Description

(released 2007)

Ef You Don’t Watch Out
Anne Hills sings the poems of James Whitcomb Riley

Collective Works 0504

 
Indiana’s beloved “Hoosier Poet” of the late 19th century, James Whitcomb Riley achieved fame for his writing about the simple country life in the dialect of southern Indiana, with verse alternating between the humorous and the sentimental. Claiming that “simple sentiments that come from the heart” were the secret of his success, Riley satisfied the public with down-to-earth verse that was “heart high.” He was a gifted actor, orator, musician, as well as a journalist … and by the late-1800s Riley was in high demand as a speaker. At the time of his passing in 1916, he was so revered that he received the rare honor of lying in state at Indiana’s Capitol Rotunda as 35,000 mourners came to bid him farewell. On this recording, Anne Hills brings ten of Riley’s beloved poems back to life with poignant, fun and thoughtful folk arrangements. Here’s a tracklist with a couple samples:

1. A Voice From the Farm
2. Little Orphant Annie
3. When the Frost Is On the Pumpkin
4. The Raggedy Man
5. The Lugubrious Whing-Whang
6. The Little Coat
7. Lullaby
8. Nine Little Goblins
9. Down On Wiggle Creek
10. There Was a Cherry Tree

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To purchase a digital download ($9.99/album or $.99/track):