• Hear My Sad Story: The True Tales That Inspired "Stagolee", "John Henry", and Other Traditional American Folk Songs

  • By: Richard Polenberg
  • Narrated by: James Killavey
  • Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (12 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Hear My Sad Story: The True Tales That Inspired "Stagolee", "John Henry", and Other Traditional American Folk Songs  By  cover art

Hear My Sad Story: The True Tales That Inspired "Stagolee", "John Henry", and Other Traditional American Folk Songs

By: Richard Polenberg
Narrated by: James Killavey
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $24.95

Buy for $24.95

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

In Hear My Sad Story, Richard Polenberg describes the historical events that led to the writing of many famous American folk songs that served as touchstones for generations of American musicians, lyricists, and folklorists.

Those events, which took place from the early 19th to the mid-20th centuries, often involved tragic occurrences: murders, sometimes resulting from love affairs gone wrong; desperate acts born out of poverty and unbearable working conditions; and calamities such as railroad crashes, shipwrecks, and natural disasters. Listening to these tales of sorrow, misfortune, and regret puts us in touch with a dark but terribly familiar side of American history. Polenberg returns us to the men and women who, in song, became legends.

The book is published by Cornell University Press.

©2015 Cornell University (P)2016 Redwood Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"An excellent book about folk songs and ballads that cover much of U.S. history in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries."(Ronald D. Cohen, Indiana University Northwest)
"This fascinating book by one of the very best twentieth-century American historians draws on Richard Polenberg's enduring and continuing interest in folk music. Polenberg's good, crisp, readable prose ensures that anyone who likes folk music will enjoy this musical window onto the patterns of the past." (Allan M. Winkler, Miami University of Ohio)
"By giving equal weight to historical events and their reinvention as musical myths, Richard Polenberg creates a rich and colorful tapestry of fact and fable. The result is a thoroughly enjoyable and frequently illuminating volume." (Elijah Wald, coauthor of The Mayor of MacDougal Street)

What listeners say about Hear My Sad Story: The True Tales That Inspired "Stagolee", "John Henry", and Other Traditional American Folk Songs

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    8
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    7
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    8
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Grating Narration

The narrator ruined the book for me. I couldn't listen to it. He had a terrible way of pronouncing certain words. It's awful.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful