What's New in the Ballad Index

Version 2.2

Changes to the Ballad Index Format

There have been no major changes to the Ballad Index format itself. We have, however, made a substantial effort to make key information more accessible. We have now compiled a list of the songs where the Notes or Historical References contain substantial material not found in the more common ballad references. The list of songs with such notes are summed up in the page on Ballad Index Articles.

Note: Everyone, even those who have not contributed to the Index, are invited to contribute articles.

Materials Added in this Edition

The following books were added to the Index in version 2.2:

• Norm Cohen, Long Steel Rail
• Joanna C. Colcord, Songs of American Sailormen
• James Henry Dixon, Scottish Traditional Versions of Ancient Ballads
• Frederick Pease Harlow, Chanteying Aboard American Ships
• Stan Hugill, Shanties from the Seven Seas
• Margaret Larkin, Singing Cowboy: A Book of Western Songs
• Ewan MacColl, The Shuttle & Cage: Industrial Folk Ballads
• Jimmy McBride, The Flower of Dunaff Hill and More Traditional Songs Sung in Innishowen
• Norah & William Montgomerie, Scottish Nursery Rhymes
• Terry Moylan, The Age of Revolution 1776 to 1815 in the Irish Song Tradition
• Tom Munnelly and Marian Deasy, The Mount Callan Garland--Songs from the repetoire of Tom Lenihan
• Jean Ritchie, Folk Songs of the Southern Appalachians (As Sung by Jean Ritchie)
• Cecil J. Sharp, etc. English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians
• Cecil Sharp, English Folk Chanteys
• Paddy Tunney, Where Songs Do Thunder
• Paddy Tunney, The Stone Fiddle
• Georges Denis Zimmerman, Songs of Irish Rebellion

We now have 8274 different songs, under 13885 titles. There are 28637 bibliographic references (excluding Roud references) and 7262 recording references. Because of duplicates, we cannot give an exact broadside count -- but the number of citations exceeds 2200.

131 songs have notes exceeding 500 words (3000 characters); most of these are included in the Ballad Index Articles. 38 songs have notes exceeding 1000 words; 18 have notes exceeding 2000 words. Six have notes exceeding 5000 words (though that's arguably just the result of editor Robert Waltz talking too much).

Version 2.1

Changes to the Ballad Index Format

The field names have been slightly changed to facilitate database use. These also made possible significant improvements to the downloadable Ballad Index software. The software has been updated to run on Mac OS X 10.3 or higher.

Materials Added in this Edition

The following books were added to the Index in version 2.1:

• William S. Baring-Gould and Ceil Baring-Gould, The Annotated Mother Goose
• David Bone, Capstan Bars
• Helen Creighton, Folksongs from Southern New Brunswick
• Randall and Dorothy Dibblee, Folksongs from Prince Edward Island
• Edward D. "Sandy" Ives, Folksongs of New Brunswick
• Edward D. "Sandy" Ives, Drive Dull Care Away -- Folksongs from Prince Edward Island
• W. Roy Mackenzie, Ballads and Sea Songs from Nova Scotia
• Louise Manny and James Reginald Wilson, Songs of Miramichi
• Colm O Lochlainn, Irish Street Ballads
• Colm O Lochlainn, More Irish Street Ballads
• Iona and Peter Opie, The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes
• Joseph Ranson, Songs of the Wexford Coast
• Dorothy Scarborough, On the Trail of Negro Folk-Songs
• Dorothy Scarborough, A Song Catcher in Southern Mountains
• Frank Shay, American Sea Songs and Chanteys

Version 2.0

Changes to the Ballad Index Format

There are two major additions in Version 2.0:

• Broadside References: References to broadsides in major online collections
• The Supplemental Tradition: Sample texts or stanzas for certain songs in the Index

Materials Added in this Edition

The following books were added to the Index in version 2.0:

• Omar Blondahl, Newfoundlanders, Sing!
• Helen Creighton, Songs and Ballads from Nova Scotia
• Maud Karpeles, Folk Songs from Newfoundland
• MacEdward Leach, Folk Ballads & Songs of the Lower Labrador Coast
• Ella Mary Leather, Folk-Lore of Herefordshire
• Genevieve Lehr and Anita Best (Ed. G Lehr), Come and I Will Sing You
• John Ord, Bothy Songs and Ballads
• Kenneth Peacock, Songs of the Newfoundland Outports
• Shannon Ryan and Larry Small, Haulin' Rope & Gaff: Songs and Poetry in the History of the Newfoundland Seal Fishery
• William H. Smith and Fenwick Hatt (ed. Edith Fowke), Sea Songs and Ballads from Nineteenth Century Nova Scotia
• John Stokoe (music arrangements by Samuel Reay), Songs and Ballads of Northern England

We now have 6787 different songs, under 11667 titles. There are 19373 bibliographic references (excluding Roud references) and 5449 recording references. Because of duplicates, we cannot give an exact broadside count -- but the number of citations exceeds 1200.

Version 1.8

Materials Added in this Edition

The following books were added to the Index in version 1.8:

• Olive Woolley Burt, American Murder Ballads and Their Stories
• Gerald S. Doyle, Old-Time Songs and Poetry of Newfoundland, Third edition
• Helen Hartness Flanders and George Brown, Vermont Folk-Songs & Ballads
• Edith Fowke (editor) with Keith MacMillan (music consultant), The Penguin Book of Canadian Folk Songs
• Harvey H. Fuson, Ballads of the Kentucky Highlands
• Emelyn Elizabeth Gardner and Geraldine Jencks Chickering, Ballads and Songs of Southern Michigan
• Elizabeth Bristol Greenleaf and Grace Yarrow Mansfield, Ballads and Sea Songs of Newfoundland
• Archie Green, Only a Miner: Studies in Recorded Coal-Mining Songs
• Eloise Hubbard Linscott, Folk Songs of Old New England

We now have 5990 different songs, under 10437 titles. There are 17377 bibliographic references and 5028 recording references.

Version 1.7

Materials Added in this Edition

The following books were added to the Index in version 1.7:

• Phillips Barry, Fannie Hardy Eckstorm, and Mary Winslow Smyth British Ballads from Maine
• Paul G. Brewster, Ballads and Songs of Indiana
• Louis W. Chappell, Folk-Songs of Roanoke and the Albemarle
• John Harrington Cox, Traditional Ballads and Folk-Songs Mainly from West Virginia,
• Robert Ford, Vagabond Songs and Ballads of Scotland (1904 1-volume edition)
• Edith Fowke, Lumbering Songs from the Northern Woods
• Randolph/Cohen -- Vance Randolph, Ozark Folksongs, edited and abridged by Norm Cohen.

In addition, the Index now includes over 4000 references to Steven Roud's Folk Song Index.

Over 1000 78 recordings were added or their entries updated.

We now have 5691 different songs, under 9808 titles. There are 16198 bibliographic references (excluding the Roud references) and 4427 recording references.

Version 1.6

Materials Added in this Edition

The following books were added to the Index in version 1.6:

• H. M. Belden, Ballads and Songs Collected by the Missouri Folk-Lore Society
• Henry M. Belden and Arthur Palmer Hudson, Eds, The Frank C. Brown Collection of North Carolina Folklore, Volume Two: Folk Ballads from North Carolina
• Henry M. Belden and Arthur Palmer Hudson, Eds, The Frank C. Brown Collection of North Carolina Folklore, Volume Three: Folk Songs from North Carolina
• Helen Creighton and Doreen H. Senior, Traditional Songs of Nova Scotia
• Arthur Palmer Hudson, Folksongs of Mississippi and their Background
• Franz Rickaby, Ballads and Songs of the Shanty-Boy
• Jean Thomas, Ballad-Makin' in the Mountains of Kentucky

In addition, the quality of references for several books indexed early on (Randolph, Eddy, Sandburg, etc.) has been upgraded.

Cross-references to Bronson have been introduced for all Child ballads.

We have added in excess of 1000 78 recordings.

These volumes pushed us to the 100 book mark. The Index now has 5516 songs, under 9452 titles; there are 15,258 bibliographic references and 3109 recording references.

Version 1.5

Materials Added in this Edition

The following books were added to the Index in version 1.5:

• Charles W. Darling, The New American Songster: Traditional Ballads and Songs of North America
• James N. Healy, The Mercier Book of Old Irish Street Ballads, Volume Two: History and Politics
• Henry, Huntingdon, Herrmann, Sam Henry's Songs of the People
• Gale Huntington, Songs the Whalemen Sang
• Peter Kennedy, Folksongs of Britain and Ireland
• Marjory Kennedy-Fraser and Kenneth Macleod, Songs of the Hebrides
• [George R. Kinloch], The Ballad Book
• Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger, Travellers' Songs From England and Scotland
• Julie Saffel, editor, Cowboy Poetry
• Mary Wheeler, Steamboatin' Days: Folk Songs of the River Packet Era

In addition, dozens of recordings have been indexed, and there are the usual corrections and additions

Version 1.3

Materials Added in this Edition

The following books were added to the Index in version 1.3:

• (no author), The Dime Song Book Number 2
• J. H. Cox, Folk-Songs of the South
• J. S. Manifold, The Penguin Australian Song Book
• Meredith/Covell/Brown, Folk Songs of Australian, Volume 2 (the sort-of sequuel to Meredith/Anderson)
• John & Marcia Pankake, A Prairie Home Companion Folk Song Book
• Steven Suanders and Deane L. Root, The Music of Stephen C. Foster, Volume 2

In addition, several more recordings have been indexed, and there are the usual corrections and additions

What's New in Ballad Index Software

• PC Version: The user interface has been revamped to make the Index easier to operate. The cursor control keys (up arrow, down arrow, page up, page down, home, end) have been enabled. You no longer have to press ENTER after single-key commands. Color-coding highlights song titles.
• Macintosh Version: Some improvements in stability and cosmetic changes. Many changes "under the hood" in preparation for future releases.
• Unix Version: Some increases in stabilty.