folk song
Handed-down melody
A folk song is a traditional song passed down through generations within a community, typically of unknown authorship and rooted in everyday life, work, or shared history.
Folk songs were originally transmitted orally rather than through written notation.
The term also applies to contemporary songs written in that style: She performed old Appalachian folk songs alongside her own compositions.
Communal vocal session
- gatheringCollection of people meeting
- festivalOrganized public celebration
- hootenannyFolk music social gathering
- barn danceRural social with music
hoedown · ceilidh · campfire · chorus · congregation · fellowship · collective · participation
Narrative poem or song
- shantyRamshackle dwelling
- chanteySailors' work song
- lullabySoothing song for babies
- carolFestive seasonal song
dirge · hymn · spiritual · sea shanty · murder ballad · broadside · lament · reel
Narrative poem or song
- narrativeAccount of events
- taleSpoken or written narrative
- legendUnverified traditional tale
- mythTraditional explanatory tale
fable · lore · minstrel · bard · troubadour · griot · skald · oral tradition
Family line of descent
- lineageDescent from progenitors
- rootsUnderground nutrient absorbers
- preservationMaintaining something's condition
- revivalReturn after decline
ethnomusicology · archive · Smithsonian · field recording · cultural identity · indigenous · regional · Appalachian
Disconnected from power
- guitarFretted stringed instrument
- banjoFretted drum-stringed instrument
- mandolinPlucked eight-string lute descendant
- fiddleAdjust restlessly; folk violin
dulcimer · harmonica · accordion · autoharp · bouzouki · ukulele · zither · strumming
Time not long past
- reminiscenceRecalling past experiences
- longingIntense, persistent desire
- homesicknessLonging for one's dwelling
- wistfulSadly longing for something
bygone · sentimental · memory · old-timey · vintage · timeless · pastoral · rural
singalong
Communal vocal session
- gatheringCollection of people meeting
- festivalOrganized public celebration
- hootenannyFolk music social gathering
barn dance · hoedown · ceilidh · campfire · chorus · congregation · fellowship · collective · participation · call-and-response
ballad
Narrative poem or song
carol · dirge · hymn · spiritual · sea shanty · murder ballad · broadside · lament · reel · jig
ballad
Narrative poem or song
myth · fable · lore · minstrel · bard · troubadour · griot · skald · oral tradition · saga
ancestry
Family line of descent
- lineageDescent from progenitors
- rootsUnderground nutrient absorbers
- preservationMaintaining something's condition
revival · ethnomusicology · archive · Smithsonian · field recording · cultural identity · indigenous · regional · Appalachian · Celtic
unplugged
Disconnected from power
- guitarFretted stringed instrument
- banjoFretted drum-stringed instrument
- mandolinPlucked eight-string lute descendant
fiddle · dulcimer · harmonica · accordion · autoharp · bouzouki · ukulele · zither · strumming · fingerpicking
yesteryear
Time not long past
- reminiscenceRecalling past experiences
- longingIntense, persistent desire
- homesicknessLonging for one's dwelling
wistful · bygone · sentimental · memory · old-timey · vintage · timeless · pastoral · rural · simpler times
- folk artstribal art, Celtic knotwork, Navajo weaving, Amish quilts, hula
- poetry termspoetry, rhyme, verse, rhythm, meter
- folk versenursery rhyme, lullaby, ballad, sea shanty, spiritual
- song formshymn, carol, ballad, chanson, dirge
- Romanian musichora, traditional music, wedding music, wedding songs, ritual songs
- musicmusic, songs, singing, singer, singers
folk songart song
Composed vocal setting poetry
classical composition · lieder · oratorio · cantata · symphony