Robert V. Wells is the Chauncey H. Winters Professor of History and Social Sciences at Union College in Schenectady, New York, and the author of Facing the "King of Terrors": Death and Society in an American Community, 1750-1990 and other works.

“The best, most up-to-date survey of this topic in print, this is a book for those interested in the intersection of music/song and historical events and figures. Recommended.”--Choice "Those who consider folk song at its best to be the purest form of social history will thoroughly enjoy this book."--Virginia Quarterly Review "A muscular, detailed, well researched, stylish and celebratory history of folk music from early America to the 20th Century, with side trips into Britain when necessary to illustrate a point or track a song's lineage."--Sing Out! "Life Flows on in Endless Song is full of examples that enrich our understanding of the aggregate forces that have transformed America since the colonial era."--The Journal of American History "A lovely read with fascinating origin tales of many songs readers will delight in remembering."--Journal of Social History "Wells beautifully explains why some songs have continually touched the American psyche for far longer than these states have been a nation."--The Journal of Southern History "A historian with a deep interest in and knowledge of folk music, Wells provides interesting insights about folk songs' potential to make American social history more accessible to students and general readers."--Norm Cohen, author of Long Steel Rail: The Railroad in American Folksong "A fabulous book with wide appeal. Wells opens up contemporary folk songs to provide fascinating glimpses of daily life and everyday responses to historical events."--Scott Reynolds Nelson, author of Steel Drivin' Man: John Henry, the Untold Story of an American Legend

• Preface   ixCHAPTER 1Who Was Tom Dooley? History and Folk Songs   1CHAPTER 2Careless Love: Courtship, Marriage, and Children   9CHAPTER 4"Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory": Of God and Country   35CHAPTER 5The Man Who Never Returned: Ships, Trains, and Other Transportation   96CHAPTER 6Just Lookin' for a Home: Traveling On   121CHAPTER 7Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen: Hard Times and Hard Men   147CHAPTER 8How Can I Keep from Singing?Huddie Ledbetter and Woody Guthrie   175Coda: Thinking about Folk Songs   195Notes   205Select Bibliography and Discography   225Index   233