While at the thrift shop I found the book ” The Ballad Book of John Jacob Niles” from 1961 and for $5.00. The book is a collection of old time folk ballads from the Appalachian mountains. Haunting and yet amazing. The stories and poetry in the music is amazing.

The background and extensive notes to this rendition of the song can be found here.

A Youtube version of a ballad on the topic can be heard here.


The importance of the Potter
It was amazing to see the potter show up in the songs as in the past pottery was a trade that was needed for making wear for everyday home life, commerce, and building. In James town, for example, kilns were made to fire out pottery and also for brick making. Pottery was imported at the time from Europe, but it was not enough to meet the demand. Four different kilns were found at the James town island. It was very enjoyable for me to realize the potter in these few folk songs that are quite long in story telling, violent, and dramatic. Creating is not only about making a thing, but also about reading and absorbing culture. There are many ways to tell a story and the mix of folk music and pottery was a fun study for me to do for a day. I hope you all enjoyed this! Have you ever heard any folk songs you enjoyed? If so let me know by commenting below!
Sources:
Pottery at Jamestown: https://www.nps.gov/jame/learn/historyculture/pottery-at-jamestown.htm

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