My grandfather wrote a book about growing up in Forest County, Wisconsin "Sawdust" http://sawdust1885.blogspot.com/ Since this topic wa sposted, I have engrossed myself in rereading his book. He includes info like he didn't have a birth certificate, they carved his date of birth in a tree. Land deals, shullduggery, logging history, Christmas and more are covered.
I don't think I can just pull a song out right now but I'm sure the themes and stories will echo in my cranium.
I just found this informative website, http://parlorsongs.com/catalog/a.php It has a wide history of pre 1925 parlour songs, melodies, lyrics, and historical backgrounds.
Since this topic wa sposted, I have engrossed myself in rereading his book.
I did a similar thing. It was a bit of a bitter-sweet experience, but I spent one night reading a "book" my grandmother wrote about her life and family growing up on the farm. It's mostly about her experiences from age 4 to 14. She definitely wrote it for her children and grandchildren and future generations which makes it quite special.
....not that I actually used the material for the assignment though :shock: :lol: ....but it did help me get the timing a bit more settled...at first I thought I was shooting for 1910s but adjusted to the Great Depression Era for accuracy's sake.
