“‘Twas in the merry month of May

When green buds all were swellin’

Sweet William on his death bed lay

For love of Barbara Allen”

—- “Barbara Allen, traditional folk ballad

By sharing songs passed down through generations, Lyle Sparkman hopes to deepen his audience’s connection to the past.

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, the retired educator and folklorist returns to the Folk School of Fayetteville with his daughter Sarah to share a collection of Ozark songs, this time focused on love, in an interactive workshop on Feb. 8.

“The reason why I teach other people folk songs is because I want Ozarkers to appreciate their heritage in a living fashion, not just a textbook fashion,” said Sparkman. “I want them to be a continuing part of the Ozark legacy.”

A seventh-generation Ozarker, Sparkman said his family settled along the banks of the White River in the Ozarks in the 1800s. Growing up he remembers digging for arrowheads on his grandfather’s farm and singing songs with his relatives for entertainment on the porch or during long car rides. Those songs, however, ignited a lifelong interest in collecting stories and songs in the region.

“My family had traditional songs, but I wasn’t aware of their value or age until I was a senior in high school,” said Sparkman until they studied ancient ballads in his English class. In his textbook were some of the traditional songs he’d heard at home.

“The very first ballad they listed with words was ‘Barbara Allen,’ and I thought to myself, we sing that!” said Sparkman. Though a favorite during the folk music revival of the 1960s, “Barbara Allen” dates back to 17th-century Scotland and is one of the most collected folk ballads in the world.

“That was the beginning of me switching from an unconscious acquisition of Ozark lore to starting to pay attention to it consciously,” he said. Not long after discovering “Barbara Allen,” in his textbook, Sparkman performed at the 1966 Eureka Springs’ Folk Festival to share more folk songs.

“I sang ‘East Virginia Blues’ to the surprise of some people who knew me because they didn’t know that I sang at all,” he remembered.

Over the last 59 years, Sparkman has performed folk songs on numerous stages, published several studies on folk songs and stories and lectured for historical societies and museums. In 2022, he published, “Out o’ the Poke,” which includes stories he’s collected from his family and follows the transition of Ozarks stories from the 19th century to the 21st.

Ozark songs “are hand-me-downs from centuries past,” he said. “By engaging in this type of music, you’re preserving something that both satisfies the singer and satisfies the audience not just because of its awesome authenticity, but because they’re good songs.”

His daughter Sarah, an eighth-generation Ozarker, said the songs reveal what was important to generations of the past allowing us to deepen our understanding of who they were. For the upcoming workshop focusing on love songs, the songs tell stories from arranged marriages to elopements to dying for love and more.

“History is embedded in the songs, but the point really is that the feelings that we have now, we had then, but without the technology,” said Lyle Sparkman.

Following oral tradition, the songs are sung without accompaniment during the workshops. Participants will be given word sheets to follow and will sing together to learn the melody. At the end of the session, Lyle invites participants to record him singing the songs so they can refer to the melody afterward.

“Everybody in the workshop kind of gets to be a ninth generation [Ozarker], which is so much fun,” said Sarah Sparkman. She emphasizes everyone is welcome whether they have lived here for generations or moved here last week.

“You are welcome in this culture, and we want to share it with you.”