What's New in the Ballad Index

Version 3.0

Changes to the Ballad Index Format

The major change is the release of new Ballad Index software for Windows 7.0 and higher, Macintosh OS X 10.6.8 and higher, and iPad running FileMaker Go. See the software page for download and installation instructions.

Materials Added in this Edition

The following books were added to the Index in version 3.0:

• Helen Hartness Flanders, Elizabeth Flanders Ballard, George Brown, and Phillips Barry, The New Green Mountain Songster (1939)
• Frank Kidson, editor, Traditional Tunes 1999 (1891)
• MacEdward Leach, The Heritage Book of Ballads (1967)
• Ruth Ann Musick, "The Old Album of William A Larkin," The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. LX, No. 237 (Jul-Sep 1947)
• Patrick O'Shaughnessy, editor, Twenty-One Lincolnshire Folk-Songs (1968)
• Patrick O'Shaughnessy, editor, More Folk Songs from Lincolnshire, (1971)
• Patrick O'Shaughnessy, editor, Yellowbelly Ballads Part One (1975)
• Patrick O'Shaughnessy, editor, Yellowbelly Ballads Part Two (1975)

We now have 11194 different songs, under 19110 titles. At least 526 songs were added or had their entries updated in version 3.0.

The Supplemental Tradition now contains full or partial texts for 1021 songs.

There are 399 songs for which the NOTES exceed 500 words; 166 with at least 1000 words of notes; 18 with at least 5000 words of notes.

Version 2.8

Changes to the Ballad Index Format

There are no changes to the basic format, but we have added a new Table of Contents to make it easier to find songs by title. Also, in the HTML version of the index, the Roud numbers are now live links -- that is, if you click on the Roud number, it will give you a list of those items in the Roud index.

Materials Added in this Edition

The following books were added to the Index in version 2.8:

• Robert Bell, editor, Early Ballads Illustrative of History, Traditions, and Customs and Ballads and Songs of the Peasantry of England (combined edition 1877)
• Lucy E. Broadwood, English Traditional Songs and Carols (1908)
• Thomas G. Burton, editor, Tennessee Traditional Singers: Tom Ashley, Sam McGee, Bukka White (1981)
• James Henry Dixon, Ancient Poems, Ballads, and Songs of the Peasantry of England (1846)
• Anne Grimes, Stories from the Anne Grimes Collection of American Folk Music (2010)
• Harold W. Thompson, editor (assisted by Edith E. Cutting) A Pioneer Songster (1958)
• Evelyn Kendrick Wells, The Ballad Tree (1950)

We now have 11112 different songs, under 18887 titles. At least 444 songs were added or had their entries updated in version 2.8.

There are 396 songs for which the NOTES exceed 500 words; 164 with at least 1000 words of notes; 18 with at least 5000 words of notes.

Version 2.7

Changes to the Ballad Index Format

There are no changes to the format. We are thinking about ways to improve the searching function.

Materials Added in this Edition

The following books were added to the Index in version 2.7:

• Norm Cohen, American Folk Songs: A Regional Encyclopedia, 2008
• Richard Greene, editor, A Selection of English Carols, 1962*
• James P. Leary, Compiler and Annotator, Wisconsin Folklore, 2009*
• Powder River Jack and Kitty Lee's Songs of the Range: Cowboy Wails of Cattle Trails, 1937*
• James Reeves, editor, The Everlasting Circle, 1960
• Jan Philip Schinhan, Editor, The Frank C. Brown Collection of North Carolina Folklore, Volume Four: The Music of the Ballads, 1957
• John I. White, Git Along, Little Dogies: Songs and Songmakers of the American West, 1975*

(Some of the above are short enough that they are simply cited in ADDITIONAL entries rather than having full treatment: these are marked *)

We now have 11003 different songs, under 18652 titles. There are over 39,000 references (excluding Roud references), pointing to something like 30,000 texts, and more than 7900 recording references. Because of duplicates, we cannot give an exact broadside count -- but the number of citations exceeds 3200.

At least 1066 songs were added or had their entries updated in version 2.7.

There are 393 songs for which the NOTES exceed 500 words; 161 with at least 1000 words of notes; 18 with at least 5000 words of notes.

I count 218 books fully or partly indexed, with many more cited in ADDITIONAL entries. At least 883 sources are cited in the NOTES.

Version 2.6

Changes to the Ballad Index Format

We have (not entirely voluntarily) adopted a new search engine format. Other than that, we have not made any substantial changes to the format.

Materials Added in this Edition

The following books were added to the Index in version 2.6:

• Horace P. Beck, The Folklore of Maine (1957)
• Charles K. Wolfe, Folk Songs of Middle Tennessee: The George Boswell Collection (1977)
• David Buchan and James Moreira, editors, The Glenbuchat Ballads (2007)
• Sigrid Rieuwerts, editor, The Ballad Repertoire of Anna Gordon, Mrs Brown of Falkland (2011)
• Gavin Greig (Kenneth S. Goldstein and Arthur Argo, editors), Folk-Song in Buchan and Folk-Song of the North-East (1963) [now fully indexed]
• E. B. Lyle, editor, Andrew Crawfurd's Collection of Ballads and Songs, Volume 1 (1975).
• Iona and Peter Opie, The Singing Game (1985)
• Harry B. Peters, Folk Songs out of Wisconsin (1977)
• James Reeves, editor, The Idiom of the People, (1965)
• Art Rosembaum, Folk Visions & Voices: Traditional Music and Song in North Georgia (1983).
• Alfred Williams, editor, Folk-Songs of the Upper Thames (1923), plus the additional material from this collection edited by Chris Wildridge.

We now have 10731 different songs, under 18211 titles. There are over 38,000 references (excluding Roud references), pointing to something like 30,000 texts, and more than 7800 recording references. Because of duplicates, we cannot give an exact broadside count -- but the number of citations exceeds 3200.

At least 2306 songs were added or had their entries updated in version 2.6.

The NOTES now include almost 1,400,000 words. There are 358 songs for which the NOTES exceed 500 words; 151 with at least 1000 words of notes; 15 with at least 5000 words of notes.

I count 215 books fully or partly indexed, with many more cited in ADDITIONAL entries. At least 827 sources are cited in the NOTES.

Version 2.5

Changes to the Ballad Index Format

In an effort to make it easier to read and understand the NOTES to songs, we have implemented a new BIBLIOGRAPHY field and format. About 300 songs now have bibliographic data.

We have also implemented a style for multi-part entries, so that extremely long entries will not choke search software.

Finally, we have implemented use of TinyURLs to avoid problems with excessively long URLs.

Materials Added in this Edition

The following books were added to the Index in version 2.5:

• Cecilia Ray Berry, Folk Songs of Old Vincennes
• Michael Dawney, The Ploughboy's Glory, from the George Butterworth collection
• Roland Palmer Gray, Songs and Ballads of the Maine Lumberjacks (1916)
• Patrick Shuldham-Shaw, Emily B. Lyle and Andrew R. Hunter, Eds, The Greig-Duncan Folk Song Collection, Volume 4
• Patrick Shuldham-Shaw, Emily B. Lyle and Andrew R. Hunter, Eds, The Greig-Duncan Folk Song Collection, Volume 5
• Patrick Shuldham-Shaw, Emily B. Lyle and Elaine Petrie, Eds, The Greig-Duncan Folk Song Collection, Volume 6
• Patrick Shuldham-Shaw, Emily B. Lyle and Sheila Douglas, Eds, The Greig-Duncan Folk Song Collection, Volume 7
• Patrick Shuldham-Shaw, Emily B. Lyle and Katherine Campbell, Eds, The Greig-Duncan Folk Song Collection, Volume 8
• Gavin Greig, Folk-Song in Buchan and Folk-Song of the North-East
• (no author listed, but based on recordings of Pearl R. Nye), Scenes & Songs of the Ohio-Erie Canal

We now have 10201 different songs, under 16666 titles. There are over 34,000 references (excluding Roud references), pointing to something like 30,000 texts, and more than 7500 recording references. Because of duplicates, we cannot give an exact broadside count -- but the number of citations exceeds 3000.

At least 2077 songs were added or had their entries updated in version 2.5.

The NOTES now include in excess of 1,200,000 words. There are 306 songs for which the NOTES exceed 500 words; 110 with at least 1000 words of notes; 15 with at least 5000 words of notes.

Admittedly some of that is an effect of me being extraordinarily wordy....

Version 2.4

Changes to the Ballad Index Format

There have been no major changes to the Ballad Index format itself.

One reminder: The Ballad Index welcomes contributions to the NOTES on a song. Material which meets our criteria for scholarship will be included even if the the contributor has not otherwise supplied material for the index, and even if the editor disagrees with the conclusions.

Materials Added in this Edition

The following books were added to the Index in version 2.4:

• William Francis Allen, Charles Pickard Ware, and Lucy McKim Garrison, Slave Songs of the United States
• Gavin Greig, Folk-Song in Buchan and Folk-Song of the North-East (ongoing)
• Patrick Shuldham-Shaw and Emily B. Lyle, Eds, The Greig-Duncan Folk Song Collection, Volume 1
• Patrick Shuldham-Shaw and Emily B. Lyle, Eds, The Greig-Duncan Folk Song Collection, Volume 2
• Patrick Shuldham-Shaw, Emily B. Lyle and Peter A. Hall, Eds, The Greig-Duncan Folk Song Collection, Volume 3
• James Hogg, The Jacobite Relics of Scotland (First and Second Series)
• Bruce Jackson, Wake Up Dead Man: Afro-American Worksongs from Texas Prisons
• Ivan H. Watson and Joe Grimm [with music transcriptions by Lee Murdock], Windjammers: Songs of the Great Lakes Sailors

In addition we have indexed about thirty years of Sing Out! magazine, incorporating songs which are transcribed from properly traditional sources and apparently not included in other publications.

We now have 9365 different songs, under 15580 titles. There are over 32,000 references (excluding Roud references), pointing to something like 28,000 texts, and 7573 recording references. Because of duplicates, we cannot give an exact broadside count -- but the number of citations exceeds 2600.

I find that we now have at least some authorship information on 1864 songs. Whatever that tells you.

The NOTES now include in excess of 950,000 words. There are 217 songs for which the NOTES exceed 500 words; 75 with at least 1000 words of notes; 13 with at least 5000 words of notes.

Version 2.3

Changes to the Ballad Index Format

There have been no major changes to the Ballad Index format itself.

Materials Added in this Edition

The following books were added to the Index in version 2.3:

• Celestin Pierre Cambiaire, East Tennessee and Western Virginia Mountain Ballads (The Last Stand of American Pioneer Civilization)
• Thomas Crofton Croker, Popular Songs of Ireland
• M(ichael) C(assius) Dean, Flying Cloud: And One Hundred and Fifty other Old Time Songs and Ballad of Outdoor Men, Sailors, Lumber Jacks, Soldiers, Men of the Great Lakes, Railroadmen,Miners, etc.
• Warren Fahey & Graham Seal, editors, Old Bush Songs: The Centenary Edition of Banjo Paterson's Classic Collection
• Neil Graham, The Orange Songster
• David Hammond, Songs of Belfast
• H. Richard Hayward, Ulster Songs and Ballads of the Town and Country
• Maurice Leyden, Belfast, City of Song
• Guy Logsdon, The Whorehouse Bells Were Ringing And Other Songs Cowboys Sing
• Mellinger Edward Henry, Songs Sung in the Southern Appalachians
• Robin Morton, Come Day, Go Day, God Send Sunday
• Robin Morton, Folksongs Sung in Ulster
• Sean O Boyle, The Irish Song Tradition
• Tomas O Canainn, Songs of Cork
• Herbert Shellans, Folk Songs of the Blue Ridge Mountains
• Stephen Smyth, D.K. Bushe, and Canon S.E. Long, The Orange Lark

In addition, Paul Stamler contributed much additional information about 78 recordings.

We now have 8752 different songs, under 14692 titles. There are over 30,000 references (excluding Roud references), pointing to over 25,500 texts, and 7551 recording references. Because of duplicates, we cannot give an exact broadside count -- but the number of citations exceeds 2400.

Version 2.2

Changes to the Ballad Index Format

There have been no major changes to the Ballad Index format itself. We have, however, made a substantial effort to make key information more accessible. We have now compiled a list of the songs where the Notes or Historical References contain substantial material not found in the more common ballad references. The list of songs with such notes are summed up in the page on Ballad Index Articles.

Note: Everyone, even those who have not contributed to the Index, are invited to contribute articles.

Materials Added in this Edition

The following books were added to the Index in version 2.2:

• Norm Cohen, Long Steel Rail
• Joanna C. Colcord, Songs of American Sailormen
• James Henry Dixon, Scottish Traditional Versions of Ancient Ballads
• Frederick Pease Harlow, Chanteying Aboard American Ships
• Stan Hugill, Shanties from the Seven Seas
• Margaret Larkin, Singing Cowboy: A Book of Western Songs
• Ewan MacColl, The Shuttle & Cage: Industrial Folk Ballads
• Jimmy McBride, The Flower of Dunaff Hill and More Traditional Songs Sung in Innishowen
• Norah & William Montgomerie, Scottish Nursery Rhymes
• Terry Moylan, The Age of Revolution 1776 to 1815 in the Irish Song Tradition
• Tom Munnelly and Marian Deasy, The Mount Callan Garland--Songs from the repetoire of Tom Lenihan
• Jean Ritchie, Folk Songs of the Southern Appalachians (As Sung by Jean Ritchie)
• Cecil J. Sharp, etc. English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians
• Cecil Sharp, English Folk Chanteys
• Paddy Tunney, Where Songs Do Thunder
• Paddy Tunney, The Stone Fiddle
• Georges Denis Zimmerman, Songs of Irish Rebellion

We now have 8274 different songs, under 13885 titles. There are 28637 bibliographic references (excluding Roud references) and 7262 recording references. Because of duplicates, we cannot give an exact broadside count -- but the number of citations exceeds 2200.

131 songs have notes exceeding 500 words (3000 characters); most of these are included in the Ballad Index Articles. 38 songs have notes exceeding 1000 words; 18 have notes exceeding 2000 words. Six have notes exceeding 5000 words (though that's arguably just the result of editor Robert Waltz talking too much).

Version 2.1

Changes to the Ballad Index Format

The field names have been slightly changed to facilitate database use. These also made possible significant improvements to the downloadable Ballad Index software. The software has been updated to run on Mac OS X 10.3 or higher.

Materials Added in this Edition

The following books were added to the Index in version 2.1:

• William S. Baring-Gould and Ceil Baring-Gould, The Annotated Mother Goose
• David Bone, Capstan Bars
• Helen Creighton, Folksongs from Southern New Brunswick
• Randall and Dorothy Dibblee, Folksongs from Prince Edward Island
• Edward D. "Sandy" Ives, Folksongs of New Brunswick
• Edward D. "Sandy" Ives, Drive Dull Care Away -- Folksongs from Prince Edward Island
• W. Roy Mackenzie, Ballads and Sea Songs from Nova Scotia
• Louise Manny and James Reginald Wilson, Songs of Miramichi
• Colm O Lochlainn, Irish Street Ballads
• Colm O Lochlainn, More Irish Street Ballads
• Iona and Peter Opie, The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes
• Joseph Ranson, Songs of the Wexford Coast
• Dorothy Scarborough, On the Trail of Negro Folk-Songs
• Dorothy Scarborough, A Song Catcher in Southern Mountains
• Frank Shay, American Sea Songs and Chanteys

Version 2.0

Changes to the Ballad Index Format

There are two major additions in Version 2.0:

• Broadside References: References to broadsides in major online collections
• The Supplemental Tradition: Sample texts or stanzas for certain songs in the Index

Materials Added in this Edition

The following books were added to the Index in version 2.0:

• Omar Blondahl, Newfoundlanders, Sing!
• Helen Creighton, Songs and Ballads from Nova Scotia
• Maud Karpeles, Folk Songs from Newfoundland
• MacEdward Leach, Folk Ballads & Songs of the Lower Labrador Coast
• Ella Mary Leather, Folk-Lore of Herefordshire
• Genevieve Lehr and Anita Best (Ed. G Lehr), Come and I Will Sing You
• John Ord, Bothy Songs and Ballads
• Kenneth Peacock, Songs of the Newfoundland Outports
• Shannon Ryan and Larry Small, Haulin' Rope & Gaff: Songs and Poetry in the History of the Newfoundland Seal Fishery
• William H. Smith and Fenwick Hatt (ed. Edith Fowke), Sea Songs and Ballads from Nineteenth Century Nova Scotia
• John Stokoe (music arrangements by Samuel Reay), Songs and Ballads of Northern England

We now have 6787 different songs, under 11667 titles. There are 19373 bibliographic references (excluding Roud references) and 5449 recording references. Because of duplicates, we cannot give an exact broadside count -- but the number of citations exceeds 1200.

Version 1.8

Materials Added in this Edition

The following books were added to the Index in version 1.8:

• Olive Woolley Burt, American Murder Ballads and Their Stories
• Gerald S. Doyle, Old-Time Songs and Poetry of Newfoundland, Third edition
• Helen Hartness Flanders and George Brown, Vermont Folk-Songs & Ballads
• Edith Fowke (editor) with Keith MacMillan (music consultant), The Penguin Book of Canadian Folk Songs
• Harvey H. Fuson, Ballads of the Kentucky Highlands
• Emelyn Elizabeth Gardner and Geraldine Jencks Chickering, Ballads and Songs of Southern Michigan
• Elizabeth Bristol Greenleaf and Grace Yarrow Mansfield, Ballads and Sea Songs of Newfoundland
• Archie Green, Only a Miner: Studies in Recorded Coal-Mining Songs
• Eloise Hubbard Linscott, Folk Songs of Old New England

We now have 5990 different songs, under 10437 titles. There are 17377 bibliographic references and 5028 recording references.

Version 1.7

Materials Added in this Edition

The following books were added to the Index in version 1.7:

• Phillips Barry, Fannie Hardy Eckstorm, and Mary Winslow Smyth British Ballads from Maine
• Paul G. Brewster, Ballads and Songs of Indiana
• Louis W. Chappell, Folk-Songs of Roanoke and the Albemarle
• John Harrington Cox, Traditional Ballads and Folk-Songs Mainly from West Virginia,
• Robert Ford, Vagabond Songs and Ballads of Scotland (1904 1-volume edition)
• Edith Fowke, Lumbering Songs from the Northern Woods
• Randolph/Cohen -- Vance Randolph, Ozark Folksongs, edited and abridged by Norm Cohen.

In addition, the Index now includes over 4000 references to Steven Roud's Folk Song Index.

Over 1000 78 recordings were added or their entries updated.

We now have 5691 different songs, under 9808 titles. There are 16198 bibliographic references (excluding the Roud references) and 4427 recording references.

Version 1.6

Materials Added in this Edition

The following books were added to the Index in version 1.6:

• H. M. Belden, Ballads and Songs Collected by the Missouri Folk-Lore Society
• Henry M. Belden and Arthur Palmer Hudson, Eds, The Frank C. Brown Collection of North Carolina Folklore, Volume Two: Folk Ballads from North Carolina
• Henry M. Belden and Arthur Palmer Hudson, Eds, The Frank C. Brown Collection of North Carolina Folklore, Volume Three: Folk Songs from North Carolina
• Helen Creighton and Doreen H. Senior, Traditional Songs of Nova Scotia
• Arthur Palmer Hudson, Folksongs of Mississippi and their Background
• Franz Rickaby, Ballads and Songs of the Shanty-Boy
• Jean Thomas, Ballad-Makin' in the Mountains of Kentucky

In addition, the quality of references for several books indexed early on (Randolph, Eddy, Sandburg, etc.) has been upgraded.

Cross-references to Bronson have been introduced for all Child ballads.

We have added in excess of 1000 78 recordings.

These volumes pushed us to the 100 book mark. The Index now has 5516 songs, under 9452 titles; there are 15,258 bibliographic references and 3109 recording references.

Version 1.5

Materials Added in this Edition

The following books were added to the Index in version 1.5:

• Charles W. Darling, The New American Songster: Traditional Ballads and Songs of North America
• James N. Healy, The Mercier Book of Old Irish Street Ballads, Volume Two: History and Politics
• Henry, Huntingdon, Herrmann, Sam Henry's Songs of the People
• Gale Huntington, Songs the Whalemen Sang
• Peter Kennedy, Folksongs of Britain and Ireland
• Marjory Kennedy-Fraser and Kenneth Macleod, Songs of the Hebrides
• [George R. Kinloch], The Ballad Book
• Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger, Travellers' Songs From England and Scotland
• Julie Saffel, editor, Cowboy Poetry
• Mary Wheeler, Steamboatin' Days: Folk Songs of the River Packet Era

In addition, dozens of recordings have been indexed, and there are the usual corrections and additions

Version 1.3

Materials Added in this Edition

The following books were added to the Index in version 1.3:

• (no author), The Dime Song Book Number 2
• J. H. Cox, Folk-Songs of the South
• J. S. Manifold, The Penguin Australian Song Book
• Meredith/Covell/Brown, Folk Songs of Australian, Volume 2 (the sort-of sequuel to Meredith/Anderson)
• John & Marcia Pankake, A Prairie Home Companion Folk Song Book
• Steven Suanders and Deane L. Root, The Music of Stephen C. Foster, Volume 2

In addition, several more recordings have been indexed, and there are the usual corrections and additions

What's New in Ballad Index Software

• PC Version: The user interface has been revamped to make the Index easier to operate. The cursor control keys (up arrow, down arrow, page up, page down, home, end) have been enabled. You no longer have to press ENTER after single-key commands. Color-coding highlights song titles.
• Macintosh Version: Some improvements in stability and cosmetic changes. Many changes "under the hood" in preparation for future releases.
• Unix Version: Some increases in stabilty.