Who sings together as a family anymore? Almost no one. Yet this activity was once considered an essential part of domestic and familial life—so essential that no one gave it special thought. Welsh poet Dylan Thomas’s 1955 work “A Child’s Christmas in Wales”—itself set in an earlier time—finishes with a delightful, nostalgic description of Christmas music in the home:
“Always on Christmas night there was music. An uncle played the fiddle, a cousin sang ... and another uncle sang. ... Looking through my bedroom window, out into the moonlight and the unending smoke-colored snow, I could see the lights in the windows of all the other houses on our hill and hear the music rising from them up the long, steadily falling night.”
Music in the home was a way of life, and singing wasn’t just the domain of professional performers; it belonged to everyone. Long winter evenings by the fire or humid summer afternoons on the porch passed swiftly and sweetly to the sounds of the guitar, banjo, fiddle, and a chorus of familiar voices.
The Power of Song
One of the many benefits of singing and playing music together with family and friends is that it plays a role in the education and formation of children. And it plays a particularly important role. Since the time of the ancient Greeks, music has been considered a vital component of a child’s education. Aristotle believed that music had the power to form character in a positive way.In his “Politics,” Aristotle wrote: “Rhythm and melody supply imitations of anger and gentleness, and also of courage and temperance, and of all the qualities contrary to these, and of the other qualities of character, which hardly fall short of the actual affections, as we know from our own experience, for in listening to such strains our souls undergo a change. The habit of feeling pleasure or pain at mere representations is not far removed from the same feeling about realities.”
In other words, music has the power to stir up healthy emotions that train the heart to respond in a virtuous manner to life’s twists and turns. Aristotle believed that virtue consisted partly in directing the emotions in a fitting way, and music helped with that. “Enough has been said,” he concluded, “to show that music has a power of forming the character, and should therefore be introduced into the education of the young.”
One way to bring music back into the home and your children’s lives is to teach them to sing traditional folk songs. In addition to their character-forming benefits, learning folk songs connects children to their heritage and may provide opportunities for impromptu history lessons. Singing together also makes possible a rare form of social bonding.
Once, almost everyone knew a core list of American folk songs and could join in at will. Today, sadly, the preservation of folk music has become the project of special societies, institutes, and archives. But we can play our part in repopularizing these songs that our grandparents and great-grandparents sang as part of our American identity.
Below are eight traditional folk songs (mostly American, though a few Scottish and Irish tunes are included) that you can explore with your children, filling heart and home with the warmth of music.
‘Rattlin’ Bog’
This rambunctious song will leave you laughing and out of breath. It’s a cumulative song, where a new section is added to each verse along with the repetition of all the previous sections. So the verse is longer each time you sing it, and it becomes increasingly challenging to remember all the words and not stumble over any, especially because many people sing the verses faster each time around.The somewhat nonsensical lyrics describe a tree in a bog in a valley, and the various creatures that occupy it.
The song grew out of the oral traditions of Ireland and was passed down from one generation to the next, probably beginning in about the mid-19th century. It began as a traveling song in which the lyrics could be adapted to fit the singer’s surroundings. Different versions of the lyrics reflect its organic development over time.
‘The Castle of Dromore’
Although this is also an Irish song, it contrasts sharply with “Rattlin’ Bog” in mood and tempo. It’s a lullaby that gently soothes a child with comforting words about the Mother of God’s spiritual protection and the safety of the Castle of Dromore as it stands solidly against the biting winds. The soaring and sighing melody will breathe peace into listeners young and old.The words were written or rewritten by Sir Harold Boulton in 1892, although the tune likely predated him.
‘Yankee Doodle’
This classic, patriotic American song bears an interesting pedigree tied up with our nation’s history. The jaunty tune already existed by the 1750s, but in 1755, Richard Schuckburgh, a British doctor, wrote new words that made fun of the American soldiers he was serving alongside in the French and Indian War. We don’t know the exact origin of the word “Yankee,” but it definitely refers to American colonists. The term “doodle” means a fool or simpleton, while “dandy” refers to a foppish man who paid too much attention to his dress and manners. Not very flattering.But the Americans took the insults with wry good humor and adopted the song for their own purposes. By the time of the American Revolution, it had become a marching air of defiance, with revised lyrics depicting Washington astride a warhorse.
‘Crawdad Song’
This swinging tune, sometimes called “Crawdad Hole,” seems to have grown out of African American blues, Anglo-American dances, and the experience of workers constructing levees along the Mississippi. The simple, repetitive lyrics about hunting for crawdads (crayfish) make it easy for children to learn and enjoy.‘Marie’s Wedding’
Hailing from Scotland, this lighthearted, bouncing tune celebrates the journey to a wedding. The lyrics describe the various landmarks on the way to Marie’s nuptial celebrations, along with praises for the bride. The joyous, lilting melody makes you want to leap up and join in a dance.One of the more recent entries on this list, “Marie’s Wedding“—or ”Mairi’s Wedding"—was originally written by John Roderick Bannerman in Gaelic in honor of singer Mary C. MacNiven winning the gold medal at an important Celtic festival in 1934.
‘Oh Shenandoah’
The precise roots of this American classic remain obscure, although it likely developed before the Civil War. Folklorist Alan Lomax theorized that the song was actually a sea shanty written by French Canadian voyagers. Sea shanties helped sailors keep up morale, maintain a rhythm when rowing or performing other tasks, and build a sense of solidarity. The fact that the song’s first appearance in print was in an article called “Sailor Songs” lends support to Lomax’s hypothesis.Even the exact meaning of the words remains uncertain. Some argue that it describes the Shenandoah River and others that it refers to the daughter of the Oneida Indian Chief Shenendoah (also spelled Skenandoah). Whatever the case, its slower, sweeping melody balances the more vigorous songs on this list.
