Folk Songs and Rhymes

The traditional verses of folk songs and rhymes are social rather than personal in nature and reflect something about the community they come from.

Resources in this category:

Archive of Folk Culture
http://www.loc.gov/folklife/ndl.html

Previously called the "American Archive of Folk Song," this is a collection of online exhibits from the American Folklife Center. A majority of the exhibits are about various American folk song traditions, including audio files, pictures, and lyrics. Brought to you by the Library of Congress.

Cowboy and Western Poetry at the Bar-D Ranch
http://www.cowboypoetry.com/

This hub of Cowboy Poetry corrals together some old and classical cowboy poetry as well as some new poems, and much more. You’ll find newsletters, events, competitions, articles, book reviews, links, and articles.

Etext Center - Negro Spirituals
http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/HigSpir.html

The online text from the Electronic Text Center at the University of Virginia Library. These spirituals were originally collected by Thomas Wentworth Higginson (1823-1911).

Folk Alley
http://www.folkalley.com/

Listen to streaming folk music 24 hours a day. This online radio station plays only folk, world, and acoustic music. Free registration is required.

Huapala: Hawaiian Music and Hula Archive
http://www.huapala.org/

An extensive collection of traditional Hawaiian song, dance, and tradition.

Max Hunter Folk Song Collection
http://maxhunter.missouristate.edu/

A large collection of Ozark Mountain folk songs recorded between 1956 and 1976. They were collected by Max Hunter, a traveling salesman. The songs are available as printed lyrics or in audio format. Some include sheet music.

Russian Folk Songs
http://russia-in-us.com/Music/Folk/

Songs from Russia (and a few from Ukraine) in .ra format.