The first rule of Let It Be a Dance is that it is a mostly-spoken-word folk song. The second rule of Let It Be a Dance is that it is a mostly-spoken-word folk song. The third rule of Let It Be a Dance is that it if you’re going to use it, it’s really only …
The first time I remember knowing who Peter, Paul, and Mary were, I was about 8 and was watching my brother and his first wife singing the song “Lemon Tree.” Karen had long chestnut brown hair and a rich alto voice, and while I often associated her with another alto brunette named Karen – Karen …
“Sweet” is the word I would use to describe this hymn. Sweet lyrics, sweet sentiment, sweet tune. It’s not saccharine sweet, but rooted, old timey sound and wisdom sweet. It’s the kind of tune (another shape note tune, this time from the collection Missouri Harmony) you’d hope to hear played by a guitar, or maybe …
What is it about the Southern Harmony tunes? There’s something that just gets me about them – they get inside me and speak deeply to my soul. In a recent episode of Krista Tippett’s On Being with Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn, two amazing banjo players and musicians, Washburn talks about hearing Doc Watson for the …