Genre Verbal/Customary Lore, Song, Ritual

Language English

Country of Origin United States

Informant Rory Gawler, ‘05

Date Collected February 26, 2018

Collected by Adrian Padilla

Informant Data

Rory Gawler is the Assistant Director of the Dartmouth Outdoor Programs Office. He grew up in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and listened to classic rock growing up. Upon arriving at Dartmouth, Rory got into hiking, and found the environment to be a huge contrast to Toronto. In the city, he often found himself bored, and upon coming to Dartmouth, he joined the Dartmouth Outing Club. He also began to listen to folk music instead of rock music. He is particularly fond of the Kentucky Bluegrass Boys, and Pete Seeger, who he calls the grandfather of sing-alongs. Folk music was, to him, something that he could do in a group, and this gave him a strong sense of place.

Contextual Data

Song and dance are joyful expressions of human culture, particularly in the case of folk and bluegrass music. Campfire songs, which are a form of folk music, are often associated with land, a sense of place, environmental conservation, as well as the kind of people who are excited about the outdoors. Folk as a whole is a participatory genre of music, meant to be sung by anyone. Most of the groups who have sung folk and campfire songs were historically low skill, low training groups. These campfire songs can be considered an intersection between folklore, and nature.

Item

Outdoor activities, including hiking, include campfire songs. These are usually sung in unison, even if off-key.