A folk song is a song written the people of a culture or region that expresses their way of life. This usually refers to a song with no known composer or lyricist and multiple versions developed over time rather than a single, standard, copyrighted edition.
Folk songs can be found in a variety of cultures all over the world. The United Kingdom and the United States have strong folk traditions among English-speaking countries. “Barbara Allen,” “Greensleeves,” “Lavender’s Blue,” “Scarborough Fair,” “Lord Randall,” “The Water Is Wide,” “Blow the Man Down,” “The Gypsy Rover,” and “The Drunken Sailor” are examples of popular British folk songs. “The Sow Took the Measles,” “The Erie Canal,” “Sweet Betsy From Pike,” “Clementine,” “The Cowboy’s Lament,” “John Henry,” and “On Springfield Mountain” are all examples of folk music from the United States.
However, the term “folk song” has also been used to describe popular music that draws on the folk tradition. A folk song Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Sam Hinton, Burl Ives, The Kingston Trio, Peter, Paul, and Mary, and The Weavers can be described in this way.
Furthermore, songs with traditional elements and widespread and long-lasting popularity have been labeled as folk songs, whether mistake or as a broadening of the term. This is true, for example, of the song “Donna Donna,” “Dona Dona,” or “Dana Dana,” which has various titles. Aaron Tsaytlin wrote the original Yiddish lyrics, and Sholom Secunda composed the music. It was a show tune written for the show Isterke that became an anthem for European Jews during World War II, leading to its widespread use.
“My Grandfather’s Clock,” which also has a known attribution, is another song that is frequently mistaken for a folk song in the sense of having originated among the people. Henry Clay Work composed the music, and C. Russel Christian or Work wrote the lyrics based on a story he heard at an inn in Piercebridge, England.