Let’s all sing
Do you know “Old MacDonald Had a Farm”? Or “The Frog Went A’Courting”?
Or “Yankee Doodle”?
These are folk songs. Foik songs are songs that are made up by common
people.
Many folk songs tell about heroes, robbers, or young- sweethearts.
Others, like “Old MacDonald,” are just for fun. Some folk songs are
about the kinds of work people do. Some Christmas carols are folk songs,
and so are spirituals and many church hymns. The patriotic songs of many
countries are also folk songs.
Every country has its own folk songs. Most of these songs were made up
long ago, and people have been singing them for hundreds of years.
One of the oldest American folk songs is “Turkey in
the Straw.” It’s about silly things that happen to a young farmer. An
old, old German song, “Nur Du,” is about a young man who must leave his
sweetheart. “Meadowlands” is an old Russian favorite that tells of the
horsemen who roam the vast, rolling plains of Russia. The Canadian song
“Alouette” is a fun song about a bird.
The songs that European minstrels sang at castle feasts and village
fairs were folk songs. So are the songs of American cowboys, and of
shepherds, farmers, and sailors all over the world. Folk songs are the
songs that people often sing when they come together for a good time.
They’re the songs that people sing, hum, and whistle as they work. In
fact, many folk songs were made up just to make work seem easier. They
help make a long, hard day go faster.
United States
A teacher is teaching children folk songs to sing and to play on their
guitars.
