| Edition |
First edition. |
| Description |
viii, 406 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references, discographies, and index. |
| Contents |
"Barbara Allen" / Dave Marsh -- "The water is wide" / Ann Powers -- "Pretty Polly" / Rennie Sparks -- Music, when soft voices die / Sharyn McCrumb -- Naomi Wise, 1807 / Anna Domino -- John Brown's body / Sarah Vowell -- "When you go a courtin'" / R. Crumb -- Little Maggie--a mystery / Joyce Carol Oates -- We did them wrong: the ballad of Frankie and Albert / Cecil Brown -- The sad song of Delia Green and Cooney Houston / Sean Wilentz -- Destiny in my right hand: "The wreck of old 97" and "Dead man's curve" / David Thomas -- I thought I heard Buddy Bolden say / Luc Sante -- "See Willy fly by" and "The cuckoo" / Jon Langford -- Mariachi reverie / Paul Berman -- "The foggy, foggy dew" / John Rockwell -- "Come Sunday" / Stanley Crouch -- "El Paso" / James Miller -- "Trial of Mary Maguire" / Ed Ward -- Love, lore, celebrity, and dead babies : Dolly Parton's "Down from Dover" / Eric Weisbard -- "Sail away" and "Louisiana 1927" / Steve Erickson -- Dancing with Dylan / Wendy Lesser -- "Nebraska" / Howard Hampton -- "Blackwatertown" / Paul Muldoon -- Envoi / Greil Marcus. |
| Summary |
The ballad has been part of American history since before the country had a name. In this book, the editors have assembled an astonishing group of writers and artists--novelists, essayists, performers, and critics--to explore the ineffable power of the American ballad. In words and in drawings, the collaborators have tapped the veins of America's most imaginative and expressive form. From "Barbara Allen," one of the earliest, through "The Wreck of the Old 97," to contemporary ballads by Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen, The Rose & the Briar presents a rich new patch of art and commentary--like the ballads, no two the same, but all of a piece, about stories, storytellers, and American death, love, and liberty.--Publisher |
| Subject |
Ballads, English -- United States -- History and criticism.
|
|
Death in music.
|
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Love songs -- United States -- History and criticism.
|
|
Liberty -- Songs and music -- History and criticism.
|
| Added Author |
Wilentz, Sean.
|
|
Marcus, Greil.
|
| Added Title |
Rose and the briar |
| ISBN |
0393059545 hardcover |
|
