Introduction: Revenant Ballads and Ghost Stories
This episode is an exploration of ghost songs or, more accurately, “revenant ballads.” Ghosts are not particularly common in English ballads, so we’ll look at what circumstances are needed to summon a revenant into a song and discover how these supernatural lyrics interact with ancient superstitions from multiple cultures. These ghosts are mainly on the side of justice and love, but watch out: they can tear you to pieces if you wrong them.
Credits
Host: Olivia Harding
Click here to check out On a Quiet Street Where Old Ghosts Meet by Jay Michaels
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Assistant Producer: Aaron J. Morton
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Musical Excerpts
The Askew Sisters
“The Unquiet Grave”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xc2LYL5vVmA
Jan Pouska and Roxane Genot
“The Unquiet Grave”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B41FRNUSycg
Holly Clarke
Sir Aage and Lady Elselil
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U505DLDXFeI
Joanna Newsom
“Three Little Babes”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DOPKomtJhk
Cerys Hafana
“The Wife of Usher’s Well”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzW6ZQsHMQY
Jean Ritchie
“Wife of Usher’s Well”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkkvA27Bq6Q
Jean Ritchie
“The Unquiet Grave”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQPw_7IQmfI
Said the Maiden
“Sweet William’s Ghost”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIy2tyQwesw
Emma Shelton
“Sweet William and Lady Margaret”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsgFhU7UuJ4
May Bradley
“The Unquiet Grave”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xy7KX-HSLVs
Ray Fisher
“Willie’s Fatal Visit”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ns7uO8Xswpo
Sam Larner
“The Ghost Ship”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HrjJKsT7qo
Rosaleen Gregory
“Young Benjie”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlDZOCcP3W4
Martin Carthy
“The Fowler”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3BaMiiaYxs
Ewan MacColl
“Proud Lady Margaret”
https://youtu.be/vYLaOVG1ozk?si=23r0W5QQZGbQtxPH
Alasdair Roberts
“The Holland Handkerchief”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuT04nzjsVc
Sam Lee and Friends
Willie O
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDmN2IIiMKg
Jay Michaels
“She Moved Through the Faire”
https://jaymichaels1.bandcamp.com/track/she-moved-through-the-faire