2025/07/03 by Abbi Flint · 1 voice
Arts and Humanities · Psychology · #Music History and Culture #Diversity and Impact of Dance #Folklore, Mythology, and Literature Studies
paper · pdf · doi:10.1080/0015587x.2025.2501423
openalex publication_date 2025/07/03 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/14
The early twentieth century saw a boom in both outdoor recreation and community and folk singing in England. This article explores how these two movements were entangled through the communal singing practices of rambling groups and open-air holiday organizations, facilitated by the publication of approved ‘tramping songs’ in songbooks. Drawing on archival research and a consideration of the songbooks as folkloric material, I explore how the songbooks reflected an emerging, distinctive open-air singing repertoire, dominated by folk and traditional songs. Attending to the situated, historical context of these books indicates that they were designed to be used specifically in open-air rural settings. As such, they highlight the role of countryside paths as sites for communal singing. This study sheds light on some of the everyday singing practices in the interwar period and argues for the addition of paths as so far under-emphasized sites in the history of folk and traditional song.