Wayfaring Strangers: The Musical Voyage from Scotland and Ulster to Appalachia

by Fiona Ritchie, Doug Orr, Darcy Orr, Dolly Parton (Foreword by)

Overview

From the seventeenth through the nineteenth centuries, a steady stream of Scots migrated to Ulster and eventually onward across the Atlantic to resettle in the United States. Many of these Scots-Irish immigrants made their way into the mountains of the southern Appalachian region. They brought with them a wealth of traditional ballads and tunes from the British Isles and Ireland, a carrying stream that merged with sounds and songs of English, German, Welsh, African American, French, and Cherokee origin. Their enduring legacy of music flows today from Appalachia back to Ireland and Scotland and around the globe. Ritchie and Orr guide readers on a musical voyage across oceans, linking people and songs through centuries of adaptation and change.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781469664187
Publisher:	The University of North Carolina Press
Publication date:	08/01/2021
Edition description:	Second Edition, with a new afterword by the authors
Pages:	384
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 10.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Fiona Ritchie MBE is the founder, producer, and host of National Public Radio’s The Thistle & Shamrock. In 2018 she was inducted into the Folk DJ Hall of Fame. Douglas Orr is President Emeritus of Warren Wilson College, where he founded the Swannanoa Gathering music workshops.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

The story of the Scots-Irish 'carrying stream' of music that found its way to Appalachia is also the story of the Cash family. William Cash emigrated from Scotland in the mid-seventeenth century, and the next generation drifted down to Virginia. The songs that went with them were captured, in part, a couple of centuries later by my stepmother's family, the Carter Family. My own musical DNA is bound with these songs—the narrative ballads, the melancholy rhymes, the ancient stories retold in melody again and again. Except for my family, there is nothing I love more than being a part of the 'living tradition' captured in this book.—Rosanne Cash, singer-songwriter and author



Who better to write this book than Fiona Ritchie and Doug Orr? They have each spent a lifetime intensely interested in the same thread of music from opposite sides of the ocean. The music connected them with each other, I suspect, long before they ever met, just as it connects all of us across miles and time, through generations and immigrations, anchoring us to the story of our ancestors and, ultimately, ourselves. These two are the perfect authors to trace the journey this music has made and to paint the picture of the living, breathing stream that it is.—Kathy Mattea, singer-songwriter and teacher



In telling the story of the Scottish diaspora in Appalachia through music, Fiona Ritchie and Doug Orr have captured a process of adaptation and change that has created a traditional culture that continues to flourish.—Ron Pen, author of I Wonder as I Wander: The Life of John Jacob Niles



Exploring the historic ties between Scotland, Ireland, and Appalachia through music, Fiona Ritchie and Doug Orr weave together the story of migration through the lyrics of ballads and other music that reflects on this history. Wayfaring Strangers will touch a powerful chord in the lives of readers who appreciate the music of Scotland and Appalachia, as well as those whose families have ties to this rich historical journey.—William Ferris, author of The Storied South: Voices of Writers and Artists



History's a strange beast. In the absence of illumination by the lives of real men and women, it can on occasion be reduced to the prosaic. When that happens, often the gaps are filled with kitsch, with a sentimental mire of misunderstanding that does more harm than good. This book isn't like that. It's full of hard fact that's been turned into the best kind of history by even harder poetry and honest melody. Nothing more is needed. To tie several centuries of peoples' lives together, across oceans and mountains, to make sense of their experiences and aspirations by the tenacious strands of their own music and song—that is a real achievement.—Brian McNeill, Scottish singer-songwriter, producer, and novelist



Songs can take us on extraordinary journeys. They respect neither border nor time, and by following them, we can chart the movement of generations of people. In Wayfaring Strangers, Fiona Ritchie and Doug Orr take a long look at this story using Scottish songs as their compass. It's a fascinating and often surprising ride.—Cerys Matthews, Welsh folksinger, author, and broadcaster

Editorial Reviews

“Essential.... A gorgeous gift book.”—New York Times Book Review

“Ritchie and Orr strike all the right chords in this pleasantly tuneful survey.”—Publishers Weekly

“A story remarkable for its breadth and depth, conveying the drama of Scottish emigration via Ulster to Appalachia, by a people who clung to the music and song they held dear, and bequeathed it to America. It is for us to keep our eyes and ears open to see how this river carries on.”—Scottish Life Magazine

“If you love Appalachian music; if you're Scots-Irish and wonder about your roots; if you're curious about the words and traditions of the music and how many miles and years the songs have traveled to get here, this handsome book is your most trusted servant, your indispensable encyclopedia and your entertaining Bible.”—Charlotte Observer

From the Publisher

Fiona Ritchie…and Doug Orr…have put together a gorgeous holiday gift book, including a CD of various artists' renditions of the songs whose origins the authors so beautifully recount.

The New York Times Book Review - Ronald Radosh