I really should be working on the book, but just a couple more:
The amazing Louis Jordan performing "There Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens" - fabulous!
I admit, I have a lasting fondness going back to high school (hey, I'm a kid of the 80s, what can I say) for John Mellencamp, and he certainly has worked his ass off to raise comprehension of the farm problem in America - and he's been singing it at FarmAid concerts for decades. I have to include "Rain on the Scarecrow" which makes as much sense now as when I was a kid - maybe that's why I don't even mind his 80s hair:
There are only 4 billion versions of "John Barleycorn" out there, and you can pretty much take your pick, Traffic's being the most obvious, but I admit, I don't mind it, and there isn't a good youtube version with Ian Anderson out there - just a short excerpt. So here's the obvious:
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The answer to how you gonna keep them down on the farm after they've seen the city lights...they go back on their own. I like the Dixie Chicks version better than any of the ones sung by men:
Keep the suggestions coming!
Sharon
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My favorite growing song is from the Fantasticks -- Plant a Radish. Which ideally should be paired with something about zombie mutant killer-vegetables, someone has to have done an ode to kudzu, or maybe there is something in "little shop of horrors." You know like that disturbing Oz book with the land of vegetables.
Jethro Tull- Heavy Horses
Adrienne Young- Plow to the End of the Row or Room to Grow
Indigo Girls-Hammer and A Nail
Barenaked Ladies- These Apples
And not at all farmy but it makes me smile:
Da Vinci's Notebook- Kingdom in the Sky
My second all-time favorite song is "Where the Green Grass Grows" by Tim McGraw.
Also love "Amarillo Sky" by Jason Aldean.
You've got to include Pete Seeger singing David Mallet's Garden Song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u90qRE2F7CM
Or perhaps Arlo's more rockin' version of the same?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QTj45cTB4U
Nice list of farming songs. As a child of the 80's Rain on the Scarecrow brought back some good memories.
"Farm on the Freeway" and "...And the Mouse Police Never Sleeps" by Jethro Tull.
Are Americans familiar with the Wurzels? "Blackbird" has particular resonance for me, as my parents' house is plagued with rooks.
For some awesome commentary on farm life in the US you need to check out 60 Acres by James McMurtry and the Heartless Bastards.