A Ballad Collector Extraordinaire Comes to the Mountains (1991)

A Ballad Collector Extraordinaire Comes to the Mountains by Cecil Sharp Ted OlSOIl Remembering Cecil Sharp How came that blood on the point of your knife? My son, come tell to me. It is the blood of my old coon dog That chased the fox for me, me, me. That chased the foxfor me (Sharp 1932,49). On August 2, 1917, Meg Shook of Clyde, North Carolina, sang this ballad, commonly known as "Edward," for English folklorist Cecil Sharp, who listened enthusiastically. His second summer in the Southern Appalachians, Sharp had come to Haywood County to do exactly this: to seek out and record traditional ballads. "Edward"—a common 20 British ballad brought to Appalachia by early settlers—was still being sung by a number of mountain singers, though often in incomplete versions. Sharp had recorded several fragments of "Edward" from singers who had forgotten key verses—the listener frequently could not follow the ballad's plot (Sharp 1932, 52). But he was pleased to discover that Shook's version told the whole tragic story. He preserved the entire text and tune of Shook's version in his monumental book, English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians. His stay in Haywood County was brief but it had lasting impact: if not for his visit, Shook's "Edward" might have been forgotten forever. In his travels throughout Appalachia Sharp recorded approximately 500 ballads and songs that might otherwise have disappeared (Sharp, 1932, xii). Although he spent only three summers in the region, his name will be associated with mountain music as long as traditional Appalachian ballads are still sung. And many of the ballads that Cecil Sharp collected in Appalachia are still sung today by such interpreters of traditional mountain folk music as Jim Trantham . Born in Swannanoa, North Carolina , and raised in Haywood County, Trantham lives in Canton and works as a superintendent for Champion International . He considers Sharp's work a major reason for his own deepened appreciation of his Appalachian heritage. Ever since the 1950s, when he came upon Sharp's book English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians in the Haywood County Library, Trantham has understood the importance of keeping alive the ballads his aunt and uncle once sang for him. When a college student, Trantham had felt his mountain background was a stigma to be overcome ; but Sharp's book helped him feel increased pride for his own mountain heritage. In fact, Trantham began to sense that "the Appalachian culture I grew up in, despite its warts and freckles , was actually superior to what I saw in the melting pot." Trantham began listening to radio broadcasts of traditional mountain music , especially Saturday night broadcasts from Renfro Valley, Kentucky. As his interest in traditional music deepened, he began to sing a number of the mountain ballads he had heard as a child. He also taught himself how to make and play Appalachian dulcimers to accompany his singing. Formal training helped him read Sharp's music notations and gave him a critical ear for discerning the difference between popular, commercial country music and authentic folk music. Trantham is quick to point out that "Nashville music is not our music." As a result of Sharp's influence, Trantham has dedicated much of his spare time to collecting and performing traditional Appalachian ballads. In addition to finding new versions of ballads that Sharp previously recorded, Trantham has discovered one ballad that Sharp missed, "The Bramble Briar." By performing such ballads as "Barbara Allen," "Little Maggie," and "Pretty Polly" at folk festivals, libraries, and campgrounds , Trantham hopes to keep alive for mountain people their real musical heritage. Although Trantham is principally interested in preserving the traditional ballads of Appalachia, he also hopes to foster appreciation among mountain people for the work of Cecil Sharp. According to Trantham, Sharp was the most trustworthy folk music collector of his day. Unlike many of his contemporaries , "Sharp made no attempt to exploit the mountain people," says Trantham, "because he was not motivated by career or commercial gain. He was always gracious to the mountain people for sharing their ballads with him. He was only there to write down their ballads." Sharp's collection, however...