Before television and electricity, people read books. And before books, in a world lit only by fire, human beings entertained themselves by telling stories and singing songs.

It wasn’t that long ago when only kings and queens were rich enough to have other people play music for them. In the old days, regular folks like you and me had to make our own music. That’s why it’s called “folk music.”

Once upon a time, singing was a part of everyday life, as much as talking, working, eating, and sleeping. Our distant ancestors - whatever language they spoke, whatever country they lived in - sang songs while pounding grain, paddling canoes, or walking long journeys, to coordinate the rhythms of their labors, and to make the task-at-hand pass more enjoyably.

Folksongs are ordinary songs made up by ordinary people - regular folks - just like you and me. Folksongs are history as seen through the eyes of ordinary people. Folksongs travel through history and history travels through folksongs.

Folksongs often tell us what happened and when it happened, but more importantly, they tell us how people felt about those happenings. They can capture an event in time or space while providing an invitation to explore whatever else is going on at that same time in history.

In all cultures, in all countries, in all languages, folksongs and folktales are oral history, passed on from one person's mouth to another person's ear, without a pencil or paper, in what is called the “Oral Tradition.”

Popular and contemporary songs become folksongs when they are passed on from one generation to the next, in the “Oral Tradition.”

A folksong has a life of its own - independent of any commercial medium - even if the song isn’t recorded, or played on radio or television.

In the creation of a folksong, the roles of composer, performer, and audience are not rigidly separated. The original composition of a song may be in the mind of a single person. But if the song becomes a folksong, all of the people who sing it freely amend it and change it (consciously or unconsciously) and so, they become its co-authors and editors. Eventually the song becomes the creation of many different people from many different generations.

One of the strongest forces in folksongs is the recycling of old melodies. Lots of folksongs were (and are) created by applying new lyrics to well known tunes.

Some of the old folksongs that are still sung in the United States were old songs in other countries before they came to the North America.

Every country on earth has its own folksongs and folklore. All ethnic groups that make up our American population have their own special folksongs. Folksongs are an important part of our American heritage, culture, and tradition.

Our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents don't bother passing on songs and stories they don't enjoy; that's why so many of the old songs and stories are good songs and stories.

Folksongs are something we sing together. In many other forms of music the audience simply sits and listens, but with a folksong, we usually sing along.