Folk Standards
 

I thought it would be cool if we posted a bunch of different versions of the same songs.

Casey Jones-Pete Seeger/This Bike is Pipe Bomb
Draft Dodger Rag-Pete Seeger/Phil Ochs/Kind of Like Spitting
Here's to the State of Mississippi-Phil Ochs/Pearl Jam
I Aint Marching Any More-Phil Ochs/Kind of Like Spitting
I'm Tired-Phil Ochs/Kind of Like Spitting
Little Boxes-Malvina Reynolds/Pete Seeger
Love Me I'm A Liberal-Phil Ochs/Evan Greer
My Ramblin Boy-Pete Seeger/Tom Paxton
Outside A Small Circle of Friends
Power & Glory-Pete Seeger/Phil Ochs
Pretty Boy Floyd-Woody Guthrie/Ghost Mice
Remember Me-Phil Ochs/Kind of Like Spitting
Shenandoah-Pete Seeger/Lot's and Lot's of people
That's What I want to Hear-Phil Ochs/Kind of Like Spitting
This Land is Your Land-Woody Guthrie/Pete Seeger
Wayfaring Stranger-Johnny Cash/Jack White/Neko Case
What Did You Learn in School today?-Pete Seeger/Tom Paxton
Where were You in Chicago?-Phil Ochs/Kind of Spitting
When I'm Gone-Phil Ochs/Kind of Spitting
You Can't Stoned Enough-Kind of Like Spitting/Phil Ochs


That's all I can think of off the top of my head there's hundreds upon hundreds. So add ones you know and I'll upload these later.

Kind Of Like Spitting did an entire album of Phil Ochs covers. Love Me I'm a Liberal was also covered by Jello Biafra and Mojo Nixon. Bob Dylan also did a cover of This Land is Your Land.

In addition to that.
Here's to the State of Mississippi-Phil Ochs/Pearl Jam

One of my favorite folk standards is "Wayfaring Stranger" that I've heard covered by:

Jack White (Cold Mountain)
Johnny Cash (American 3)
Neko Case (Tigers Have Spoken)

The thing that I absolutely love about folk standards is that they become refined over the years taking out the cheese, superfluous pieces, they get stripped bear, right down to whats essential and depending on how an artist takes it, gets things added to it based on whats good for that performance. Another one of these songs that I'd probably say has been refined enough to be perfect is:

House of the Rising Sun
Sinead O'conner
The Animals
Tracy Chapman (redone as jazz ::rawr::)

Theres some up an coming ones right now with modern music. Johnny Cash and Tom Waits get covered ad neasum. Springsteen's cover of "my Ride is here" is nothing short of amazing, and I think everyone on the planet has heard a cover version of "all along the watchtower"

Oh come on, this thread is like the coolest ****ing one on the forums. No one else has any emotional reaction or thought on folk standards...you guys suck.

I'm just beginning to get serious about American folk music. I don't know much about it, but I do know that I like a lot of what I hear. It's the instruments, the sound and spirit of the music. It just feels good. Even the sad songs.

As I said, I'm a bit of a novice but I have always liked hearing the old music covered.

I saw a vid on Youtube with Pete Seeger and Buffy Sainte-Marie playing together and loved it!

So I've never heard the original but Waits covers this sappy love song "Sea of Love" and they apparently played it over a film about the floods in italy a couple years back.

Its on Brawlers and that voice can turn anything into gold.

If the american idol legions sang "I wanna tell you, how much I love you but I'm drowing in a sea of love" I'd take from it

"I wanna say i love you, but I love you too much" (oh the burden...)

but when waits sings it I hear "I'd love to say I love you but I keep hooking up with other transient bar flies and I really don't wanna give that up, but I really do love you"

And so the song gains a meaning, in my opinion, beyond the usual sap and shows why "good" singing is not always "good" for the song.

The blues & rock (Robert Johnson, B.B. King, Clapton & Led Zeppelin etc.) is replete with covers done my numerous artists but I'll try to stay in the Folk genre.

"Where Have All The Flowers Gone?"- Pete Seeger/Johnny Rivers/Kingston Trio/Peter, Paul & Mary/Joan Baez/The Countrymen/Earth, Wind & Fire/your mother

"The Ghost of Tom Joad" - Bruce Springsteen/Rage Against The Machine

"Moonshiner" - Bob Dylan/Uncle Tupelo/Cat Power

"Puff The Magic Dragon" - Peter, Paul & Mary/Bing Crosby/John Denver/and a load of others if wikipedia is accurate.

"Ring of Fire" - Johnny Cash/Social Distortion

"This Land Is Your Land" - Woody Guthrie/Rage Against The Machine (played live)/kindergarten classes all across the U.S.A. *(just saw this was already listed, sorry)

Also:
The Walkabouts
Nina Simone


More traditional songs:

Knoxville Girl-Louvin Brothers/DQE
Little Black Train-Woody Guthrie/Dock Boggs/Freakwater
Whiskey In The Jar-Thin Lizzy/Hazeldine/Metallica
Omie Wise-Dock Boggs/Pentangle
Ain`t No Grave-Richard Buckner/Crooked Jades

Lead Belly, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez and Woody Guthrie all did House of the Rising Sun too. Dylan got his from Dave Van Ronk though.

That is a cool song. I have not heard that in a while.

The Animals did House of the Rising Sun too. Popular song.