An interview with Ruth Perry, author of The Ballad World of Anna Gordon, Mrs. Brown of Falkland.
Introduction
Welcome to a bonus episode of Folk Files in which we touch on the life and times of Anna Gordon. Also known as Mrs. Brown of Falkland, she was one of the most famous source singers in the history of folk music from the British Isles. As a reminder, a “source singer” is the person from whom a folk song is collected. It is someone who organically learned the song from oral tradition.
This is very different from other episodes in that I won’t be doing very much talking. Instead, I interviewed Ruth Perry, a professor Emerita from MIT. Ruth has a very impressive resume. To name just a few of her accolades, she has been awarded grants from multiple institutions such as the Ford Foundation, Guggenheim, and National Science Foundation and she founded the MIT Women’s Studies program in 1984. Important for our purposes, she was also president of Cornell’s folk song club in the early 60s.
This year, she finished her latest book, titled The Ballad World of Anna Gordon, Mrs. Brown of Falkland. In the episode notes, you can find out how to purchase the book (complete with a discount). You will also find a link to the companion website, which has recordings of twelve of Anna Gordon’s ballads.
Some of the topics in this interview include the surprising things Ruth discovered about eighteenth century Scotland, the process of recording the ballads, and Ruth’s theories about how Lamkin (which is one of Anna Gordon’s ballads) ended up in America. You can listen to the interview using the audio player on the homepage or by choosing your preferred podcast platform on the About page.
Read The Ballad World of Anna Gordon, Mrs. Brown of Falkland
Purchase the book here: https://global.oup.com/academic/
It’s pricy, and understandably so, since it contains a wealth of new information and scholarship, but you can use the discount code AAFLYG6 to save 30%.
Listen to the Album
Listen to the accompanying ballads for free at https://global.oup.com/booksites/content/9780198939092/
In this episode, I use clips from the following songs: Lady Elspat, King Henry, Lamkin, and Thomas Rymer & Queen of Elfland
You can purchase a CD with all twelve of the ballads at birnamcdshop.com or on Amazon (See more information here: https://www.birnamcd.com/birnam-pr/anna-gordon/)
I have edited this interview for time.
Special Thanks to Ruth Perry and Aaron J. Morton