with which I would argue, as some of the songs on here strike me as too modern, and there are glaring omissions (to my mind): Shenandoah, for example, or "Me and Bobby McGee." I've heard Willie Nelson sing a number of the things on here that the list requires you to get other versions of, and I prefer them; but that's prob'ly just the Texan in me.

Once upon a time I had a lot of these on vinyl, and listened to them regularly. Tompall and the Glaser Brothers, Willie and Waylon, Don Williams ... there's a fair amount of Yankee stuff here for which I'd substitute other songs, like the aforementioned Shenandoah. Instead of a couple of the hymns, I might prefer Battle Hymn of the Republic (which, actually, I despise as it was the "marching song" Sherman's troops used on their way to the sea). What do y'all think? And in light of what's happening across the world today, what would be appropriate to listen to, or sing in the streets, in support of the Iranian protests?

• The 100 Essential Folk Songs
• 1. "This Land Is Your Land" - Woody Guthrie
• 2. "Blowin' in the Wind" - Bob Dylan
• 3. "City of New Orleans" - Steve Goodman
• 4. "If I Had a Hammer" - Pete Seeger
• 5. "Where Have All the Flowers Gone" - The Kingston Trio
• 6. "Early Morning Rain" - Gordon Lightfoot
• 7. "Suzanne" - Leonard Cohen
• 8. "We Shall Overcome" - Pete Seeger
• 9. "Four Strong Winds" - Ian and Sylvia
• 10. "Last Thing on My Mind" - Tom Paxton
• 11. "The Circle Game" - Joni Mitchell
• 12. "Tom Dooley" - The Kingston Trio (Trad)

• 13. "Both Sides Now" - Joni Mitchell
• 14. "Who Knows Where the Time Goes" - Sandy Denny
• 15. "Goodnight Irene" - The Weavers (Trad)
• 16. "Universal Soldier" - Buffy Sainte-Marie
• 17. "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright" - Bob Dylan
• 18. "Diamonds and Rust" - Joan Baez
• 19. "Sounds of Silence" - Simon & Garfunkel
• 20. "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" - Gordon Lightfoot
• 21. "Alice's Restaurant" - Arlo Guthrie
• 22. "Turn, Turn, Turn!" - The Byrds (Pete Seeger)
• 23. "Puff the Magic Dragon" - Peter, Paul and Mary
• 24. "Thirsty Boots" - Eric Anderson
• 25. "There But for Fortune" - Phil Ochs
• 26. "Across the Great Divide" - Kate Wolf
• 27. "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" - The Band (Robbie Robertson)
• 28. "The Dutchman" - Steve Goodman
• 29. "Matty Groves" - Fairport Convention (Trad)
• 30. "Pastures of Plenty" - Woody Guthrie
• 31. "Canadian Railroad Trilogy" - Gordon Lightfoot
• 32. "Ramblin' Boy" - Tom Paxton
• 33. "Hello in There" - John Prine
• 34. "The Mary Ellen Carter" - Stan Rogers
• 35. "Scarborough Fair" - Martin Carthy (Trad)
• 36. "Freight Train" - Elizabeth Cotton
• 37. "Like a Rolling Stone" - Bob Dylan
• 38. "Paradise" - John Prine
• 39. "Northwest Passage" - Stan Rogers
• 40. "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda" - Eric Bogel
• 41. "Changes" - Phil Ochs
• 42. "Streets of London" - Ralph McTell
• 43. "Gentle on My Mind" - John Hartford
• 44. "Barbara Allen" - Shirley Collins (Trad)
• 45. "Little Boxes" - Malvina Reynolds
• 46. "The Water Is Wide" - Traditional
• 47. "Blue Moon of Kentucky" - Bill Monroe
• 48. "No Regrets" - Tom Rush
• 49. "Amazing Grace" - Odetta (Trad)
• 50. "Catch the Wind" - Donovan
• 51. "If I Were a Carpenter" - Tim Hardin
• 52. "Big Yellow Taxi" - Joni Mitchell
• 53. "House of the Rising Sun" - Doc & Richard Watson (Trad)
• 54. "Kisses Sweeter Than Wine" - The Weavers
• 55. "Tangled Up in Blue" - Bob Dylan
• 56. "The Boxer" - Simon and Garfunkel
• 57. "Someday Soon" - Ian and Sylvia
• 58. "Miles" - Peter, Paul and Mary
• 59. "Masters of War" - Bob Dylan
• 60. "Wildwood Flower" - Carter Family
• 61. "Can the Circle Be Unbroken" - Carter Family
• 62. "Can't Help but Wonder Where I'm Bound" - Tom Paxton
• 63. "Teach Your Children" - Crosby, Stills Nash & Young
• 64. "Deportee" - Woody Guthrie
• 65. "Tecumseh Valley" - Townes Van Zandt
• 66. "Mr. Bojangles" - Jerry Jeff Walker
• 67. "Cold Missouri Waters" - James Keeleghan
• 68. "The Crucifixion" - Phil Ochs
• 69. "Angel from Montgomery" - John Prine
• 70. "Christmas in the Trenches" - John McCutcheon
• 71. "John Henry" - Traditional
• 72. "Pack Up Your Sorrows" - Richard and Mimi Farina
• 73. "Dirty Old Town" - Ewan MacColl
• 74. "Caledonia" - Dougie MacLean
• 75. "Gentle Arms of Eden" - Dave Carter
• 76. "My Back Pages" - Bob Dylan
• 77. "Arrow" - Cheryl Wheeler
• 78. "Hallelujah" - Leonard Cohen
• 79. "Eve of Destruction" - Barry McGuire
• 80. "Man of Constant Sorrow" - Ralph Stanley (Trad)
• 81. "Shady Grove" - Traditional
• 82. "Pancho and Lefty" - Townes Van Zandt
• 83. "Old Man" - Neil Young
• 84. "Mr. Tambourine Man" - Bob Dylan
• 85. "American Tune" - Paul Simon
• 86. "At Seventeen" - Janis Ian
• 87. "Bridge Over Troubled Water" - Simon & Garfunkel
• 88. "Road" - Nick Drake
• 89. "Tam Lin" - Fairport Convention (Trad)
• 90. "Ashokan Farewell" - Jay Ungar and Molly Mason
• 91. "Desolation Row" - Bob Dylan
• 92. "Love Is Our Cross to Bear" - John Gorka
• 93. "Hobo's Lullaby" - Woody Guthrie
• 94. "Urge for Going" - Tom Rush
• 95. "Return of the Grievous Angel" - Gram Parsons
• 96. "Chilly Winds" - The Kingston Trio
• 97. "Fountain of Sorrow" - Jackson Browne
• 98. "The Times They Are A-Changin'" - Bob Dylan
• 99. "Our Town" - Iris Dement
• 100. "Leaving on a Jet Plane" - John Denver

John Denver. Lord ... that #100 song is the only thing they thought worthy, from all he wrote?
Lots of Woody Guthrie. That's all to the good. Not enough Pete Seeger -- where's "Against the Wind," for example?
No Garth Brooks at all, which absolutely floored me, because "We Shall Be Free" is nothing if not a folk anthem. Given today's political disappointments here in the USA, maybe it ought to be THE folk anthem.

Mr. President, tear down these walls.

GARTH BROOKS - WE SHALL BE FREE