Folklife Today

“The Candidate’s a Dodger”: An American Folksong from Oral Tradition to Aaron Copland and Beyond


Listen Later

Hosts Stephen Winick and Thea Austen and guest Jennifer Cutting discuss the folksong “The Candidate’s a Dodger,” also known as “The Dodger.” They talk about the song’s meanings in oral tradition, its use by Aaron Copland as an art song, and its involvement in political controversy in the 1930s, when Charles Seeger first published it. They examine the song’s history and lay out brand-new evidence about its relationships to other folksongs and to a musical theater song from 1840s England. They also discuss the possibility that Charles Seeger, a founder of ethnomusicology and a pioneering federal folklorist, was himself a “dodger!” The episode includes performances by folksingers Pete Seeger, Mike Seeger, and Peggy Seeger, as well as baritone Thomas Hampson, and five field recordings from the Library of Congress. More information on “The Dodger,” as well as videos of some of the performances, photos of the singers, and links to all the archival sources, can be found at https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife.
...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Folklife TodayBy Library of Congress

  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5

4.5

22 ratings


More shows like Folklife Today

View all
Fresh Air by NPR

Fresh Air

37,950 Listeners

History Extra podcast by Immediate Media

History Extra podcast

3,219 Listeners

WTF with Marc Maron Podcast by Marc Maron

WTF with Marc Maron Podcast

29,566 Listeners

Voices from the Days of Slavery: Stories, Songs and Memories by Library of Congress

Voices from the Days of Slavery: Stories, Songs and Memories

0 Listeners

Q&A with LCM: Interviews with Library of Congress Magazine by Library of Congress

Q&A with LCM: Interviews with Library of Congress Magazine

0 Listeners

Off The Record: The Joe Smith Collection by Library of Congress

Off The Record: The Joe Smith Collection

42 Listeners

Civil Rights History Project by Library of Congress and the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African American History and Culture

Civil Rights History Project

12 Listeners

Switched on Pop by Vulture

Switched on Pop

2,646 Listeners

Lore by Aaron Mahnke

Lore

44,971 Listeners

Pod Save America by Crooked Media

Pod Save America

86,827 Listeners

The Daily by The New York Times

The Daily

111,119 Listeners

Lovett or Leave It by Crooked Media

Lovett or Leave It

25,105 Listeners

Up First from NPR by NPR

Up First from NPR

55,986 Listeners

La Biblioteca by Library of Congress

La Biblioteca

12 Listeners

From the Catbird Seat: Poetry from the Library of Congress by Library of Congress

From the Catbird Seat: Poetry from the Library of Congress

9 Listeners

The Three Questions with Andy Richter by Team Coco & Earwolf

The Three Questions with Andy Richter

3,614 Listeners

Strict Scrutiny by Crooked Media

Strict Scrutiny

5,682 Listeners

The Rest Is History by Goalhanger

The Rest Is History

13,446 Listeners

ICYMI by Slate Podcasts

ICYMI

703 Listeners

One Song by Hartbeat

One Song

1,081 Listeners

Sixteenth Minute (of Fame) by Cool Zone Media and iHeartPodcasts

Sixteenth Minute (of Fame)

796 Listeners