I'll drop in now and again to help (if needed) and to summarise the state of play.

Cheers!
Ian

HERE IT IS ...

1. A musical hero for whom dirges were sung in the dark, or so Donald says. What was he singing about, and who was the guy with the sunglasses?

2. It wasn't Breakfast at Tiffany's, so what did he buy her and how did he express his final preference?

3. According to the song he was a modern-day Robin Hood, but Tommy Howard was killed by one of his own merry men. Who shot him and where is he buried; or did he really live to be 104?

4. This house has recently been rediscovered and is now on show to the public in all its glory. What's the name, and what kind of animals were associated with it?

5. Words, to the tune "Birdie in a Cage", which were the Arkansas state song from 1949 to 1963. What was the previous state song called, and who wrote the words of this one?

6. Apparently, this was a 16ft boat, with a crew of 4 or 5, and its wreck is said to remain at the bottom of the harbour. What was the special contribution to folk music of the song by Harry Belafonte, and who else sang it?

7. One of the worst disasters in 20th Century American history, it could be said to have been "natural". Where did it happen and can you name at least one folk singer whose career sprang out of it?

8. A sect of quaker heretics who later emigrated to the USA; they sang hymns to traditional folk tunes, unaccompanied and without harmony. What is their most famous hymn, and how did it come to be so famous?

9. A confederate ship, built by an English shipyard and which met its death in French waters. What was the name of her captain, and who gave the orders for her destruction?

10. This moustachioed Chicago policeman is owed a debt by many Irish people. What was his rank, and where in Ireland is he commemorated?

Good Luck!

sledge

Didn't say it did

;-)
Ian

:-)
Ian

read the opening line of your opening post, I see the offending word as clear as day.

Pedants of the world unite :0)

Sledge

A flippant (not to say ironic remark). Yes, I did use the word "Counteract" (well spotted).

Please don't look for unpleasantness where it's not intended. There's enough of it here that is intended. If you want to know the usual tenor of my posts, perhaps you'd like to click on the (From:) IanC at the top of this post.

:-)
Ian

Cheers

Sledge

1. Don McLean's "American Pie" seems to have been about a whole raft of things, if you believe the annotated versions on the web. Buddy Holly was, of course the man with the sunglasses (well his glasses always look dark to me), and the song was primarily about the day he died. Well done Greg and Irishajo.

;-)
Ian

3. Jesse James was living in St. Joseph, Missouri when he was shot in the head by Robert Ford. He was eventually buried (1902) in the graveyard at Mt. Olivet, Missouri, following some moves to deter grave robbers. Since his death, as many as 30 men have claimed to be the real Jesse James. The last died in 1951 at age 107. Recently, his body was exhumed. DNA tests seem to show that he was the man. There is some good info on the man and the song here. Woody Guthrie rewrote a rather longer ballad (a 10ft one) by Billy Gashade in the 1930s. Greg again.

;-)

7-- I agree with the Dust Bowl and Woody.

2, 5, 10 --??????????????

For 6., you're getting there ... It is John B. and I suppose that the Beach Boys version was what I was looking for. You really haven't got the Harry Belafonte link, or its contribution to folk yet, though (was that just in the UK perhaps?).

Notes on some of the others later.

:-)
Ian

7. The Dustbowl Woodie Guthrie was the one I was thinking about. Thanks Mary.

8. Shakers. An easy one, this ... Simple Gifts is most famous as the basis of the tune for Sydney Carter's Lord of The Dance. Here and here is more information on Shaker music. Greg again.

9. Roll Alabama Roll - the captains, though were Kell (Alabama) and Winslow (Kearsarge). There is some good original material on Suzanne's site. I particularly like the idea that the commander of the Kearsarge was using dirty tricks ...

... the Commander of the Kearsarge, a Southern man, by the way, resorted to a miserable trick to prevent injury to his vessel. He iron-plated her with heavy cable chains and covered the armor with a thin sheeting of plank to hide the deception.

There's also some interesting information here. The Alabama was built in the Birkenhead shipyard of John Laird (now Cammell Laird). Though it's been around for over 200 years, it was recently (2001) threatened with closure.

According to this site, "Roll, Alabama, Roll" (1864) is based on an earlier American sea chanty. The lyrics of the song, written by a Confederate sailor, Frank Townsend, are about his ship, the Alabama.

Cheers!
Ian

2. New York Girls The cheapskate paid 15 cents for 2 gold earrings. Finally, however, he concluded that Rum and Beer were better. Here and here are a couple of versions which are more similar to some English songs (like "Ratcliffe Highway").

4. Rising Sun The Rising Sun house has been "discovered" loads of times, but according to this claim is now on show. Since it doesn't appear in any of the New Orleans tourist pages on the web, I rather doubt it myself. The animals associated with it were of the pop group kind.

5. Arkansas Traveller ... 'Spaw pretty much sorted this one out, though the more traditional words are better. Does anybody know where the "Birdie in a Cage" tune originates from?

6. Sloop John B According to the Old School Town Song Notes (scroll down ... and thenks Joe Offer), the sloops in use around Nassau are 16ft boats with a crew of 4 or 5. Its wreck is said to be in Nassau harbour and some of the versions of the song are called "The Wreck of the Sloop John B". None of them mentions how it got wrecked, though. Apparently, Harry Belafonte introduced the song from his native Bahamas around 1950 and started a craze for Calypso music (of which this song is an example).

10. Captain (or Chief) Francis O'Neill was Chief of Police in Chicago. His book "The Music of Ireland" (often fondly called "O'Neill's Reels") is an enormous collection of tunes played in Ireland and by the Irish community in the USA. His memorial is in Tralibane, West Cork.

Cheers!
Ian