100 Most Essential Folk Songs

The good folks at Kent State University's WKSU recently polled their listeners in search of a master list of "The 100 Most Essential Folk Songs." The results are shown below.

There are the usual problems inherent in any such list, mainly the definition of "folk" and its inevitable overlap with other genres. Gram Parsons, folk singer? Really? "Like a Rolling Stone," folk song? You've got to be kidding me. It's also dominated by old fogies, and one suspects that the listeners aren't spending much time with Bon Iver or Fleet Foxes. That aside, it's a pretty good, representative list, and certainly includes most of the acknowledged highlights.

The 100 Essential Folk Songs

Song -Written OR Performed by

This Land is Your Land - Woody Guthrie Blowin’ in the Wind - Bob Dylan City of New Orleans - Steve Goodman If I Had a Hammer - Pete Seeger Where Have All The Flowers Gone - The Kingston Trio Early Morning Rain - Gordon Lightfoot Suzanne - Leonard Cohen We Shall Overcome - Pete Seeger Four Strong Winds - Ian and Sylvia Last Thing On My Mind - Tom Paxton The Circle Game - Joni Mitchell Tom Dooley - The Kingston Trio (Trad) Both Sides Now - Joni Mitchell Who Knows Where The Time Goes - Sandy Denny Goodnight Irene - The Weavers (Trad) Universal Soldier - Buffy St Marie Don’t Think Twice - Bob Dylan Diamonds and Rust - Joan Baez Sounds of Silence - Simon & Garfunkel The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald - Gordon Lightfoot Alice’s Restaurant - Arlo Guthrie Turn, Turn, Turn - The Byrds (Pete Seeger) Puff The Magic Dragon - Peter, Paul and Mary Thirsty Boots - Eric Andersen There But For Fortune - Phil Ochs Across The Great Divide - Kate Wolf The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down - The Band (Robbie Robertson) The Dutchman - Steve Goodman Matty Groves - Fairport Convention (Trad) Pastures of Plenty - Woody Guthrie Canadian Railroad Trilogy - Gordon Lightfoot Ramblin’ Boy - Tom Paxton Hello In There - John Prine The Mary Ellen Carter - Stan Rogers Scarborough Fair - Martin Carthy (Trad) Freight Train - Elizabeth Cotton Like a Rolling Stone - Bob Dylan Paradise - John Prine Northwest Passage - Stan Rogers And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda - Eric Bogel Changes - Phil Ochs Streets of London - Ralph McTell Gentle On My Mind - John Hartford Barbara Allen - Shirley Collins (Trad) Little Boxes - Malvina Reynolds The Water is Wide - Traditional Blue Moon of Kentucky - Bill Monroe No Regrets - Tom Rush Amazing Grace - Odetta (Trad) Catch The Wind - Donovan If I Were a Carpenter - Tim Hardin Big Yellow Taxi - Joni Mitchell House of the Rising Sun - Doc & Richard Watson (Trad) Kisses Sweeter Than Wine - The Weavers Tangled Up In Blue - Bob Dylan The Boxer - Simon and Garfunkel Someday Soon - Ian and Sylvia 500 Miles - Peter, Paul and Mary Masters of War - Bob Dylan Wildwood Flower - Carter Family Can The Circle Be Unbroken - Carter Family Can’t Help But Wonder Where I’m Bound - Tom Paxton Teach Your Children - Crosby, Stills Nash & Young Deportee - Woody Guthrie Tecumseh Valley - Towns Van Zandt Mr. Bojangles - Jerry Jeff Walker Cold Missouri Waters - James Keeleghan The Crucifixion - Phil Ochs Angel from Montgomery - John Prine Christmas in the Trenches - John McCutcheon John Henry - Traditional Pack Up Your Sorrows - Richard and Mimi Farina Dirty Old Town - Ewan MacColl Caledonia - Dougie MacLean Gentle Arms of Eden - Dave Carter My Back Pages - Bob Dylan Arrow - Cheryl Wheeler Hallelujah - Leonard Cohen Eve of Destruction - Barry McGuire Man of Constant Sorrow - Ralph Stanley (Trad) Shady Grove - Traditional Pancho and Lefty - Townes Van Zandt Old Man - Neil Young Mr. Tambourine Man - Bob Dylan American Tune - Paul Simon At Seventeen - Janis Ian Bridge Over Troubled Water - Simon & Garfunkel Road - Nick Drake Tam Lin - Fairport Convention (Trad) Ashokan Farewell - Jay Ungar and Molly Mason Desolation Row - Bob Dylan Love Is Our Cross To Bear - John Gorka Hobo’s Lullaby - Woody Guthrie Urge For Going - Tom Rush Return of the Grievous Angel - Gram Parsons Chilly Winds - The Kingston Trio Fountain of Sorrow - Jackson Browne The Times They Are A Changing - Bob Dylan Our Town - Iris Dement Leaving on a Jet Plane - John Denver