Roud Folk Song Index

The Roud Folk Song Index is a database with nearly 200,000 records of nearly 25,000 orally transmitted English-language songs from around the world. It is edited by Steve Roud , a former librarian in the London Borough of Croydon . The Roud's Index is a combination of the Broadside Index , which appeared in printed form before 1900, and a "Field-recording index" that was compiled by Roud himself. It also contains the printed works and recordings from the years 1900 to 1975 indicated by Francis James Child in his Child Ballads . Until 2006 the index was only available on CD. Today it is on a website operated by the English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS).

function

The main role of the database is that of a reference work for research, in which the documented by many different collectors over the past centuries, often numerous, versions of traditional folk song texts from Great Britain and the United States are compiled.

For example, the database can be searched for the title, the first line of the song, the subject, and a combination of a dozen search fields. Comprehensive information is provided for the individual songs, including details on the original source and references where the text and possible sound recordings can be found in the EFDDS archive.

A similar directory, the Round Broadside Index, includes records of songs that appeared in pamphlets and other cheap printed matter up to around 1920. There are also many vaudeville songs, texts by actors who appeared on the radio before the Second World War, sheet music, etc. The search results also include details on the original work and locations where copies of the sources are located. With traditional sources of the work, a reference to the actual Roud Folk Song Index is made.

The database is recognized by the EFDSS as a significant index and was one of the first entries added to the website after the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library launched the online version in 2006.

Numbering scheme and cross reference

The database assigns a unique identification number for each song, which is assigned more or less arbitrarily. However, since known numbers contained in old sources were included first, these tend to have lower numbers, while later additions have higher numbers. Closely related songs appear under a common number. If a trusted source gives a song title but not the lyrics, it will appear in the database under the number 000.

Cross references are given as far as the song is included in the corresponding works:

• Number in the List of Child Ballads
• "Laws number", a system for coding folk songs using one letter and two digits, developed by George Malcolm Laws in the 1950s.

Similar collections

• The Traditional Ballad Index from California State University in Fresno includes the Roud numbers up to 5000 with comments on the song, but fewer sources
• The Folk Song Index is a collaboration between Oberlin College Library and the non-profit organization and Sing Out! . The directory includes songs from around the world with an emphasis on English-language songs and includes 62,000 entries and over 2,400 song collections.
• Max Hunter's collection includes 1,600 songs, with each variant of a song having its own number.
• James Madison Carpenter's collection includes 6,200 text records and 1,000 wax cylinders recorded between 1927 and 1955. The title, first line and name of the singer named in the source are given, if available the child number.
• The Essen folk song database , which was created in collaboration with Stanford University and Ohio State University, mainly includes songs from non-English-speaking countries, especially Germany and China.
• A similar list of Latvian folk songs, " Dainu skapis", was compiled by the Latvian scholar Krišjānis Barons at the beginning of the 20th century .

See also

• List of songs from the Roud Folk Song Index

Individual evidence

1. ^ English Folk Dance and Song Society. ( Memento of the original from October 31, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. The EFDSS counted 187,800 entries in the database in October 2012, including all songs in the Broadside database with 'traditional' origins. 
2. ^ Roud Folk Song Index on the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website
3. ↑ EFDSS Library Indexes ( Memento of the original from January 14, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website 
4. ^ The Traditional Ballad Index on California State University, Fresno
5. ^ The Folk Song Index
6. ↑ Max Hunter's Collection on the Missouri State University website
7. ^ Directory of the James Madison Carpenter's collection on the University of Sheffield website
8. ↑ Essen folk song database