“Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” (1961) is a folk song. The first three verses were written by Pete Seeger in 1955, and published in Sing Out! magazine. Additional verses were added by Joe Hickerson in May 1960, who turned it into a circular song. Its rhetorical “where?” and meditation on death place the song in the ubi sunt tradition.In 2010, the New Statesman listed it as one of the “Top 20 Political Songs”. Continue reading
“White Christmas” is an Irving Berlin song reminiscing about an old-fashioned Christmas setting. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the version sung by Bing Crosby is the best-selling single of all time, with estimated sales in excess of 50 million copies worldwide. Continue reading
“When the Saints Go Marching In”, often referred to as “The Saints”, is an American gospel hymn that has taken on certain aspects of folk music. The precise origins of the song are not known. Though it originated as a spiritual, today people are more likely to hear it played by a jazz band. The song is sometimes confused with a similarly titled composition “When the Saints are Marching In” from 1896 by Katharine Purvis (lyrics) and James Milton Black (music). Continue reading
Vaya con Dios是西班牙語願神同行，祝福一帆風順之意(translated as “Go with God”) is a popular song written by Larry Russell, Inez James, and Buddy Pepper, and published in 1953. The most popular version of the song was recorded by Les Paul and Mary Ford. This recording was released by Capitol Records. It first reached the Billboard magazine Best Seller chart on June 13, 1953 and lasted thirty-one weeks on the chart, reaching number one on August 8 and remaining at number one for a total of nine weeks. The song also reached number one on the Cash Box chart. In 1966, a recording was made of the song by The McGuire Sisters. Continue reading
“Unchained Melody” is a 1955 song with music by Alex North and lyrics by Hy Zaret. It has become one of the most recorded songs of the 20th century, by some estimates having spawned over 500 versions in hundreds of different languages. Continue reading