Searching this website
You can of course browse the alphabetical list of Songs and Singers, but if you’re looking for something specific it’s probably best to use the Search tool.
The Search icon should be visible top right, wherever you are on the site.
Searching for songs and singers
Typing the name of the song in the search bar will bring up hits for songs with that title, and singers who sang the song.
If necessary, you can use the Filter options on the right to narrow the search results.
Please note that the title shown on this website for a particular version of a song may not be the name most commonly associated with that song. And different versions of the same song can have completely different titles.
If you know the Roud number for a song, that will help you to find any versions of the song on the website.
If you’re looking for songs from a particular singer, locate the record for that singer, and you’ll find a full list of songs collected from them, with links to the record for each song.
What does the song record show?
- Title
This will normally be the title given to the song by a folk song collector. It may not be what the singer knew it as. - Singer
Click on the singer’s name to go to the record for that singer. - Collector
Click on the highlighted name to go to the article on that collector. - Source
Clicking on these links will take you to the source from which the song has been transcribed – in most cases, this is to one or more records in the VWML Archive Catalogue. There may be more than one record for the song in the collector’s manuscripts – for instance Cecil Sharp noted songs and tunes separately. - Roud number
Click this link to go to a search page on the VWML website for that Roud number.
The song transcription aims to present a neat copy of the song as it appears in the original source. This may include the song tune and/or words. No attempt has been made to “correct” the original words, or complete songs by importing words from other versions.
Lower down the page you will see tags for this post. These include the Roud number – click on this tag to see all records on this site with the same Roud number.
Roud numbers
The Roud Index is a classification scheme for English-language folk songs. It groups together all the versions of a song under the same Roud number, regardless of what title is used. For instance, the songs The Cottage in the Wood, I prithee, love, let me in and It Rains, it Hails, it Blows, it Snows are all essentially the same song, and are classed as Roud 608.
For more information, and hints on searching the Roud Index online, see https://www.efdss.org/vwml-catalogues-and-indexes/vwml-help/roud-indexes-help
Resources
The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library (VWML) is the library and archive of the English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS). Besides the library’s physical collections, held at Cecil Sharp House in London, it has an ever-growing digital presence, freely accessible to everyone. This includes the Roud Indexes, and the VWML Archive Catalogues.
Issues of the EFDSS Journal, the Folk Music Journal, and its forerunners, dating back to 1899, are available online to members of the EFDSS. See https://www.efdss.org/about-us/publications/folk-music-journal
The biographies of some collectors on this website point to entries in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Access to the ODNB requires a subscription, but you may well be able to access the site if you are a member of your local public library.
https://www.oxforddnb.com/