Resident web troller David Koon points us to hundreds of recordings, lyrics and sheet music of folk songs collected in Missouri, Oklahoma and (mostly) Arkansas between 1956 and 1976 by musicologist Max Hunter.
You’ve got your murder ballads: “Naomia Wise” and “Long Black Veil.”
Your stories of tragedy on the high seas:
“Titanic” and “Remember the Maine.”
Your basic songs about the Devil: “The Devil and the Lady” and “Devil Doings.”
And your odes to the War of Northern Aggression: “Ballad of a Rebel Soldier” and
“The Battle of Prairie Grove.”
And don’t forget your dog songs: “Ol’ Blue.”
And your good, old-fashioned racism: “Coon, Coon, Coon.”
Everything is streaming and, at least when I played around on the site earlier, loading time wasn’t great, but there’s definitely some gems.