Way back in 1928, the Carter family traveled from their humble home in Virginia all the way to the industrial juggernaut of Philadelphia. It was there that they recorded one of their first songs, "Wildwood Flower."
The song itself was composed by Joseph Philbrick Webster back during the bloody civil war. The lyrics were actually from a poem written down by author Maud Irving, and as the years rolled on, mothers passed the words down to their daughters.
Eventually the original poem was forgotten, so the lyrics began to evolve with the times through a Southern oral tradition. Slight changes were made until that special day when the Carter Family started to play their song in front of the microphone.
Looking back, the Carter Family was almost caretakers of these old Southern folk songs. As the years passed by, so many songs had been lost due to time, but with the advent of recording technology the Carter family came in, just in time, to preserve ancient tunes like, "Will the Circle be unbroken," "Faded Coat of Blue," "Wildwood Flower," and many others.
The Carter Family managed to save these songs simply due to the fact that they revered and respected the original sound. The family delivers these folk tunes probably very similarly to how they were originally meant to be done. It's truly a wonderful interpretation by a wonderfully talented family.
Please watch their amazing performance of the time-bridging song "Wildwood Flower." It took this song over 100 years from its inception to travel the impenetrable chasm of time, but somehow it managed to make it, just so it could be heard by your ears!
And please SHARE this beautiful tune if you love keeping our history alive!
