Balladry is one of the oldest forms of vernacular music in the United States, and since it is transmitted primarily through oral tradition, there are generally quite a number of versions of a single ballad. The purpose of this exercise is to allow you to see this variation at close hand.

For this assignment you are to use The Max Hunter Folk Song Collection, so you must use a computer that allows you to play and hear sound files using either the “Real Player” or “Quick Time.” Free downloads are available via a link on the Hunter Collection site, if your computer does not have this capability.

In brief, you are to compare any three versions from one of the Ballad families (chosen from the groups below) on the Hunter Collection web site. Use the Song Title link to locate your particular Ballads (make sure the index numbers match), and then look at the texts and listen to the three different recordings. (You may want to print out the texts or copy them into a file for easier comparison). After you have studied the three versions, prepare a brief typed summary of your findings. In particular, you should look for the following in your three versions:

1. What “story” or events are being related in the Ballad? How “true” does it seem, i.e., could (or did) these events take place, or is it pure fiction? How is the story introduced, and who is telling it?
2. Where is the story set and who are the principal characters of the story? Do they change from one version of the Ballad to another? What about the order of events (stanzas)?
3. What is the structure of the Ballad? How many lines per stanza are there, do they rhyme (or forced rhyme or near-rhyme), and how many stanzas are in each version? Do all three versions have the same number of stanzas, or do they differ? In short, how closely do these three versions match up with one another?
4. Are there any “refrain” lines or stanzas that return in the Ballad? Are there any musical refrains between stanzas?
5. In terms of the music, how close are the three versions? Are the melodies identical, or are there important differences? What about the way each singer performs the song? Are there any differences in their respective styles? (Example?)

Prepare a typed summary (minimum 300 words, about one page, double-spaced, but you may write more), and submit it to me via email (either as text within the email or as an attachment) or as "hard copy" in my music department mail box by 5:00 pm on Friday, 13 February 2004.

Potential Ballads on the Max Hunter Folk Collection Web Site

Remember, you are to pick any three ballads from the same family. In two groups, there are only three, so you must do those specific pieces. For the other groups, you might look at or listen to a few of the set, and then pick the three that interest you the most.

1. “Charles Eutawa” (1231)
2. “Charles Gatieu” (1167)
3. “Charles Guiteau” (0478)

1. “Devil Doings” (0437)
2. “Devils Curst Wife” (0499)
3. “The Ole Man Under the Hill” (1134)
4. “Devil and the Farmers Wife” (1439)
5. “The Devil and The Farmer” (1519)
6. “Ole Devil and The Lady” and “Farmers Curst Wife” (0481)

1. “Drunken Fool” (0577)
2. “Drunken Fool” (0620)
3. “When I Come Home the Other Night” (0696)
4. Three Nights Drunk (0730)
5. Three Nights Drunk (0886)

1. Black Jack Boy (1022)
2. Black Jack Davy (0118)
3. Black Jack Davy (0136)
4. Gypsy Davy (0423)
5. Black Jack Davy (0831)
6. Gypsy Davy (1000)
7. Black Jack Davy (1463)

1. Froggy Went A Courting (0085)
2. Frog Went A Courtin' (0159)
3. Uncle Rat (0842)