The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face

“The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” is a 1957 folk song written by British political singer/songwriter Ewan MacColl for Peggy Seeger, who was later to become his wife. At the time the couple were lovers, although MacColl was married to someone else. MacColl and Seeger included the song in their repertoire when performing in folk clubs around Britain. During the 1960s, it was recorded by various folk singers and became a major international hit for Roberta Flack in 1972. Continue reading

The Battle Of New Orleans

“The Battle of New Orleans” is the title of a song written by Jimmy Driftwood. The song describes the 1815 Battle of New Orleans from the perspective of an American soldier; the lyrics are evidently intended to be comical. It has been recorded by many artists, but the singer most often associated with this song is Johnny Horton. His version scored number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1959. Continue reading

The House Of The Rising Sun

The House of the Rising Sun” is a traditional folk song from the United States. Also called “House of the Rising Sun” or occasionally “Rising Sun Blues“, it tells of a life gone wrong in New Orleans. The most successful commercial version was recorded by the English rock group The Animals in 1964, which was a number one hit in the United Kingdom, United States, Sweden, Finland and Canada. The song is in chromatic-minor. Continue reading

The End of the World

“The end of the world” 是相當受歡迎的一首歌,曾是錢櫃雜誌 (Cashbox現已停刊 )1963年度的年終排行冠軍曲,也是鄉村女歌手Skeeter Davis唯一的傳世之作。從內容看來,這又是一首失戀的情歌,但原作曲者乃是因為父親逝世,覺得猶如世界末日一般而寫出這首歌。Skeeter Davis的演唱平實而動人,而且自己擔任和聲,成就了一首流行經典。 Continue reading