Forwarded from the Ballad-L list: a progress report on the online 
Ballad Index.
Tom
------- Forwarded Message Follows -------
Date:          Sun, 2 Nov 1997 11:17:32 -0600 (CST)
To:            Ballad-L <[log in to unmask]>
From:          "Robert B. Waltz" <[log in to unmask]>
Subject:       Ballad Index 0.95

Balladeers --

It's finally ready. Ballad Index 0.95 is now on the web site.

This version features seven new books. I did five of them; Paul
Stamler contributed the two marked with an asterisk. The rest
of you -- well, all I can say is it's time you got busy. We
need YOU, too....

In any case, the new books are:

Asch/Dunson/Raim, Anthology of American Folk Music*
Cohen/Seeger/Wood, Old Time String Band Songbook*
Fowke/Mills/Blume, Canada's Story in Song
Alan Lomax, The Folk Songs of North America
Randolph, Ozark Folksongs (Volume 3)
Jean Ritchie, Jean Ritchie's Singing Family of the Cumberlands
N Howard "Jack" Thorp, Austin E. Fife, Alta S. Fife., Songs of the Cowboys

I think it's a pretty good set, even if I did index them myself. :-)

It brings us to a total of 43 books fully indexed, with several more
partially indexed.

In the "fun statistics" department, we now have 2809 songs going under
4727 titles. We have a total of 7427 references, for an average of
2.64 references per song. (For those who want *really* strange statistics,
the standard deviation of the number of references per song is 2.43.)
The median number of references per song is 2.

The list of most-referenced songs hasn't changed much since the
last version. "Barbara Allen" still tops the list.

For those who care, here are the top not-exactly-twenty; this list
includes all songs which appear in 14 or more books:

    Name                                                   References
 1. Bonny Barbara Allan [Child #84]................................22
 2. Lady Isabel and the Elf Knight [Child #4]......................20
    Lord Thomas and Fair Annet [Child #73].........................20
 4. The Daemon Lover (The House Carpenter) [Child #243]............18
    The Golden Vanity [Child #286].................................18
    Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard [Child #81]...................18
    Young Beichan [Child #53]......................................18
 8. The Farmer's Curst Wife [Child #278]...........................17
    The Maid Freed from the Gallows [Child #95]....................17
10. Frankie and Albert [Laws I3]...................................16
    The Gypsy Laddie [Child #200]..................................16
    Lamkin [Child #93].............................................16
    Lord Randal [Child #12]........................................16
    Young Hunting [Child #68]......................................16
15. The Cruel Mother [Child #20]...................................15
    Frog Went A-Courting...........................................15
    The Wife of Usher's Well [Child #79]...........................15
18. The Drowsy Sleeper [Laws M4]...................................14
    Earl Brand [Child #7]..........................................14
    Edward [Child #13].............................................14
    The Elfin Knight [Child #2]....................................14
    Fair Margaret and Sweet William [Child #74]....................14
    The Girl I Left Behind [Laws P1A/B]............................14
    Lord Lovel [Child #75].........................................14
    One Morning in May (To Hear the Nightingale Sing) [Laws P14]...14
    Sir Hugh, or, The Jew's Daughter [Child #155]..................14
    The Twa Sisters [Child #10]....................................14
    The Wife Wrapt in Wether's Skin [Child #277]...................14

Thus the unseemly bias toward Child ballads continues. :-)

The top keywords in our list haven't changed much, either. They
are (numbers in parenthesis indicate frequency of use):

 1. nonballad (439)
 2. death (425)
 3. courting (422)
 4. love (298)
 5. humorous (255)
 6. separation (227)
 7. work (213)
 8. religious (191)
 9. marriage (184)
10. bawdy (147)
    drink (147)

Enjoy the new version. If you have any questions, or ESPECIALLY
if you want to volunteer, feel free to contact me....

Robert B. Waltz  - - - - - - - - Ballad Index Editor
2095 Delaware Avenue
Mendota Heights, MN 55118-4801
612-454-8994 - - - - - - - - - - e-mail: [log in to unmask]

The Ballad Index Web Site: 
http://www.csufresno.edu/folklore/BalladIndexTOC.html




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