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I have drawn significantly on our cultural heritage of British folk songs in compiling this collection of songs for children. Folk songs are, by definition, the songs of ordinary people, and usually played and sung by non-professional musicians. This makes them very accessible and enjoyable whether the subject is humorous, thoughtful, fun or serious.
Often, we find we know a folk tune well, and can happily write new words to it as previous generations have done. For example, the tune of Here we go round the Mulberry Bush is exactly the same as the tune of Here we go Gathering Nuts in May. On this CD, ‘Where is Thumbkin?’ has the same tune as the internationally-famous ‘Frère Jacques’ which appears in different languages all over Europe, being Brother John in English and Bruder Jacob in German.
Most folk songs have been passed down through previous generations by aural traditional – by listening to travelling minstrels rather than by writing them down - which is why we get slightly different versions of the same song. Sometimes the tune is different in places and sometimes the words are adapted according to regional tastes eg. on this CD, Black Velvet Band is set in Belfast, but it has also been attributed to Tralee and other Irish towns. Also, The Fox and the Goose and A Frog Went a’Courting come from varying versions of both tune and words, but like most people, I tend to sing the version I learnt as a child because that is the version which stays with me most strongly.
Another advantage of singing folk songs is the simplicity of structure and harmony, making them easily accessible to everyone and easy to learn for children. Many folk songs require only two or three chords for harmony, and have repeated musical phrases and words. These songs also enhance literacy skills by providing good language models, and singing well-worded phrases - rather than just saying them - makes the flow of words more memorable and more easily absorbed.
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