Unfortunate Rake / Various Unfortunate Rake / Various CD

The story is basically this: A soldier is dying, evidently of venereal disease he contracted from a young woman, and he requests a funeral. Hear how this story has been spun over centuries into a whole collection of similarly themed songs, the earliest possibly dating to 1790. In this recording we are essentially witnessing the evolution of the Anglo-Saxon ballad tradition.

1. The Unfortunate Rake 2. The Trooper Cut Down in His Prime 3. The Young Sailor Cut Down in His Prime 4. Noo I'm a Young Man Cut Down in My Prime 5. The Bad Girl's Lament 6. One Morning in May 7. Bright Summer Morning 8. The Girl in the Dilger Case 9. The Cowboy's Lament 10. Streets of Laredo 11. St. James Hospital 12. Gambler's Blues 13. I Once Was a Carman - I Once Was a Carman in the Big Mountain Con 14. The Lineman's Hymn 15. The Wild Lumberjack 16. A Sun Valley Song 17. The Ballad of Bloody Thursday 18. Streets of Hamtramck 19. The Ballad of Sherman Wu 20. The Professor's Lament