This song could be used to introduce students to murder ballads, a subgenre of folk music. Like many other Appalachian murder ballads, "Knoxville Girl" is an adaptation of British broadside ballads. Once brought over to the States, these ballads were…
This song can be used to teach about the Reconstruction-era South racism and the dangerous working conditions found in the building of U.S. railroads. John Henry is an African-American folk hero from Virginia who, according to legend, was victorious…
Used in conjunction with the Himno Zapatista, which samples Carabina 30-30, this song is a way to show the ways in which the Zapatista movement invokes the memory of the Mexican Revolution.