"500 Miles" (also known as "500 Miles Away from Home" or "Railroaders' Lament") is a song made popular in the United States and Europe during the 1960s folk revival. The simple repetitive lyrics offer a lament by a traveler who is far from home, out of money and too ashamed to return.
The song is generally credited as being written by Hedy West, and a 1961 copyright is held by Atzal Music, Inc. "500 Miles" is West's "most anthologized song".
"Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn with lyrics written by the English poet and clergyman John Newton (1725–1807), published in 1779. With a message that forgiveness and redemption are possible regardless of the sins people commit and that the soul can be delivered from despair through the mercy of God, "Amazing Grace" is one of the most recognizable songs in the English-speaking world.
"Amen" is a traditional gospel song that was popularized by The Impressions with their 1964 version. It was recorded earlier, in June 1948, and released in January 1949 by the Wings Over Jordan Choir.
The song was arranged by Jester Hairston, for the Sidney Poitier film Lilies of the Field (1963), which popularized the song.
"C-Progression I iii IV V" is a work in progress - C, Em, F, G progression
"Carry That Weight" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1969 album Abbey Road. Written by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney, it is the seventh and penultimate song in the album's climactic side-two medley. It features unison vocals in the chorus from all four Beatles, a rarity in their songs. It is preceded by "Golden Slumbers" and segues into "The End".
"Don't Worry, Be Happy" is a 1988 song by Bobby McFerrin, released as the first single from his album Simple Pleasures (1988). It was the first a cappella song to reach number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, a position it held for two weeks. Originally released in conjunction with the film Cocktail, the song peaked at number-one on September 24, 1988, displacing "Sweet Child o' Mine" by Guns N' Roses
"Four Strong Winds" is a song written by Ian Tyson and recorded by Canadian folk duo Ian and Sylvia. Tyson has noted that he composed the song in about 20 minutes in his then manager Albert Grossman's New York apartment in 1961. A significant composition of the early 1960s folk revival, the song is a melancholy reflection on a failing romantic relationship.
"Freight Train" is an American folk song written by Elizabeth Cotten in the early 20th century, and popularized during the American folk revival and British skiffle period of the 1950s and 1960s. By Cotten's own account in the 1985 BBC series Down Home, she composed “Freight Train” as a teenager (sometime between 1906 and 1912), inspired by the sound of the trains rolling in on the tracks near her home in North Carolina.
Bagatelle No. 25 in A minor for solo piano, commonly known as "Für Elise" (For Elise), is one of Ludwig van Beethoven's most popular compositions. It was not published during his lifetime, only being discovered (by Ludwig Nohl) 40 years after his death, and may be termed either a Bagatelle or an Albumblatt. The identity of "Elise" is unknown; researchers have suggested Therese Malfatti, Elisabeth Röckel, or Elise Barensfeld.
"G-Progression I iii IV V" is a work in progress - G, Bm, C, D progression
"Give Peace a Chance" is an anti-war song written by John Lennon (credited to Lennon–McCartney), and performed with Yoko Ono in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Released as a single in July 1969 by the Plastic Ono Band on Apple Records, it is the first solo single issued by Lennon, released while he was still a member of the Beatles, and became an anthem of the American anti-war movement during the 1970s.
"I Will Always Love You" is a song written and originally recorded in 1973 by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. Written as a farewell to her business partner and mentor Porter Wagoner, expressing Parton's decision to pursue a solo career, the country single was released in 1974. The song was a commercial success for Parton, twice reaching the top spot of Billboard Hot Country Songs: first in June 1974, then again in October 1982, with a re-recording for The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas soundtrack.
Whitney Houston recorded a soul-ballad arrangement of the song for the 1992 film The Bodyguard. Houston's version peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for a then-record-breaking 14 weeks
“It’s a Big Old Goofy World” is a compelling song written and performed by the immensely talented singer-songwriter John Prine. Released in 1991, the track is a testament to Prine’s ability to combine insightful lyrics with a catchy melody
Up in the morning
Work like a dog
Is better than sitting
Like a bump on a log
There's a big old goofy man
Dancing with a big old goofy girl
Ooh baby, it's a big old goofy world
"Kum ba yah" ("Come by Here") is an African American spiritual of disputed origin, but known to be sung in the Gullah culture of the islands off South Carolina and Georgia, with ties to enslaved West Africans. The song is thought to have spread from the islands to other Southern states and the North, as well as other places in the world. The first known recording, of someone known only as H. Wylie, who sang in the Gullah dialect, was recorded by folk enthusiast Robert Winslow Gordon in 1926. It later became a standard campfire song in Scouting and summer camps and enjoyed broader popularity during the folk revival of the 1950s and 1960s.
Mr. Tambourine Man is a song written and performed by Bob Dylan, which was released on his 1965 album Bringing It All Back Home. The Byrds also recorded a version of the song that was released as their first single on Columbia Records, reaching number 1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 chart and the UK Singles Chart, as well as being the title track of their first album, Mr. Tambourine Man.
The Byrds recording of the song was influential in initiating the musical subgenre of folk rock, leading many contemporary bands to mimic its fusion of jangly guitars and intellectual lyrics in the wake of the single's success.
"Playing Around" is a work in progress in the key of 'C'
Chords:
C ' F C C C G '
C ' F C F C G C
"Red River Valley" is a folk song and cowboy music standard of uncertain origins that has gone by different names such as "Cowboy Love Song", "Bright Sherman Valley", "Bright Laurel Valley", "In the Bright Mohawk Valley", and "Bright Little Valley", depending on where it has been sung. It is listed as Roud Folk Song Index 756 and by Edith Fowke as FO 13.
The Red River Valley is a region in central North America that is drained by the Red River of the North; it is part of both Canada and the United States. This fertile valley has been important to the economies of Minnesota and North Dakota of the USA and to Manitoba in Canada
Cindy Green - Banjo
Bill Charrette - Guitar
We recorded this in our living room on January 27, 2019. Cindy is playing her Cedar Mountain Banjo and as usual I'm trying to keep up with her with my Taylor Guitar.
This tune is in the key of Cm. It is played using Double C tuning on the Banjo
Cindy Green - Banjo
Bill Charrette - Guitar
This song was recorded in our living room on December 24, 2018. We also inserted the Silent Night melody notes using the MIDI Note Editor in Ableton Live 10 and applied the Reverberant Synth to the mix.
Cindy is playing her Cedar Mountain Banjo and as usual I'm trying to keep up with her with my Taylor Guitar.
“Skip to My Lou” is a simple game of stealing partners (or swapping partners as in square dancing). It begins with any number of couples hand in hand, skipping around in a ring. A lone boy in the center of the moving circle of couple sings, “Lost my partner what’ll I do?” as the girls whirl past him. The young man in the center hesitates while he decides which girl to choose, singing, “I'll get another one prettier than you.” When he grasps the hand of his chosen one, her partner then takes his place in the center of the ring and the game continues.
"Sloop John B" (originally published as "The John B. Sails") is a Bahamian folk song from Nassau. Since the early 1950s there have been many recordings of the song with variant titles including "I Want to Go Home" and "Wreck of the John B".
The 1966 folk rock adaptation by the Beach Boys was produced and arranged by bandleader Brian Wilson and served as the lead single off their 11th studio album, Pet Sounds.
"Stewball was the name of an 18th-century British racehorse, most famous as the subject of a broadsheet ballad and folk-song.
His name has been recorded as "Squball", "Sku-ball", or "Stewball". He won many races in England and was sent to Ireland. The Irish turf calendar states that he won six races worth £508 in 1752, when he was eleven years old, and was the top-earning runner of that year in Ireland.
"The Lion Sleeps Tonight" is a song originally written and recorded by Solomon Linda under the title "Mbube" for the South African Gallo Record Company in 1939. Linda's original was written in Zulu, while the English version's lyrics were written by George David Weiss. The song was adapted and covered internationally by many pop and folk revival artists in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1961, it became a number one hit in the USA as adapted in English with the best-known version by the doo-wop group the Tokens.
"To Try for the Sun" is a song written and recorded by Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. The "To Try for the Sun" single was backed with "Turquoise" and released in the United States in January 1966 through Hickory Records
"What a Wonderful World" is a song written by Bob Thiele (as "George Douglas") and George David Weiss. It was first recorded by Louis Armstrong and released in 1967 as a single. In April 1968, it topped the pop chart in the United Kingdom, but performed poorly in the United States.
After it was heard in the film Good Morning, Vietnam, it was reissued as a single in 1988, and rose to number 32 on the Billboard Hot 100. Armstrong's recording was inducted to the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.
"When the Saints Go Marching In", often referred to as simply "The Saints", is a black spiritual. Though it originated as a Christian hymn, it is often played by jazz bands. This song was famously recorded on May 13, 1938, by Louis Armstrong and his orchestra.
"Will the Circle Be Unbroken" is a popular Christian hymn written in 1907 by Ada R. Habershon with music by Charles H. Gabriel. The song is often recorded unattributed and, because of its age, has lapsed into the public domain. Most of the chorus appears in the later songs "Can the Circle Be Unbroken" and "Daddy Sang Bass".
"You Are My Sunshine" is a popular song first recorded in 1939. It has been declared one of the state songs of Louisiana as a result of its association with former state governor and country music singer Jimmie Davis. The song is copyright 1940 Peer International Corporation, words and music by Jimmie Davis and Charles Mitchell. According to a 1990 article by Theodore Pappas, the original song was written by Oliver Hood.