Originally Posted by Brian Austin Whitney
Ben,

Interesting on the Murder Ballad origins. I always thought they were folk tales for the most part, once based on a real story, but mostly just retold folk tales getting taller each time it was told. Do you think they mostly stayed to the facts of the situation or was artistic embellishment common?

Brian


Brian, your right, a lot of the songs gained embellishment over the years but a good number of the old murder ballads were regional (N. Carolina. W. Virginia etc.) and happened in a certain era around the turn of the 20th century. When songs like this are passed down through generations before radio, thing are likely to change. To find the most accurate accounting, I would listen to the library of congress collections by John and Alan Lomax.

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