[Applause]
>> Nicki Saylor:
[Laughs] All right.
Hello, welcome.
All right, tonight is all about
celebrating the library and its
greatest treasures.
Some of you have already
had a chance to go upstairs and
see the newly opened David M.
Rubenstein Treasures Gallery in
its inaugural exhibit centered
on collecting memories.
For those of you who have yet
to see it, I would encourage you
to venture upstairs after the
show to get
to see some really
astounding material.
We have original artworks by
Stan Lee and Steve Ditko
for the Spider-Man comic.
We have handwritten lyrics for
The Sound of Music,
President James Madison's 
Crystal flute,
a sewing machine used to create
the Aids Memorial Quilt, and
much, much more.
So in sticking with the themes
of treasures what we have
for you tonight is a real live
treasure. All right.
[Applause]
All right. So many of you 
are familiar
with Natalie Merchant for her
distinctive voice
and her literary pop songs.
But here at the library, we
know her for her unwavering
dedication to all things folk
life. That's right. Woo! Yeah!
[Applause]
And she is one of our
newest board of trustees for the
American Folk Life Center.
And she has been a super bright
light of wonderful
service, as you'll see tonight
for the library.
Wonderful ambassador.
The library...
The Folk
Life Center is thrilled to
celebrate the 50th anniversary
of the Folk Life Center in 2026,
which is a time for us to help
ensure a vibrant future for folk
culture. As an investment in
that future, we want to inspire
people to learn traditional
folk songs and games that are in
the archives and incorporate
them into their lived
experience. So tonight's
performance and Saturday's
Family Day hosted by the
Libraries and Formal Learning
Office are some exciting steps
in that direction.
All right, one last thing.
I need to take a moment and
thank the library's donors and
friends who help make the
programs like this concert and
the Saturday Family days and
the exhibits like the Treasures
Gallery free, possible and
amazing.
So thank you. Let's take a
moment.
[Applause]
Okay. All right, so get ready.
We're in for a special treat.
Natalie's performance will
include music sourced from and
traced back to the AFC
Archives and printed materials,
as well as photographs and film
footage from collections not
only at AFC, but at the
library's Prints and Photographs
Division. She is joined on
stage by Maddie Gordon,
Richie Stearns, Kevin Wimmer,
Alex Lakemont and 
Jackson Fitzgerald.
So, without further ado, please
welcome tonight's performers.
[Applause]
[Applause]
>> Natalie Merchant: We have 
lots of surprises for you.
And lots of surprises for us
because we've never done this
before. We are what you would
call...
tonight, circus performers in
that we are walking a tightrope.
We are doing a group of songs
that we've never done before
with a group of people I've
never really played with before
in a space we've never
played.
And we're going to do a very
complicated
audio visual presentation for
you, which we did not rehearse.
[Laughing]
[Applause]
Nothing virtual about this
experience.
[Laughing]
It's all real.
And no one told me that there
would be sign language
interpretation. And they don't
know that
I'm absolutely fascinated
by American Sign Language.
[Applause]
So good evening to you and to
everyone at home.
Here we are at the incredibly
magnificent institution of the
Library of Congress. And
it was about almost two years
ago that I got a phone call
while I was on vacation in
Italy,
and it was from Chuck
Schumer's office.
[Laughing]
Very unusual.
I don't usually receive phone
calls from the Senate majority
leader. And the
question was, "Would you like to
serve on a board at the Library
of Congress?"
And I said, "Have you been
reading my mail?"
[Laughing]
Of course, I would love to
serve on a board at the Library
of Congress. I'd already served
on the New York State Council on
the Arts for six years at the 
behest of Eliot Spitzer
who then quickly...
[Laughing]
went his own way.
But it's been a
phenomenal two and a half
years so far. No, one and a
half years, almost two years.
But the very first time I came
down for orientation
and this is leading into what
I'm about to show you.
Well, before we start, I
just want to mention that last
night I saw the Treasures
Gallery.
The new Treasures Gallery.
And it made me weep and
this is going... the other thing
that is going to be a challenge
is not weeping
throughout this entire program.
Because it's very emotional
experience to behold
Abraham Lincoln's contents of
his pocket, the night pockets,
the night that he was
assassinated. And the thing that
brought me to tears was that
the president of our nation had
a broken pair of spectacles
that he held together
with a piece of string.
And it's those little details
that you're able to discover
that tell you so much about
history
that you don't read in
most books.
So, anyway, Grant is going 
to be helping me
with the slideshow and there's
so much treasure.
What is it? 178 million and
counting items in this largest
library in the world.
And I wanted to share a piece
of treasure that I found
recently. It was made in
1897 and let's watch it.
[Playing "Dancing Boy"]
So obviously that piece of
footage was filmed without
sound. And I took another piece
of treasure that I found in the
archive of Lomax recording
and paired them together.
And I just find it extremely
moving, that footage that some
of the earliest film footage
that the Edison company made and
that they felt that it was
important to make a document of
that little boy dancing that
day.
And we don't know who he
was.
But here we are with him.
So the other thing I
wanted to mention was that when
I first came for orientation,
that was the story I was
starting to tell.
There was an archivist that
I met who's Barbara Baer, who's
the head of... I don't know if
she's the head of, but she is...
Is she the head of the
manuscript department?
She's the what? She's the
curator.
And I'm so lucky. I have Nikki
in the front row, and Steve and
Jennifer, you can all correct
me when I make mistakes.
But Barbara asked
Nicki, is there anything Natalie
would like to see?
And I said, "I just wrote
a song about Walt Whitman.
If I could see anything related
to Walt Whitman."
And so she prepared an entire
room of treasure, because there
are more Walt Whitman artifacts
in the Library of Congress than
anywhere. So there's a
 photograph that I've
always loved of Walt Whitman,
and this photograph was a
photograph that we had in the
studio the entire time we were
recording my last record, and we
recorded this song.
So I'm going to start the
concert with "Song of Himself."
And let's see if I can get
through it without weeping.
Because this man I love, I
loved him so much during the
pandemic. I thought of him all
the time, and I read about him,
and I decided to write this
song about him because.
I thought, when have we been
more divided?
When have we been more divided?
And that was the Civil War?
And during the Civil War, Walt
Whitman came here because his
brother had been injured or
sick, I can't remember, and he
came to take care of his
brother, but he ended up staying
three years and he cared for
soldiers.
He cared for them on the Union
side and on the Confederate
side. And he would read them
letters.
He would write letters home.
He would write letters of
condolence
when they passed away. He would
bring them snacks,
oranges, crackers, jam.
And he would hold their hands
while they were dying. So
this is a song for Walt.
Now I'm really going to suffer.
[Laughing]
I mean, let's give it a try.
♪ Oh, how time 
does gamble on? ♪
♪ With countless comings 
of the dawn. ♪
♪ With the vanishing of night. ♪
♪ By transcendent 
rays of light. ♪
♪ Come sing a song
killed in Golden sun. ♪
♪ Of the dawning
of a day began ♪
♪ That will never, 
never come. ♪
♪ Won't come again. ♪
♪ Who knew the blossom 
and the swelling seed. ♪
♪ Who name the numberless
 shades of green. ♪
♪ Who stopped to linger 
in the path. ♪
♪ Who saw the world in 
a blade of grass. ♪
♪ Come sing your song ♪
♪ Son native born and bred. ♪
♪ In a mother tongue
so long unsung, unsaid. ♪
♪ Set us free. ♪
♪ Set us free. ♪
♪ We'll love above all causes, 
laws and creeds. ♪
♪ And your song
it will be sung. ♪
♪ And sung again. ♪
♪ Electric surge of words
that ebbed and flowed. ♪
♪ The likes of which the world
had never known. ♪
♪ And we'll never, never come.
Won't come again. ♪
♪ All the fools and all the
thieves. ♪
♪ All the cursed and 
the disease. ♪
♪ Fallen daughters and 
wayward sons. ♪
♪ Your arms 
embracing everyone. ♪
♪ Come sing a song of love
o brave and proud. ♪
♪ Love that has no rain. 
Love that knows no doubt. ♪
♪ Set us free. ♪
♪ Set us free. ♪
♪ With word conferred 
by ghosts, by poetry ♪
♪ And at the dawning 
of the sun. ♪
♪ You multitude of one. ♪
♪ Your song,
it will be sung. ♪
♪ And sung again. ♪
[Applause]
Oh my goodness.
And I wrote the set list.
I carved out this little
journey we're about to take
together. No, though, why don't
I wreck myself in the first
mile? I love that man.
And he's just...
And it was when I was singing...
♪ With word conferred 
by ghost, by poetry. ♪
A lot of poetic ghosts
are going to be in this building
tonight, in this room, swirling
around.
[Applause]
All right. We'll do one we
know.
♪ Where in hell can you go? ♪
♪ Far from the things that you
know. ♪
♪ Far from the sprawl of
concrete. ♪
♪ That keeps crawling its way. ♪
♪ About a thousand 
miles a day. ♪
♪ Take one last look behind. ♪
♪ Commit this to 
memory and mind. ♪
♪ Don't miss this wasteland, ♪
♪ this terrible place 
when you leave. ♪
♪ Keep your heart 
off your sleeve. ♪
♪ Oh, motherland
cradle me. ♪
♪ Close my eyes,
lullaby me to sleep. ♪
♪ Keep me safe,
lie with me. ♪
♪ Stay beside me
don't go. ♪
♪ Don't you go. ♪
♪ Oh my five and 
dime queen. ♪
♪ Tell me what 
have you seen. ♪
♪ The lost and avarice 
bottomless cavernous greed. ♪
♪ Is that what you see? ♪
♪ Oh, motherland
cradle me. ♪
♪ Close my eyes,
lullaby me to sleep. ♪
♪ Keep me safe, lie with me. ♪
♪ Stay beside me.
Don't go. ♪
♪ It's your happiness
 I want most of all. ♪
♪ And for that I do 
anything at all. ♪
♪ Oh, mercy me!
If you want the best of it. ♪
♪ If you want the most
of all. ♪
♪ Now, if there's anything 
that I can do at all. ♪
♪ Now come on, 
shotgun bride. ♪
♪ What makes me envious. ♪
♪ Life, faceless, nameless,
innocent and blameless free. ♪
♪ You tell me what 
that's like to be. ♪
♪ Oh, motherland,
cradle me ♪
♪ Close my eyes,
lullaby me to sleep. ♪
♪ Keep me safe,
lie with me. ♪
♪ Stay beside me.
Don't go. ♪
♪ Don't go. ♪
♪ Oh, motherland ♪
Who wants to sing?
♪ Lean on me. ♪
♪ Close my eyes,
lullaby me to sleep. ♪
♪ Keep me safe,
lie with me. ♪
♪ Stay beside me.
Don't go. ♪
♪ Don't go. ♪
♪ Don't go. ♪
[Applause]
Thank you.
All right. I have more treasure
to share with you.
One of my favorite
photographers since I was a
child, because my mother
brought home a book from the
library. Prendergast
Library in my hometown.
She brought home a book about
Lewis Hine.
And Lewis Hine and Jacob Riis
kind of pioneered
photojournalism, and they call
it muckraking, but I prefer to
think of it as pioneering
photojournalism.
And what he did for I
think it was 12 years he worked
for the National Child Labor...
Is it Child Labor Committee?
National Child Labor Committee.
And here are some
political cartoons that I was
able to find in the archive that
are related to child labor and
the fight against child labor.
And Grant if you could pause on
the next one. Winsor McCay.
I didn't know that Winsor McCay
did political cartoons.
I knew all about his "Little
Nemo in Slumberland," but
that is such a powerful
cartoon.
I mean, a cartoon is a bad word
for what that is.
Just a horrifying
visualization of the process of
taking small children and
grinding them into withered,
exhausted, maimed adults, which
is what was happening in the
textile industry, especially in
the South, in this country and
also in the north, a lot in
Maine and especially
Massachusetts.
But the song that we're about to
do for you was written
by a mill worker.
We don't know exactly who it
was.
There's a little dispute about
it, and Steve might be able to
clear that up someday.
But I learned the version from
a printed source, so I never
heard a recording of it.
I subsequently found out that
Pete Seeger did record it, but
my version is very different
from his.
It has a kind of... it can be
known as a kind of rousing labor
song, but I turned it into a
ballad and I changed the title.
It used to be called "I Lived in
a Town," and what was the other
title for it? It's a "Buffalo
Mill Worker's Rhyme."
But the book that I took
it from, claimed that it was
written by a mill worker in
Owensboro, Kentucky.
So I called the song "Owensboro"
and I put it on my House
Carpenter's daughter album.
And we're going to show you some
slides of photographs by Lewis
Hine
while we are performing
the next song, "Owensboro."
♪ Well, I
 lived in a town. ♪
♪ Way down south. ♪
♪ By the name of all things
broke. ♪
♪ And I worked in a mill. ♪
♪ With the rest of the trash, as
we're often called ♪
♪ As you know.
We rise up ♪
♪ Early in the morning. ♪
♪ And we work 
all day real hard. ♪
♪ To buy a little, little 
meat and bread. ♪
♪ Buy sugar,
tea and love. ♪
♪ Well our children, 
they grow. ♪
♪ They grow up
and learn ♪
♪ With no time to go to 
school almost before. ♪
♪ They learn to walk. ♪
♪ They learned to spin
and spoon. ♪
♪ Well, the folks in town. ♪
♪ They dress so fine. ♪
♪ And they spend
their money fee. ♪
♪ They would hardly love. ♪
♪ At a [inaudible] 
the dresses like ♪
♪ You were me. ♪
♪ Would you let them wear ♪
♪ their watches fine. ♪
♪ Let 'em wear their gems. ♪
♪ They're pulling strings. ♪
♪ But when that day
of judgment comes. ♪
♪ They'll have to share
the pretty things. ♪
♪ And when that day, that 
day of judgment comes. ♪
♪ You don't have to say
their pretty things. ♪
[Applause]
Thank you.
Lord, Lord, Lord.
All right, in this collection
at the library, there are 5000
Jacob Hine... Lewis Hine
photographs of child laborers,
and I probably looked at 2000 of
them to find those photographs,
because there are 1700
photographs of just mill
workers.
And I definitely looked at
every one of those, plus the
miners and the oyster shuckers
and the newsboys.
So if you get a chance,
these are all
digitized and they're online.
And I think all teachers in
this country
should tell the truth about the
history of child labor.
It wasn't really
abolished until 1938, in most
states. Anyway, we're going
to move along to
the board that I'm a member of
is the American Folklife Center.
And we have the... not only is
this the largest library in the
world, we have the largest
ethno... what do you call it?
Ethnographic sound recording
library also in the world.
Is that not correct?
So glad my fact checkers are in
the front row.
And I'm going to play you
a few, just not entire field
recordings because we don't
have enough time, but we'll play
excerpts of them. And the first
one we're going to play was
recorded by Alan Lomax.
And the archive does now
take care of all the Lomax
archive. And this is Texas
Gladden, who is a remarkable
ballad singer from Virginia.
Is that correct? From Virginia.
And...
we're going to listen to her
singing
"The Devil's Nine Questions,"
and then we're going
to reinterpret it here.
It's our little archive
challenge.
♪ Oh, what is higher 
than a tree? ♪
♪ Sing ninety-nine and ninety ♪
♪ And what is deeper 
than the sea? ♪
♪ And you were the weavers,
Bonnie. ♪
♪ Heavens higher than a tree. ♪
♪ Sing ninety-nine
and ninety ♪
♪ And hell is deeper 
than the sea. ♪
♪ And I am the 
weaver's, Bonnie. ♪
Let's give her a round of
applause.
[Applause]
Because without these
field recordings, so many of
these songs would have been
lost. And that whole folk
revival that happened in the 50s
and 60s and part of the 70s was
made possible because of these
song catchers who went and
found these people who had this
knowledge, a lot of these Anglo
American ballads that I really
treasure. And I actually
originally learned this song
from a printed source, but when
I heard the field recording, I
wanted to include it tonight.
So let's give it a try.
Never performed before
by this group of people.
♪ Oh, you must answer my
questions nine. ♪
♪ Sing ninety-nine and ninety ♪
♪ Oh, you're not gods.
You're one of mine. ♪
♪ And you are the 
weavers, Bonnie. ♪
♪ What is white
 and then [inaudible] ♪
♪ Sing ninety-nine and ninety ♪
♪ And what is softer than the
silk. ♪
♪ And who is the weavers, 
Bonnie. ♪
So I'm going to be the
child and the devil.
♪ Snow is whiter
than the milk. ♪
♪ Sing ninety-nine and ninety ♪
♪ And down is 
softer than silk. ♪
♪ And I am the 
weaver's, Bonnie. ♪
Only the devil now.
This is the way the devil
stands.
[Laughs]
♪ What is higher
than the tree. ♪
♪ Sing ninety-nine and ninety ♪
♪ And what is deeper than
the sea? ♪
♪ And who is the 
weaver's, Bonnie. ♪
[Laughs]
No, I'm just telling
you, I'm not going over here
to be the child again.
♪ Heaven is higher 
than a tree. ♪
♪ Sing ninety-nine and ninety ♪
♪ And hell is deeper than
the sea ♪
[Inaudible]
♪ What is louder 
than the horn? ♪
♪ Sing ninety-nine 
and ninety ♪
♪ And what is sharper 
than the thorn? ♪
♪ And who is [inaudible]? ♪
♪ Sing ninety-nine and ninety ♪
[Inaudible]
♪ And I am the weavers, 
Bonnie. ♪
Many questions are [inaudible].
It's "The Devil's Nine
Questions."
♪ What's more innocent than... ♪
♪ Than a lamb? 
Sing ninety-nine and ninety ♪
♪ And what is meaner than
womankind. ♪
♪ And who is the 
weaver's, Bonnie. ♪
♪ Well, a baby is more innocent 
than a lamb. ♪
♪ Sing ninety-nine and ninety ♪
♪ The devil is meaner than
womankind. ♪
♪ And I am the weaver's,
Bonnie. ♪
And the Devil says.
♪ You have answered 
my questions nine ♪
♪ Sing ninety-nine and ninety ♪
♪ You are [inaudible] ♪
♪ And you are the weavers, 
Bonnie. ♪
[Applause]
As the devil, I thank you.
[Applause]
As the child, I thank you.
[Applause]
Well, that was a little
departure from delving into the
darker aspects of the human
condition.
But we're going back there a
bit now.
[Laughing]
This is where I dwell.
It's where I find my comfort.
So we're going to 
show you if you
dig long enough and deep enough,
it's amazing what you'll find.
The Elgin Gazette
from, I believe it's the day
after Christmas in 1906 or 1903.
Can anyone see that?
[Laughing]
You just have to take my word
for it. 1903 and 1906.
And there's an item there that
you might read.
You see there's a piece
about
teeth. They promised to give
a certain amount of money if
anyone comes to their dental
office and experience his pain.
See those teeth in the corner
there?
And then there's some kind of
wild pig in pursuit
of the colonial figure.
But anyway, it's the day after
Christmas, and you might read in
Elgin Gazette. Elgin is a...
Now, I think, a suburb of
Chicago, but at the time it was
its own community.
Am I pronouncing it wrong?
Say, Elgin. Elgin.
Elgin. All right, so let's take
a closer look.
Oh veteran of...
I'm going to read it backwards
and prove my dyslexia is not a
lie. Veteran of two wars Diane
Morrell, soldier, sailor and
friend of Colonel Cody, is
dead.
Was first clown in...
And I think that's a typo. In
Bailey's Circus. Lost a fortune.
Do you know that Hemingway
challenge?
Can someone ask Hemingway
if he could tell a story in
six words?
And I think it was like...
baby shoes never worn.
Oh, baby shoes never worn.
>> For sale. 
>> Natalie Merchant: For sale.
That's eight years old.
But anyway...
But anyway, I'm just making the
analogy.
I'm in a room full of
archivists and librarians, so
I'm really... the tightrope
is sagging from time to time.
But I know I probably know more
about Dion De Marbelle 
than you do.
So I'm going to tell you about
him.
Dion De Marbelle wrote one of my
favorite songs, and at the time
of his death, it was one of
many Americans favorite songs.
But because he didn't file his
copyright properly, and because
there were some unscrupulous
characters in the music
business, which they're all
gone now.
[Laughing]
They're all gone now.
That's what I tell my
daughter when she was little
about the Romans every Easter.
It's like, who killed Jesus?
The Romans, but they're all
gone now.
[Laughing]
Anyway. So Dion De Marbelle
wrote this beautiful hymn called
"When They Ring the Golden 
Bells for You and Me,"
which I recorded for an
album of mine in 1998 called
"Ophelia."
And I always wanted to know who
wrote this beautiful song.
So I went on a Dion De Marbelle
quest, and I found out that he
had the most remarkable life.
He emigrated from France in
1816,
I believe. He went off on a
whaling ship as soon as he
possibly could. As soon as he
was of age, he went off on a
whaling ship off the coast of
Maine.
Then he became a drummer in the
Mexican American War, a drummer
again in a regiment, I believe,
from Michigan.
He fought in the Civil War.
After the war,
he was a ventriloquist, a
sleight of hand artist.
He started his own opera
company.
He also was a thespian.
He made friends with James 
Bailey, who started a circus.
Before Barnum and Bailey Circus
was the James Bailey Circus.
He was the first clown,
possibly in America,
professional clown.
Then he thought, well,
this circus thing is
pretty good. I'll start my own
circus.
So he started his own circus,
and his big top caught on fire
somewhere in Canada. I haven't
found out where.
And he lost his entire fortune.
$20,000 to $30,000 fortune.
He ended up going back to a
small town outside of Chicago
to basically live out his
last years.
He would take occasional
forays into
dime museum performing and
he did a lot of square dance
calling, and he just was an all
around great guy to have
around.
From everything I've read about
him and I have to...
People loved him.
He had horrible rheumatism
and he drank a lot.
But this is what I read
in the Elgin Gazette as
well. Carpenter Willis,
threatened with a sleight of
hand show by a gentleman with a
ferocious name, Dion De Marbelle
who on his bills calls himself
the ambidextrous pew enthusiast,
whatever that may mean.
And I didn't add that, that was
actually a parenthetical
remark in the Elgin Gazette,
whatever that may mean.
The title is alluring, but we
hardly opined that the gentleman
with the utter name will
develop as great drawing
qualities as does the Dundee
skating rink, whatever that
means. But anyway,
he ended up dying
on Christmas Day in either 1903
or 1906.
I didn't write it down, I'm
sorry.
And spent 37 years in an
unmarked grave
because he was penniless.
Oh, did I mention he was
friends with Buffalo Bill Cody?
And he helped start the Wild
West show.
No, I didn't mention that.
And there is an account of
Buffalo Bill Cody coming to
town, discovering that his old
friend Dion De Marbelle was
penniless, living in a
soldier's home, and apparently
allegedly gave him a roll of
bills when he left town.
So just amazing stories about
this man. And
we're going to do his song "When
They Ring the Golden Bells" now.
♪ There's a laugh
beyond the river. ♪
♪ That they call
the sweet forever. ♪
♪ And will only reach that 
shore by fate's decree. ♪
♪ One by one will gain ♪
♪ The portals there to dwell 
with thee mortals. ♪
♪ When they ring the golden 
bells for you and me. ♪
♪ Oh, don't you hear 
the bells are now ringing? ♪
♪ Don't you hear the angels
singing? ♪
♪ It's a glory 
Hallelujah Jubilee. ♪
♪ In that far off 
sweet forever. ♪
♪ Just beyond the 
shining river. ♪
♪ When they ring the golden 
bells for you and me. ♪
♪ We shall know no sin, 
no sorrow ♪
♪ In that heaven 
of tomorrow. ♪
♪ When our hearts shall sail
beyond the silvery sea. ♪
♪ We shall only know 
the blessing ♪
♪ Of our fathers 
sweet caressing. ♪
♪ When they ring the golden
bells for you and me. ♪
♪ Oh, don't you hear
the bells now ringing. ♪
♪ Don't you hear the angels
singing? ♪
"Tis a glory hallelujah 
Jubilee. ♪
♪ In that far
off sweet forever. ♪
♪ Just beyond the 
shining river. ♪
♪ When they ring the golden
 bells for you and me. ♪
♪ In that far of sweet forever ♪
♪ Just beyond
the shining river. ♪
♪ When they ring the golden 
bells for you and me. ♪
♪ When a day shall no their 
number ♪
♪ And in death 
we sweetly slumber ♪
♪ When the king commands 
the spirit to be free. ♪
♪ Nevermore with 
anguish laden ♪
♪ We shall reach that
lovely dance. ♪
♪ When they ring the 
golden bells for you and me ♪
[Applause]
And just so you don't go to bed
thinking about his crotch
covered size marker that said
Drummer Boy or whatever, he
actually was given a proper
stone. After 37 years in his
unmarked grave, a group of
citizens, mostly veterans of
the Civil War,
put together a fund
 and they...
I've seen the marker.
They made a stone
and it just says, "Dion de
 Marbelle, drummer."
Anyway, we're going to move
along.
And now I think we're going to
be here for three hours.
I think we're only supposed to
be here...
[Laughs]
[Applause]
I'm sorry. Just feel free to
evacuate the building.
But I've got things to say...
[Laughing]
[Applause]
about every song here.
All right. Now, I won't say much
about the next song.
It's from the...
famous shape note book called
"The Sacred Harp" and...
Right? Is that what we're
doing?
Yes, it's called 
"Weeping Pilgrim."
Oh, and you can sing along.
Do you know this one? 
"Weeping Pilgrim."
♪ If you see them... ♪
Is that the key it's in?
♪ If you see them, mother. ♪
♪ Please tell them I'm a poor
mourning pilgrim, ♪
♪ Bound for Canaan land. ♪
And your part is...
♪ Well, I weep and I... ♪
You know this one. 
>> I do.
>> Natalie Merchant:
You could sing along with me.
>> I think I will.
>> Natalie Merchant: Okay.
♪ Well  I weep and I moan ♪
♪ And I move slowly on. ♪
We let that drift off.
Which that's not in the shape
notebook.
♪ I'm a poor mourning pilgrim,
 bound for Caanan land. ♪
So now you know your part and I
just go mother, brother, sister
and father. So four verses,
each one very similar, except a
different family members being
honored.
♪ If you see them, sister. ♪
♪ Please tell them I'm a poor
mourning pilgrim ♪
♪ Bound for Canaan land. ♪
♪ Well, I weep and I mourn, and
I move slowly on. ♪
♪ I made poor mourning 
pilgrim, bound for Canaan land ♪
Now we do, brother.
♪ If you see them, brother. ♪
♪ Please tell them
I'm a poor mourning pilgrim ♪
♪ Bound for Caanan land ♪
Sing with me.
♪ Well I weep and I moan
and I move slowly on ♪
♪ I'm a poor mourning pilgrim
Bound for Canaan land ♪
♪ Well, if you see 
their father ♪
♪ Please tell them I'm a
poor mourning pilgrim ♪
♪ Bound for Canaan land ♪
This is your last
opportunity to sing.
If you... 
[Laughing]
♪ Well I weep and I moan
and I move slowly on ♪
♪ I'm a poor mourning pilgrim
Bound for Canaan land ♪
I caught you.
[Laughing]
That's the retired and the end.
And if you didn't sing before,
do you want to sing that one
more time?
And we'll try to get it. So at
the end, we go...
♪ I'm a poor mourning pilgrim
Bound for Caanan land. ♪
Let's pretend we did it.
We have to think about...
[Laughing]
[Applause]
All right, I'll say less.
Let's move on to the next
slide.
We have beautiful, angelic,
wonderful, lovely Jean Ritchie
and the American Folk Life
Center is the Guardian
of her collection,
of her papers,
of her recordings,
of her personal items, 
and I can't wait
to dig into those boxes.
So, gonna find him.
Gonna dig him. Because
what I love about her is
the preservation of the ballads.
But also she loved children.
She was the the youngest 
child of 14.
And a very musical family, and
her brain was a repository
for all those songs.
And if I am correct, and
I'm sure there's someone in the
front row who could make sure I
am, she originally wasn't going
to be a singer. She wanted to
be a social worker, and she
worked at the Henry Street
Settlement house in Manhattan.
Did she went to school in New
York, right?
She went to college in New
York. And actually later,
we'll show you some photographs
of her
at the Henry Street
Settlement House.
But that's where she became
sort of fired up about children
and folk music and folk
games and we're indebted to
her for all the beautiful
children's music that she
recorded and for us for the
ages.
But we're going to do a song
that I learned from her.
Actually, this one I
learned from a printed source as
well. It's the same sort of
thing.
But at the Folklife Center, I
found of her version.
And I want you to hear it.
"Fair and Tender Ladies."
Oh, that's her with her aunt.
♪ Come all ye fair 
and tender ladies ♪
♪ Take warning how 
your court your man ♪
♪ They're like a star on 
a cloudy morning ♪
♪ They'll first they appear 
and then they`re gone ♪
[Applause]
And there's so many places where
you can hear recordings of Jean
Ritchie, but that is it feels
like a field recording.
It is a field recording, but it
feels like so many of the other
recordings in the archive, and
that she was a professional
singer. It's really I think
it's another piece of treasure
to have this really candid and
unadorned version of one of her
songs that she was saving for
us.
Okay, so we'll give it a try.
This is the way that
 I learned it from a book.
♪ Come all ye fair 
and tender ladies ♪
♪ Take warning how 
how your court your man ♪
♪ They're like a star on 
a summers morning ♪
♪ They first they appear 
and then they`re gone ♪
♪ They'll tell to you
some love and story ♪
♪ And make you think
they love you well. ♪
♪ And then they'll go
and court another ♪
♪ And leave you here 
in grief [inaudible] ♪
♪ Oh, I wish I was a 
little sparrow. ♪
♪ That I had wings,
wings that I could fly ♪
♪ I fly into the arms
of my false true lover ♪
♪ And when he'd ask,
I would deny ♪
♪ So come all ye fair,
fair and tender ladies. ♪
♪ Take warning how
your court your man ♪
♪ They're like a storm
on a summer's morning. ♪
♪ They first appear
and then they're gone. ♪
[Applause]
Oh, the great exodus is
happening, I feel free.
All right. Should we just...
Let's do "Airship."
>> Oh, yeah. 
>> Natalie Merchant: Yeah.
[Applause]
I'm just gonna...
I'm going to skip a song.
People have had enough.
So we were only supposed
to play for a brief period of
time, but we have a lot of
things we want to share.
[Applause]
All right. We're going to 
listen to a little...
It's not a field recording, but
it's from the national jukebox
of the Library of Congress
and here it is.
It's called "Come Take a Trip in
My Airship."
And it was recorded in 1905.
It was written by
George Honey Boy Evans and Ren
Shields and let's hear it.
It's... I can't remember
who's singing it.
Oh, J. W. Myers is singing it.
Big baritone star.
[Playing "Come Take a Trip in
my Airship"]
[Applause]
All right, so I just before we
start the song, I want to go to
the next slide and show you
George Honey Boy Evans and
Ren Shields because they are one
dapper duo.
[Laughing]
Okay, so here we go.
I recorded this back in the I
think it was 1996 or 7 for a
pediatric Aids benefit album.
And here we go.
"Come Take a Trip 
on My Airship."
♪ Once, I loved a sailor ♪
♪ Once, a sailor loved me. ♪
♪ But he was not a sailor ♪
♪ That sailed on the white
blue sea. ♪
♪ He, sailed in an airship ♪
♪ Sailed like a bird 
on the wind ♪
♪ And every evening 
at midnight. ♪
♪ He would come to my 
window and sing. ♪
♪ Come take a trip 
in my airship ♪
♪ Come sail away to 
the stars. ♪
♪ We'll travel to Venus. ♪
♪ We'll sail away to Mars. ♪
♪ No one will see while
we're kissing. ♪
♪ No one will know
 as we swoon. ♪
♪ So come take a
trip in my airship. ♪
♪ And we'll visit the man
in the moon ♪
♪ One night while sailing away 
from the stars. ♪
♪ We pass by the 
milky white way. ♪
♪ While idly drifting and
watching the stars. ♪
♪ He asked if I'd 
name the day. ♪
♪ Just by the dipper, 
I gave in my heart. ♪
♪ The sun shone on 
a honeymoon. ♪
♪ We swore to each other
we never would part. ♪
♪ And we teach all the babies
this till... ♪
Everybody.
♪ Come take a trip in my airship
come sail away to the stars. ♪
♪ We'll travel to Venus. ♪
♪ We'll sail away to Mars ♪
♪ No one will see 
while we're kissing. ♪
♪ No one will know 
as we swoon. ♪
♪ So come take a trip 
in my airship ♪
♪ And we'll visit the
man in the moon. ♪
[Laughs]
[Applause]
So we know how to have fun too.
All right, so...
Oh, that's so sweet.
Now we're going to do a
song that I learned from
indirectly from Ruth Crawford
Seeger.
Let's have a look at Ruth
if we could. Grant.
So Ruth Crawford Seeger, you
can correct me.
Does the AFC have it or the
Music Division her papers?
Music Division.
So Ruth Crawford Seeger, who is
Pete Seeger's stepmother,
also mother of Peggy,
Mike, Penny, Barbara. 
Is that all the kids?
Okay. But when Barbara was of...
What you need to know about Ruth
Crawford Seeger and you
probably all know about her,
but she was classically
trained, she was a composer, and
she was on track to be one of
the 20th century's probably most
important female composers
and she got kind of sidetracked.
She married a musicologist
named Carl Seeger.
Right? And in 1932.
And he had a child from a
previous marriage.
And then they boom, boom, boom
boom had three more kids or four
more kids. They had five total.
Did I... Peggy,
Mike. She had five children to
care for.
And to make money, she started
working with the Lomaxes.
She started transcribing the
field recordings so that they
could. I think it was our
singing country was the big
project that they ended up
doing, which is kind of a Bible
of folk music.
And then she ended up doing she
started working in her
daughter Barbara's preschool
and realized we should have a
couple anthologies of these
songs for children.
So she did folk, American
folk songs for children, animal
songs for children, and a
beautiful project that my
friend Elizabeth Mitchell did
was based on her Christmas
book, really unusual.
If you get a chance to to
listen to that, it's called
"The Sounding Joy."
But anyway, Ruth.
Actually, I think.
Did she
write a symphony or a quartet
based on [inaudible] Rosalie?
Do you know? A symphonic piece
based on this folk song we're
about to play for you.
And you can sing along.
Can you sing [inaudible]?
I'm in the wrong key.
♪ I met my wife in the 
month of June. ♪
♪ Nickety-nackety-now-now-now ♪
♪ Nickety-nackety-now-now-now ♪
♪ Nickety-nackety-now-now-now ♪
♪ Nickety-nackety-now-now-now ♪
♪ Nickety-nackety-now-now-now ♪
That's your part. Couldn't be
easier.
Okay, so Richie's going to
start us out here.
♪ I met my wife in the 
month of June. ♪
[chorus]
♪ I carried her off in a
silver spoon. ♪
[chorus]
[Inaudible]
♪ She swept the floor
but once a year. ♪
[chorus]
♪ She swore that brooms 
that cost you dear. ♪
[chorus]
[Inaudible]
♪ She combed her hair
but once a year. ♪
[chorus]
♪ With every rake 
she shed a tear. ♪
[chorus]
[inaudible]
Okay, you're in the hot seat.
♪ I met my wife in the 
month of June. ♪
[chorus]
♪ I carried her off 
in a silver spoon. ♪
[chorus]
♪ She swore the brooms 
that cost you dear. ♪
[chorus]
♪ She swept the floor,
but once a year. ♪
[chorus]
♪ She combed her hair
but once a year. ♪
[chorus]
♪ With every wake 
she shed a tear. ♪
[chorus]
[Inaudible]
[Applause]
All right, as promised, here are
photographs
of Jean Ritchie, who we all
love so much.
You should watch your Rainbow
Quest episode with
Pete Seeger, it's amazing.
All right. So we're going to do
a song
that I actually learned from the
Harry Smith Anthology of
American Folk Music.
But we have a field recording
of a totally different variant
of the song that Jean
sang, and are we hearing it over
this or the next slide?
I promised you you would see
her in her other career path.
And there she is as a teacher.
And so we're going to hear
"Old Shoe Boots and Leggings."
[Playing "Old Shoe Boots
 and Leggings"]
[Applause]
And that's probably one of the
few action shots you're going to
find of Jean Ritchie.
And she's in full action there.
So speaking of action, we have
Maddie Gordon with us this
evening and he's going to do a
little dancing.
Maddie is one of the four most
percussive dancers in
America, and he happens to be
here on the stage with us.
[Applause]
We're going to do
the one that Maddie dances
to, the one we just heard.
There's little confusion.
Because the songs are
swapped on the list, but...
There are a lot of these kinds
of songs of I suppose it
was quite popular in the
day.
It's not popular anymore for
older men to marry young women.
That doesn't happen anymore.
[Laughing]
That's an archaic practice.
But anyway, this is one
of those...
The old man's come a-courtin
and one of us is...
[Laughing]
Too many daughters.
One of you's got to go.
So that's where this one comes
from.
Thank God that practice is...
obsolete. Well, we already did
hear it, Richie. Grandpa.
[Laughing]
It's the [inaudible].
There you go. There we go.
We all remember it now.
Remember it?
[Singing "Old Shoe Boots 
and Leggings"]
[Applause]
Thank you for coming.
[Laughing]
As a school night,
got babysitters and jobs. Okay.
We only have a couple more.
Okay, we're going to do a song
I actually learned from
Jean Ritchie, it's called 
"Jenny Jenkins."
And Richie's going to help me
out.
We got Richie Stearns on the
banjo.
Kevin Wimmer on the fiddle.
[Applause]
[Inaudible] Alex on the bass 
and Marty Gordon.
[Applause]
♪ Will you wear red
oh my dear, oh my dear? ♪
♪ Will you wear red 
Jenny Jenkins? ♪
♪ I won't wear red is 
the color of my hair. ♪
♪ And I'll buy me a 
fol-de-roldy-tildy-toddy ♪
♪ Seek-a-double, use-a-
cause-a-roll-the-find-me ♪
♪ Roll, Jimmy Jenkins roll.
♪ When will you wear 
[inaudible] ♪
♪ Will you wear white, 
Jennie Jenkins? ♪
♪ I won't wear white cause the
colors too bright. ♪
♪ And I'll buy me a 
fol-de-roldy-tildy-toddy ♪
♪ Seek-a-double, use-a-
cause-a-roll-the-find-me ♪
♪ Roll, Jenny Jenkins roll ♪
♪ Will you wear green ♪
♪ Oh my dear, oh my dear, will
you wear green Jenny Jenkins? ♪
♪ No, I won't wear green. ♪
♪ I'm ashamed to be seen ♪
♪ Now buy me a 
fol-de-roldy-tildy-toddy ♪
♪ Seek-a-double, use-a-cause
-a-roll-the-find-me ♪
♪ Roll, Jennie Jenkins roll. ♪
♪ Will you wear blue
oh, my dear, my dear. ♪
♪ Will you wear blue, Jenny
Jenkins? ♪
♪ No, I won't wear blue 
'cause I [Inaudible]
♪ Roll, Jenny Jenkins roll ♪
♪ Will you wear black, 
oh my dear, oh my dear?
♪ Will you wear black, 
Jennie Jenkins? ♪
♪ No, I won't wear black is the
color of the sack ♪
♪ And I'll buy me a fol-de-
roldy-tildy-toddy
♪ seek-a-double, use-a-cause
-a-roll-the-find-me ♪
♪ Roll, Jennie Jenkins roll ♪
♪ Oh, what will you wear, 
my dear oh my dear, ♪
♪ What will you wear 
Jennie Jenkins. ♪
♪ I'll just go bare with a 
ribbon in my hair. ♪
♪ And I'll buy me a 
fol-de-roldy-tildy-toddy ♪
♪ Seek-a-double, use-a-cause
-a-roll-the-find-me ♪
♪ Roll, Jennie Jenkins roll. ♪
[Applause]
All right. This is our last
song.
[Laughing]
They told us we...
I usually play
three hour shows, so they said,
"Could you play for 40 minutes?"
I said, "No."
[Laughing]
I can't. I can play for an
hour.
And I knew secretly it would be
an hour and a half.
[Laughing]
[Applause]
All right. And you've all been
given permission to leave if
you've had enough. We already
established that.
So now we're going to just the
last song I found by mistake.
I'm working on this project
with the archive of
unearthing some really
rare children's music that I
really want to do something
with someday.
And this was not on my list.
I sent 80 specific call numbers
of digitized but not available
to the public recordings.
And this one showed up and it's
called "Where Shall I Be?"
And it's it was originally,
from what I understand, a
spiritual from people think
maybe Alabama or Mississippi
like deep south.
And it's been the earliest
printed edition that I've been
able to find of it is from the
late 1800s.
But we have Steve Winick, who I
owe my [inaudible].
[Applause]
Steve Winick is an amazing
archivist at the American
Folk Life Center, and he found
three variants of the song.
And we're going to listen to
all three, but just excerpts of
them. And I put the credits up
there so you can see
what you're listening to.
[Playing "Where Shall I Be When 
The First Trumpet Sounds"]
[Applause]
[Playing "Where Shall I Be When
 The First Trumpet Sounds"]
[Applause]
[Playing "Where Shall I Be When
The First Trumpet Sounds"]
[Applause]
So amazing that I refer to the
the sound library as the
storehouse of the heart and
soul of America, and not just
America. I mean, there are
recordings from all over the
world, but it really is the
storehouse.
It's just these moments that
these musicologists were able to
capture for us are phenomenal.
They're just... I have
endless fascination for
listening to field recordings.
And we're indebted to people
like Doctor Helen Creighton, who
is from Nova Scotia.
And that last version, that
last variant that you heard was
the one that I stumbled on.
And I did a little research
into the Nova Scotia's
home for Colored Children.
The Canadian at the time,
this was recorded in 1944, but
I think the home
was founded in the 1920s.
At the time, there were no
orphanages for Black children.
There was segregation, and it
was one of the first orphanages
for Black children.
And a lot of these Black
children were descendants of
the loyalists, the Black
Loyalists who had fought during
the Revolutionary War. So these
are families that have long
roots. They were given land in
Nova Scotia in exchange for
being loyal to the British
during the Revolutionary War.
But anyway, the home was
notorious for both physical and
sexual abuse of the children.
It was eventually shut down in
a scandal and horror and...
what I've found in recent
newspaper articles is that it
was torn to the ground,
destroyed the house and rebuilt.
And now it's an
incubator for Black businesses.
And it's a cultural
center.
So I found all that out
because I stumbled on this
little 30s of sound in the
library.
And I love this song.
And we're going to... the Carter
Family recorded it.
I found out subsequently the
Friendly Brothers,
Reverend Dan Smith, I've heard 
several other versions
now, this really opened my eyes
to this song, so we're going to
do it for you. And thank you so
much for coming.
[Applause]
♪ Where shall I be
when the first trumpet sounds? ♪
♪ Where shall I be when it sounds
so loud? ♪
♪ When it sounds so loud. ♪
♪ It will wake up the dead. ♪
♪ Tell me where shall I be when
it sounds? ♪
♪ I may be on the
long white road. ♪
♪ When the first 
trumpet sounds. ♪
♪ I may be on the long,
 wide road ♪
♪ When it sounds so loud. ♪
♪ When it sounds so loud. ♪
♪ It will wake up the dead. ♪
♪ Tell me where shall I be
when it's time? ♪
♪ Tell me where shall I be when
the [inaudible]? ♪
♪ Where shall I be when in 
sound so loud? ♪
♪ When it sounds so loud
it will wake up the dead. ♪
♪ Tell me, where shall I be
when it sounds? ♪
Do you want to sing 
this on my knees?
♪ I may be on my knees when the
first trumpet sounds. ♪
♪ I may be on my knees when it
sounds so loud. ♪
♪ When it sounds so loud I will
wake up the dead. ♪
♪ Tell me where shall I be when
it sounds ♪
Sing with us.
♪ Tell me, where shall I be
where the first [inaudible] ♪
♪ Where shall I be when it
sounds so loud? ♪
♪ When it sounds so loud
it will wake up the dead. ♪
♪ Tell me where shall I 
be when it sounds ♪
I may meet my sweet Lord.
♪ I may meet my sweet Lord ♪
♪ When the first 
trumpet sounds. ♪
♪ I may meet my sweet Lord
when it sounds so loud. ♪
♪ When it sounds so loud
it will wake up the dead. ♪
♪ Tell me where shall I 
be when it sounds? ♪
♪ Tell me where shall I be 
when the [inaudible] ♪
♪ Where shall I be
when it sounds so loud? ♪
♪ When it sounds so loud
it will wake up the dead. ♪
♪ Tell me where shall I be
when it sounds? ♪
In my grave.
♪ I may be in my grave 
when the first trumpet sounds ♪
I may be in my grave
when it sounds so loud. ♪
♪ When it sounds so loud
it will wake up the dead. ♪
♪ Tell me where shall I be 
when it sounds? ♪
♪ Tell me where shall I be
when the first trumpet sounds? ♪
♪ Where shall I be
when it sounds so loud? ♪
♪ When it sounds so loud 
it will wake up the dead. ♪
♪ Tell me where shall
I be when it sounds? ♪
[Applause]
[Applause]
All right. You might not want to
sit down for this one.
This one has no slideshow.
I learned this from the New
Lost City Ramblers.
♪ Hopalong Peter 
where you goin'? ♪
♪ Hopalong Peter 
where you goin'? ♪
♪ Hopalong Peter won't 
you bear in mind ♪
♪ I ain't comin' back 'til 
the gooseberry time ♪
And that's an interesting
way to measure you time.
[Laughing]
When it's gooseberry time.
It's got really funny lyrics 
that I have committed to memory.
♪ Hubbard and her 
dog were Dutch ♪
♪ A bow-legged rooster and 
he hobbled on a crutch ♪
♪ The hen chewed tobacco 
and the duck drank wine ♪
♪ The goose played the fiddle
 on the pumpkin vine ♪
Very useful information that I
have committed to memory.
All right, Richie, get us in
there.
Oh, no. You get us in there,
Kevin.
Kevin likes to make everything
a little swampy.
So we're going down to New
Orleans.
Heather Hodges, 
this is for you.
♪ Old Uncle Peter
he got tight ♪
♪ Started up to
heaven on a stormy night. ♪
♪ Road being rough 
and him not well ♪
♪ He lost his way and he
went to... ♪
♪ Hopalong Peter 
where you goin'? ♪
♪ Hopalong Peter 
where you goin'? ♪
♪ Hopalong Peter 
would you bear in mind ♪
♪ I ain't comin back till it's
gooseberry time. ♪
♪ Old mother Hubbard 
and her dog were Dutch ♪
♪ A bow-legged rooster and
 he hobbled on a crutch ♪
♪ The hen chewed tobacco 
and the duck drank wine ♪
♪ The goose played the fiddle 
on the pumpkin vine ♪
♪ Hopalong Peter 
where you goin'? ♪
♪ Hopalong Peter 
where you goin'? ♪
♪ Hopalong Peter would
you bear in mind ♪
♪ I ain't comin' back 'til
 the gooseberry time ♪
♪ Down in the barn yard 
playin' seven up ♪
♪ The old tomcat and the 
little yellow pup ♪
♪ The old mother Hubbard 
she's a pickin' out the fleas ♪
♪ The rooster in the cream 
jar up to his knees ♪
♪ Hopalong Peter, 
where you goin'? ♪
♪ Hopalong Peter, 
where you goin'? ♪
♪ Hopalong Peter, would 
you bear in mind ♪
♪ I ain't comin' back 'til 
the gooseberry time ♪
♪ Hopalong Peter, 
where you goin'? ♪
♪ Hopalong Peter, 
where you goin'? ♪
♪ Hopalong Peter, won't 
you bear in mind ♪
♪ I ain't comin' back 'til 
the gooseberry time ♪
[Applause]