Modern Takes on Traditional Songs

[Ozimoto]

Some of the songs that have come up on the "Songs of Love and Loss" thread have been traditional folk songs that have been updated by contemporary artists such as Fairport Convention, Joan Baez, and others. There are some very good modern updates of traditional Irish, Scottish, and English folk songs out there. I'll start off with this one.

 

[Waquoit]

 

[Ozimoto]

Matty Groves from Fairport Convention

 

[Kaizen]

 

[Hoops66]

This song by Enya came from an 1843 opera The Bohemian Girl. It's hauntingly beautiful but the video is not the best.

 

[nwhoopfan]

 

[Kaizen]

A beautiful song by Ella Roberts
"The Bonnie Banks o' Loch Lomond", or simply "Loch Lomond" for short, is a well-known traditional Scottish song (Roud No. 9598) first published in 1841 in Vocal Melodies of Scotland.[3][4] The song prominently features Loch Lomond, the largest Scottish loch, located between the council areas of West Dunbartonshire, Stirling and Argyll and Bute. In Scots, "bonnie" means "pretty", often in reference to a female.

The original composer is unknown, as is definitive information on any traditional lyrics.

 

[Kaizen]

 

[Kaizen]

Scottish Bagpipes - Will Ye No Come Back Again

 

[nwhoopfan]

 

[Scud49]

Pentangle, from the 13th century: Hunting Song

 

[Aluminny69]

I'll go for the obvious:

 

[Ozimoto]

Al Pettaway and Amy White. So many traditional songs are about death and tragedy.

 

[Aluminny69]

 

[Kaizen]

Pentangle, from the 13th century: Hunting Song

Wow what a great song, good choice.

 

[Aluminny69]

Mannheim Steamroller has an excellent version of this song, but tripped over this version. David Archeleta was a contestant on American Idol.

From Wikipedia:
"Patapan" (or "Pat-a-pan") is a French Christmas carol in Burgundian dialect, later adapted into English. It was written by Bernard de La Monnoye (1641–1728) and first published in Noël bourguignons in 1720.[1] Its original title is "Guillô, Pran Ton Tamborin" ("Willie, Bring Your Little Drum" or "Willie, Take Your Little Drum").

The carol revolves around the birth of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_Christ, and is told from the perspective of shepherds playing simple instruments—flutes and drums—the onomatopoeic sound of which gives the song its name; "patapan" is meant to mimic the sound of the drum, and an accompanying lyric, "tu-re-lu-re-lu," the flute. This is similar conceptually to the carol "The Little Drummer Boy", with its chorus of "pa-rum-pa-pum-pum."

 

[Aluminny69]

"Greensleeves" is a traditional English folk song. A broadside ballad by the name "A Newe Northen Dittye of ye Ladye Greene Sleves" was registered by Richard Jones (the man whose sleeves were green) at the London Stationer's Company in September 1580,[1][2] and the tune is found in several late-16th-century and early-17th-century sources, such as Ballet's MS Lute Book and Het Luitboek van Thysius, as well as various manuscripts preserved in the Seeley Historical Library in the University of Cambridge.

Chip Davis founded Mannheim Steamroller. Watch Chip’s youngest daughter, Elyse prepare for her riveting rendition of the Christmas classic, Greensleeves in this short video clip.

 

[Hoops66]

I hope this qualifies because when I first heard it I thought it was new...only to find that it came from the 20's.
Now it's been 50 or so years since then...?

 

[Kaizen]

Georgy Girl perform live on the TODAY show

 

[Scud49]

Renaissance, with Annie Haslam providing the amazing vocals:

 

[meyers7]

Irish Traditional updated.

Lanigan's Ball - Enter the Haggis

 

[meyers7]

They used Lavender's Blue as a basis for this song.

Lavender - Marillion

 

[Bigboote]

Emmylou!

 

[Scud49]

One good Emmylou tune deserves another - doing Townes van Zandt's wonderful "Pancho and Lefty"

 

[MilfordHusky]