25 folk songs

EDIT: NOW WITH MORE CHOICES THAN EVER (multiple votes enabled).

I came up with a much larger list the other day, but then opted not to post it (and failed to save). This focuses on the late 60s through early 70s. This leaves off many of my favourites. I have been told that I tend to go for too many choices, instead of too few, and know I use too many words instead of too few so I panned to keep this to 12, but I went overlong again.

Tim Buckley - "Sing a Song for You"
Vashti Bunyan - "Winter is Blue"
Lenoard Cohen - "Suzanne"
Comus - "Winter is a Coloured Bird"
Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young - "Wooden Ships"
Donovan - "Three King Fishers"
Nick Drake - "River Man"
Extradition - "A Water Song"
Forest - "Graveyard"
Mark Fry - "The Witch"
Paul Giovanni & Magnet - "Willow's Song" off The Wicker Man OST
Gryphon - "The Unquiet Grave"
Roy Harper - "Me and My Woman"
The Incredible String Band - "A Very Cellular Song"
Jan Dukes de Grey - "Sun Symphonica"
Perry Leopold - "The Journey"
Mellow Candle - "Sheep Season"
Mr. Fox - "Mr. Fox"
Pearls Before Swine - "God Save the Child"
The Pentangle - "Cruel Sister"
Linda Perhacs - "Parallelograms"
Catherine Ribeiro + 2 Bis - "Le Crime de l'Enfant Dieu"
Buffy Sainte-Marie - "Suffer the Little Children"
Simon and Garfunkel - "The Sound of Silence"
Spirogyra - "An Everyday Consumption Song"
Cat Stevens - "Trouble"
Strawbs - "Witchwood"
Trees - "The Garden of Jane Delawney"
Neil Young - "The Needle and the Damage Done"

I tried to do this alphabetically, using the first letter of the surname for order and not including the artcle for order,, and instead of squeezing in multiple options, I took this list to the first 25 listed (I don't count as I went along) Ugh, and to think it cuts off right before one of my all-time favourite songs, "Trouble" by Cat Stevens. Should there be sufficient interest (it's not the quantity of responses, but more about the way the discussion goes, or fails to go), I will create a part two that includes the last three in my list here as well. as many others. Please excuse any mistakes I may have made.

Edited by Logan - March 14 2020 at 16:31

Simon and Garfunkel - "The Sound of Silence"

Edited by tamijo_II - March 14 2020 at 13:56

Snicolette wrote: Logan wrote: I came up with a much larger list the other day, but then opted not to post it (and failed to save). This focuses on the late 60s through early 70s. This leaves off many of my favourites. I have been told that I tend to go for too many choices, instead of too few, and know I use too many words instead of too few so I panned to keep this to 12, but I went overlong again. Tim Buckley - "Sing a Song for You" Vashti Bunyan - "Winter is Blue" Lenoard Cohen - "Suzanne" Comus - "Winter is a Coloured Bird" Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young - "Wooden Ships" Donovan - "Three King Fishers" Nick Drake - "River Man" Extradition - "A Water Song" Forest - "Graveyard" Mark Fry - "The Witch" Paul Giovanni & Magnet - "Willow's Song" off The Wicker Man OST Gryphon - "The Unquiet Grave" Roy Harper - "Me and My Woman" The Incredible String Band - "A Very Cellular Song" Jan Dukes de Grey - "Sun Symphonica" Perry Leopold - "The Journey" Mellow Candle - "Sheep Season" Mr. Fox - "Mr. Fox" Pearls Before Swine - "God Save the Child" The Pentangle - "Cruel Sister" Linda Perhacs - "Parallelograms" Catherine Ribeiro + 2 Bis - "Le Crime de l'Enfant Dieu" Buffy Sainte-Marie - "Suffer the Little Children" Simon and Garfunkel - "The Sound of Silence" Spirogyra - "An Everyday Consumption Song" Cat Stevens - "Trouble" Strawbs - "Witchwood" Trees - "The Garden of Jane Delawney" Neil Young - "The Needle and the Damage Done" I tried to do this alphabetically, using the first letter of the surname for order and not including the artcle for order,, and instead of squeezing in multiple options, I took this list to the first 25 listed (I don't count as I went along) Ugh, and to think it cuts off right before one of my all-time favourite songs, "Trouble" by Cat Stevens. Should there be sufficient interest (it's not the quantity of responses, but more about the way the discussion goes, or fails to go), I will create a part two that includes the last three in my list here as well. as many others. Please excuse any mistakes I may have made. Wonderful list, Logan, many of my faves here, as well as the author of my endquote to all of my posts (and from that song).   That being said, though, I am voting for "Cruel Sister," by The Pentangle.  Pretty hard to beat a long ballad with a great female singer, fine musicianship by all and a tale of treachery that ends with the murdereress being identified by a harp strung of the her dead sister's breastbone and 3 locks of her hair, while played before the gathering of her family.

Thanks Nickie; it's very much appreciated (as always). :)

Of course I'm into all in my list, but I love your choice. A fun thing for me when thinking through such lists is thinking which specific songs I want to go for. In some cases I go back and re-listen to various music, including "Cruel Sister" and that is my song of the day. It reminded me of just how much I love that one; so much so that I played it two more times.

I thought I was going to be able to pick multiple times so started with Mellow Candle's "Sheep Season" though could just as easily chosen "Cruel Sister" or "Me and My Woman" or Buckley or S & Gfunkle. Or Spirogyra. Or...

BrufordFreak wrote: I thought I was going to be able to pick multiple times so started with Mellow Candle's "Sheep Season" though could just as easily chosen "Cruel Sister" or "Me and My Woman" or Buckley or S & Gfunkle. Or Spirogyra. Or...

I almost always do go multiple choice for such polls; will change it to multiple options. Not sure why I didn't this time. Oh, now I remember, because I meant it originally to have far less choices, and avoid obscurities, but then I couldn't help myself and went longer.

I voted for Linda Perhacs "Parallelograms" in the end, as I love all of the songs on that album.

someone_else wrote: Great list. It might take me some time to make a decision. There are at least 7 songs I could choose.

Thanks, I did opt to change to multiple votes after a comment (although I usually just go for one even when that is an option). The other day I was doing one which asks you to vote for five, and I got to five, but it took ages as I got Captchaed multiple times for every vote cast.

Psychedelic Paul wrote: I voted for Linda Perhacs "Parallelograms" in the end, as I love all of the songs on that album.

I love that album too. Have not listened to it in quite a while, but I also enjoyed her 2014 release The Soul of All Natural Things. She's one of those not well-known in her day, and still not really well-know, but got a significant following in the internet age. I love her vocals.

Edited by Logan - March 14 2020 at 16:59

Logan wrote: EDIT: NOW WITH MORE CHOICES THAN EVER (multiple votes enabled). I came up with a much larger list the other day, but then opted not to post it (and failed to save). This focuses on the late 60s through early 70s. This leaves off many of my favourites. I have been told that I tend to go for too many choices, instead of too few, and know I use too many words instead of too few so I panned to keep this to 12, but I went overlong again. Tim Buckley - "Sing a Song for You" Vashti Bunyan - "Winter is Blue" Lenoard Cohen - "Suzanne" Comus - "Winter is a Coloured Bird" Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young - "Wooden Ships" Donovan - "Three King Fishers" Nick Drake - "River Man" Extradition - "A Water Song" Forest - "Graveyard" Mark Fry - "The Witch" Paul Giovanni & Magnet - "Willow's Song" off The Wicker Man OST Gryphon - "The Unquiet Grave" Roy Harper - "Me and My Woman" The Incredible String Band - "A Very Cellular Song" Jan Dukes de Grey - "Sun Symphonica" Perry Leopold - "The Journey" Mellow Candle - "Sheep Season" Mr. Fox - "Mr. Fox" Pearls Before Swine - "God Save the Child" The Pentangle - "Cruel Sister" Linda Perhacs - "Parallelograms" Catherine Ribeiro + 2 Bis - "Le Crime de l'Enfant Dieu" Buffy Sainte-Marie - "Suffer the Little Children" Simon and Garfunkel - "The Sound of Silence" Spirogyra - "An Everyday Consumption Song" Cat Stevens - "Trouble" Strawbs - "Witchwood" Trees - "The Garden of Jane Delawney" Neil Young - "The Needle and the Damage Done" I tried to do this alphabetically, using the first letter of the surname for order and not including the artcle for order,, and instead of squeezing in multiple options, I took this list to the first 25 listed (I don't count as I went along) Ugh, and to think it cuts off right before one of my all-time favourite songs, "Trouble" by Cat Stevens. Should there be sufficient interest (it's not the quantity of responses, but more about the way the discussion goes, or fails to go), I will create a part two that includes the last three in my list here as well. as many others. Please excuse any mistakes I may have made.

There are a lot of songs here that I love. As the title of the post is Folk songs that narrows things considerably for me (I wont go into what constitutes 'folk' music to me here) so I will choose one and that's Mr Fox.. But I do love the incredible string band and of course Roy Harper too.. xx

We are worlds apart when it comes to folk music. So I can't vote. As the best folk songs of that period aren't there in my opinion,
Pentangle, Fairport Convention, Steeleye Span, Lindisfarne, Bert Jansch, John Renbourne, Stealers Wheel, Prior & Tabor, Jethro Tull, The Watersons, Anne Briggs, Albion Country Band, Frankie Armstrong, Martin Carthy and so on.