Maine Song and Story Sampler

Browse through all the songs and stories from the Maine Song and Story Sampler by title here. The Sampler contains songs and stories from the Maine Folklife Center's collection from about fifty areas of Maine and the Maritimes, creating a representative sample of geographical and cultural traditions.

Printing is not supported at the primary Gallery Thumbnail page. Please first navigate to a specific Image before printing.

Switch View View Slideshow

Phone Call to Hitler

Georgie Orcutt

The story heard here centers around the early-ish years of the telephone and the under-researched history of prank calls.
Pumpkin Seed Tea Cure

Elsie Diamond Smith

In the short anecdote heard here, Elsie Smith explains her experience with pumpkin seed tea and how she saw it work.
Raatikko

Walfred Hamari

"Raatikko" is a traditional Finnish song and dance. The song tells of a mountain in southern Finland, Kyöpelinvuori, which is known in Finnish mythology as the place haunted by the spirits of virgins who die young.
Sir Neil and Glengyle

Stanley Finnemore

This broadside ballad about love and murder is of Scottish origin. It was first printed in Peter Buchan’s Ancient Ballads of the North of Scotland in 1828. Gavin Greig, in Folk-Song of the North-East, wrote that it seemed to be an 18^th century ballad.
The Auto Rest Park

Reid Hand

For several decades, one of the most popular entertainment venues in the Bangor area was a place called the Auto Rest Park located on Rt. 2 in Carmel.
The Banks of Newfoundland

Mabel Worcester

"The Banks of Newfoundland" is the title of at least six different songs. These are not variations on a single tune, but entirely different songs with different airs and lyrics. All share a common theme - the dangers of fishing or sailing off the coast of Newfoundland - but none are very similar.
The Blackwater Side

Bill Cramp

"The Blackwater Side" is one of many songs that came to Maine from the British Tradition. It is, as Bill Cramp called it, a "long love song." This ballad is one in a series of songs that consist of true lovers' discussions, but none are any more good humored than "The Blackwater Side."
The Bull Moose Song

Linwood Brown

"The Bull Moose Song" is a local lumber camp satire, with the joke at the expense of the operator, Frankie Malcolm.
The Cambric Shirt

Jennie Gray

"The Cambric Shirt" is one of the many British ballads chronicled by Francis James Child in the late nineteenth century. The song is titled "The Elfin Knight" in Child's collection, and "The Cambric Shirt" is one of many names of the many variations on the song.
The Champion of Moose Hill

Raymond Mace

“The Champion of Moose Hill” tells the true, comic story of a dance gone awry for one poor, inebriated soul.
The Company Dressed in Green

Stanley MacDonald

"The Company Dressed in Green" is descended from a 19th century Irish Broadside called "The Squire of Edinburgh Town," which is, in turn, a reworking of Child Ballad 221, "Katharine Jaffray." It tells the story of how a woman forced to marry against her will is successfully abducted from the wedding by her lover. It was particularly common in Northeastern North America.
The Depot Camp

Bill Cramp

The song, written by James O’Hara, a woodsman from Maine, described the lumbering operation owned and operated by James McNulty of Bangor, Maine.
The Dungarvon Whooper

Billy Price

The Dungarvon Whooper is arguably the most famous ghost in New Brunswick (the Burning Ship of Northumberland Strait is also widely known in eastern Canada, but multiple provinces can claim it as “their ghost”).
"The Field of Monterey"

Edna Bradeen

"The Field of Monterey" is a lyrical song about the Battle of Monterey in the Mexican American war. It can be traced back to New Hampshire poet Marion Dix Sullivan.
The First Manure-Pitch

Mort Mather

The Common Ground Country Fair (CGCF or “the Fair”) is Maine’s signature celebration of rural living, organic food and agriculture, and local enterprise.
The Good Old State of Maine

James Brown

People have likely been singing, whistling, and humming while working for as long as music and work have existed. This relationship has developed twofold, both as a way to make work go faster (either by passing the time or establishing a rhythm for work) and as a means of expressing discontent with work or working conditions.
The Headless Ghost

Wilmot MacDonald

“The Headless Ghost” is a common story told with too many variations to count.
The International Boundary Line

Jim Connors

The story heard here provides a humorous but fictional explanation of how the Maine-Canada border came to be established, particularly the straight section in the northwestern corner.
The Irish Patriot

Dale Potter

"The Irish Patriot" is a mysterious song. Judging by the title alone, one would guess it is of Irish origin, and after listening, the story told in the ballad would seem to confirm this suspicion. However, the song has only ever been collected in Maine, where it was likely a popular song among woodsmen, and the Maritime provinces of Canada.
The Little Mohea

Harvey Gurney

"The Little Mohea," also known by many other names and spellings, is an old song that likely developed from an older English broadside song known as "The Indian Lass." Most folklorists agree that "Mohea" probably developed in its American form among sailors, and some even point to whaling ships specifically.
The Mad Whittler

Gaylon Jeep Wilcox

“The Mad Whittler” is about Rangeley’s former dump, which may not sound like a traditional subject for poetry. The dump was, before being closed, a major attraction where people from all over gathered to watch bears forage.
The Man Who Plucked the Gorbey

Charles Sibley

Of all the stories told in lumbercamps, few have captured the attention of Maine’s folklorists like the story of “The Man Who Plucked the Gorbey.“ The gorbey, one of many names for the Canada Jay (also known as a moosebird, meat bird, gray jay, or Whiskey Jack), is a native of the northern coniferous forests of North America.
The Old Beggar Man

Edmund Doucette

“The Old Beggar Man” is a version of Child 17, “Hind Horn.” It is believed to have originated in Scotland and possibly derived from the 13^th century King Horn and other related medieval romances.
The Ounegan Mill Strike

Richard Davies

This story describes a strike that took place at the Ounegan Woolen Mill in Old Town and explains how students at the University of Maine became involved.
The Picnic at Groshaut

Art Cahill

In Drive Dull Care Away: Folksongs from Prince Edward Island, Sandy Ives wrote, "This is one of those local songs you have to know something about ahead of time before it makes much sense, and the singing of it will almost always lead to comment on what really happened."