This downloadable PDF songbook includes traditional songs collected from the Greater Appalachian Region. Within you will find; ballads, Appalachian spirituals, work songs, play party songs, dance songs, gospel songs, as well as other genres. This music goes by many names- hillbilly, country, old-time, porch music, bluegrass, traditional, and folk; the common theme being- music that belongs to the people. Much of this music has been passed down to us from our immigrant ancestors, traveling from Ireland, Scotland, and England, and brought here by enslaved people from Africa. These songs have traveled across multiple generations and have been uniquely shaped, as they found their way over mountains and valleys, across orchards and porches, and into our singing circles today.

Here I share with you what I have collected over nearly two decades of living in Kentucky and traveling the region, listening and learning from people who have been steeped in the tradition. This collection of songs has been at the heart of many women’s singing circles and community jams I’ve facilitated over the years. A number of songs that are in heavy rotation at the singing circle are copyrighted and can not be included in this songbook, but I will share them in a separate document. 
 


It is my hope that you will share this music far and wide as a way to honor the living tradition of these songs. My notations, arrangements, and lyrical choices are in no way the “correct” versions, but rather, my own artistic interpretations. Feel free to make them your own, while honoring their origins. Songs included in this collection are not copyrighted and therefore can be shared freely. Feel free to reach out to me if you have any suggestions, edits, additions, concerns, etc.

Julia Purcell 2023