What is every country's representative folk song?

[Eddy Yates]

Yup. We’re all related!
I played in a band in the 70s that opened many shows for the Average White Band. They sang like Stevie Wonder on stage, then when we talked backstage, their accents were full Glaswegian and we could barely understand them!

 

[maugein96]

Yup. We’re all related!
I played in a band in the 70s that opened many shows for the Average White Band. They sang like Stevie Wonder on stage, then when we talked backstage, their accents were full Glaswegian and we could barely understand them!

Eddy,

My first wife loved the AWB and I saw them in Edinburgh about 40 years ago. They were credited as being from Dundee, but I believe there were one or two Glaswegians in the line up. Wasnt really my style, but they were good at what they did. 

As far as I can remember the Beatles took a while to convert to American accents. In the UK we were more used to people from Liverpool saying things like Dhey dont do dhat down dhere dhough do dhey? highlighting that people from the south of England were of a different culture. If you took the letter d out of the English alphabet, people from Merseyside would need to learn sign language. 

There were exceptions to Europeans singing in American accents. A culture existed for a time when performers sang in London cockney accents, such as here. Urban London folk music :-


Surely the accent between Scotland and England doesnt just change at the border? No, it doesnt and some Scots have English sounding accents, with the reverse also being the case. A lot of local people here in the Scottish Borders support the nearby English soccer team, Newcastle United. 

Here is the Geordie anthem from Newcastle upon Tyne, which contains a lot of dialect words shared with us here on the utha side o the waal (north side of the Roman Hadrians Wall). Geordies consider themselves to be neither Scots nor English, but a race apart. Our UK postal code in this area straddles both sides of the border, and if it wasnt for the line somebody drew on a map you often couldnt tell whether you were in Scotland or England (for the time being). Some people in Edinburgh want to replace that line on the map with what could effectively be another wall, and they dont even have comb-over haircuts!

 

[maugein96]

Phil,

In my quest for the one folk tune from any particular country, I asked some Portuguese people I know if they could tell me what was their choice.

Straight away a debate took place with regard to various regions, then it changed to favourite performers, then there was a generation divide etc, etc.

Basically, they never came up with any specific answer, so I looked it up. Best I got was a list of the 7 most popular Portuguese folk tunes, and if they couldnt tell me which was the most representative then I wouldnt even try and hazard a guess.

In that place called Europe (just across the water from us), I managed to find a Belgian keyboard player playing one of Portugals top 7 folk tunes. There were Portuguese versions, but IMHO this was the most easy listening version I could find.

Is it really representative of Portuguese folk music? Sounds like it is in Belgium!

Here is Coimbra, sometime known as April in Portugal. Check out the Belgian basses at his left hand.

 

[Stephen Hawkins]

Hi John,

Nice tune! It sounds very familiar, though I can't put my finger on where or when I have heard it before.

Kind Regards, Old Scout.

Stephen.

 

[maugein96]

Hi John,

Nice tune!  It sounds very familiar, though I cant put my finger on where or when I have heard it before.

Kind Regards, Old Scout.

Stephen.

Stephen,

The usual rendition in Portugal is a very emotional tear jerker, in the Fado folk tradition under the title Coimbra, after the town of the same name, and would hardly be described as easy listening.

It has been taken on board and jazzed up as an instrumental, such as here, and the title is then usually April in Portugal. It was relatively popular in the years before Christ left Dumbarton, but youll seldom hear it these days. 

Here it is in a sort of halfway house rendition with Portuguese guitars and bandolim (mandolin), then orchestration with the violins weeping instead of a singer. I see theyve also referred to it as Whispering Serenade in this clip. Its a nice tune to play on the accordion, but can be difficult to get the timing just right. I used to work with a guy named Paolo de Carvalho from Coimbra, and he sometimes would have a go at singing it. He shared his name with a famous Portuguese singer, and I would sometimes accompany him on the guitar. We could have achieved international fame with the tune, but the bus company wouldnt give us the time off to go on a world tour! 

  

I love Portugal, but the beer is pretty dire. Never been to Coimbra but the footage suggests Ive missed out. We usually end up in the mountains in the Algarve or deep in the Alentejo, well away from the tourist trail. Any place with more than 500 people is a city to us. Only hassle Ive ever had was when we went there the first time I set my watch to Spanish time and wondered why the shops never opened until 1000 in the morning! 

Better start talking about accordions soon, so here is my favourite Portuguese tune again, (by a Spanish player):-

 

[JerryPH]

For the Czech Republic, it's fairly easy... Skoda Lasky otherwise known as Beer Barrel Polka... but for Canada?  I am stumped there... funny isn't it?    :huh:  

Canada is such a vast mix of all nationalities that somehow, when talking about music, I think that they musically lost themselves!  

 

[AccordionUprising]

Im a 50 year old duel US/Canadian citizen, born and raised in the States.

Like most countries Im sure, I think itd be impossible to pick one folk song. Certainly in the US or Canada, depending on how you define folk, there isnt one folk tradition to be the source of any one song.

In the modern world, if were going for a song everybody knows, it would probably be a commercial jingle or tv theme song. Those change over the generations though, so kids today dont know the Brady Bunch theme (heresy).

By coincidence, today is the 90th anniversary of the first recording of the Cajun national anthem Jole Blonde, so theres one candidate, for one folk within the patchwork.
History of the song:
http://earlycajunmusic.blogspot.com/2014/08/ma-blonde-est-partie-breaux-brothers.html

After studying the various threads of popular music in North America, I dont think any song could rise up. The older traditions arent widely practiced, even if theyre lively in their own subcultures. Different ethnic and cultural groups maintain their own favorites, but many of them arent well known beyond there.

The idea of a unified national culture is at odds with the struggle to preserve individual traditions against the supposedly insidious spread of commercial popular music.

Personally, Id vote for Louie, Louie, since Im from Washington State, but the Governor vetoed the citizens choice, leaving it up to the people to keep the memory alive.

Louie Louie: almost the State song of Washington

 

[Stephen Hawkins]

Hi John,

Thank you for that. I have definitely heard it before, but I know not where.

Kind Regards,

Stephen.

 

[maugein96]

For the Czech Republic, its fairly easy... Skoda Lasky otherwise known as Beer Barrel Polka... but for Canada?  I am stumped there... funny isnt it?    :huh:  

Canada is such a vast mix of all nationalities that somehow, when talking about music, I think that they musically lost themselves!  

In Scotland they keep reminding us that the Faroe Islands are our nearest foreign holiday destination. 

The weather is usually much the same as ours, but the music is quite different. 

Rather than try and describe it, probably best just to listen. 

A long clip but IMHO worth it for the scenery, unusual instrumentals, and the incredible vocals. The singer, Eivør, is the most popular contemporary Faroese artiste. She often sings to the accompaniment of just a drumbeat. 


Føroyskt, the Faroese language, is closely related to Icelandic.

 

[Tom]

Well I've never lived in Canada, but I've lived in Minnesota. They tell me I was born there, but I really don't remember.

How about "Four Strong Winds" eh?

 

[Sebastian Bravo]

Chilean folk music is called Cueca. Its a dance between a man and a woman from the country side, its a seductive dance where the man tries to seduce the woman.

[video=youtube]
Hernan Bahamondes is a well known accordionist from Chile, who plays a lot of cuecas and recorded music with cueca players in his golden years.


this is the traditional version of the song.

Viva Chile Conchetumare!!!

 

[Stephen Hawkins]

Hi Jerry,

I believe that a song used by Girl Guides has its origins in Canada. It was called "Land of the Silver Birch" as far as I can remember.

It could be a contender ....... what do you think?

Kind Regards,

Stephen.

 

[JerryPH]

Targeted at the indigenous members of Canada, it could be a runner, but that represents perhaps 5% of Canada's population. French is about 20% of the population (most of those live in Quebec, Canada's largest province), but again, where are the other 70% represented by? That is where the big variety begins at. Of that 70% number, I am willing to bet that 90% have roots outside Canada somewhere along their lineage.

 

[Stephen Hawkins]

Hi Jerry,

Yes, everyone except the indigenous people have roots outside Canada. In fact, two of my old school friends moved to Canada in the late sixties after university. One is an engineer, the other an industrial chemist. The last time I saw either of them was in the late seventies, which is a great shame.

They were both clever lads, who I feel sure will have contributed a great deal to their adopted country. One of them, Gerald, was a fair guitarist when he was young. Maybe he would have some thoughts on the question at hand.

Kind Regards,

Stephen.

 

[MikeS]

A famous folk song of Canada would be Snowbird written by Gene MacLellan in 1969 shortly followed by Sonny’s Dream. Both of them took the county by storm. Sadly he took his own life when he was in his prime. He was from one of the Maritime provinces. Think it was Nova Scotia.
Mike

 

[JerryPH]

A famous folk song of Canada would be Snowbird written by Gene MacLellan in 1969 shortly followed by Sonny’s Dream. Both of them took the county by storm. Sadly he took his own life when he was in his prime. He was from one of the Maritime provinces. Think it was Nova Scotia.
Mike

I think we're getting closer. 
Gene was actually born in Val D'or Quebec, but passed away and was more generally known as coming from Prince Edward Island... right across the water from Nova Scotia, so you were quite close.

I did a quick WIKI lookup and Snowbird was made famous by Anne Murray but did you know that Elvis, Bing Crosby, Loretta Lyn and Joan Baez were people who recorded MacLellan's music?  I never knew that.

 

[Tom]

For the native Canadians I am suggesting "Drops of Brandy."

 

[MikeS]

I did a quick WIKI lookup and Snowbird was made famous by Anne Murray but did you know that Elvis, Bing Crosby, Loretta Lyn and Joan Baez were people who recorded MacLellan's music?  I never knew that.

Thanks Jerry, I didn’t know all those people, other than Ann Murray did covers of his songs.
Another Canadian folk music legend that was pointed out to me by a fairly  famous Canadian folk singers wife i ran into today is Gordon Lightfoot. He wrote so many hits that it would be hard to say what was the most popular. Leaving On A Jet Plane and Early Morning Rain are just a couple. He also did crossover stuff like pop folk and folk rock.
Another line that is difficult  to define on this continent is our cultural influences from our neighbours musicians. I know I was profoundly influenced in the 70’s by a famous folk musician from down south. 
 Bob Dillan. If only he had taken up the accordion instead of that electric guitar when he switched from the acoustic, things would be different for our dwindling numbers. I heard that when Pete Seeger saw it he went out on the stage with an axe to cut his cable. 
Mike