Ballads and Folk Songs of The Southwest
Abstract
THE PENGUIN BOOK OF AMERICAN FOLK SONGS. Compiled and edited by Alan Lomax. (Baltimore: Penguin Books), 1964. 159 pp. $1.95, paperback. BALLADS AND FOLK SONGS OF THE SOUTHWEST. By Ethel and Chauncey O. Moore (Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press), 1964. 414 pp. $12.50. Both of these collections are limited to English language folk songs found in America, and, in spite of the fact that they contain some twenty songs in common, there is a considerable difference to be noted in the scope of the song material and its method of presentation. Alan Lomax has assembled a veritable "do-it-yourself" folk singer's handbook in the inexpensive paperback, The Penguin Book of American Folk Songs. The one hundred and eleven English language folk songs, "popular in America from Colonial days to modern times," have guitar chords indicated and also excellent piano accompaniments arranged by Elizabeth Poston. In addition, Mr. Lomax has included a brief historical background of folk song development in America, some good suggestions for the novice folk singer, an appendix devoted to American folk guitar style, and a second appendix containing a "brief and selective" discography. The song material is divided into six classifications: Yankee Songs, Southern Mountain