettes, Austrian schottisches, Dutch waltzes
- Eastern Europe: the Gypsy cocek and the asymmetrical rhythms of Balkan dances like the kopanitsa.
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