NZ Folksong * songlist

1993 Takamine Santa Fe	guitar hero	1998
A 65 Ton Hooker	scary coastal voyage	1900
Across The Line	sailor's memories	1830s
All My Love is Gone	farmer suicide	2010s
All Black Haka	unity is strength	1810
Aotearoa (E Ihowa Atua)	Nat. Anthem, Maori	1875
Apple Pickers' Ball	end-of-harvest	1950s
Anzac Day Songs	For fallen soldiers	1915
Ate a Weta	wildfoods	1980s
Auntie Alice Brought Us This	goodtime band	1960s
Aunty May	long-lost baby	1920-80
Ballad of Captain Cook	exploring NZ coast	1770s
Ballad of Sir Edmund Hillary	born to climb	1960s
Barb Wire Annie	rural mail lady	1910s
Battle of the Waikato	jeer at Brit army	1860s
The Beautiful Coast Of NZ	Shore whalers	1840s
Bert's Biplane	Fox Moth to Sth Westland	1930s
Big Bad Don	All Black Don Clark	1960s
Big Bull Yank	Manawatu railway	1880s
Big Norm	our best P.M.	1973
Big Yellow Paddock of Gorse	pest or protector?	2018
Billy the Bus	Stewart Is. identities	1990s
Black Billy Tea	outdoor brew	1950s
Black Matai / Culler's Lament	deer-culling	1950s
Black River Mine	Pike River disaster	2010
Black Swans	gum-digging	1870s
Blood Red Roses	a recent composition	1830s
Blue Smoke	troopship dreams	1940s
Bobby with Name Suppression	Rapist policeman	1890s
Boers have got my Daddy	Boer war	1900
Bright Fine Gold	failed Otago miner	1860s
The Buffalo	Whitianga shipwreck	1840s
By the Dry Cardrona	alcoholic's dream	1860s
The Call of the Bellbird	ring ting-a-ling-a	1950s
The Cattle of New Orleans	US Govt incompetence	2005
C'mon Kiwi Mike M?	social injustice	1980s
Charlie's Bash thanks Brian W !	sly-grogging	1950s
Cheryl Moana Marie	John Rowles' sister	1960
Chesdale Cheese !	tv jingle	1960s
Chocolate	the best way up	1980s
Christmas songs	down-under Xmas
The Close Shave	gold-miner trickery	1860s
The Coleridge Run	traction engine drivers	1913
Come All You Tonguers	whalers cry	1830s
Crossing the Kaipara Bar	'the graveyard'	1880s
Dad's Dunny	a heavenly view	1930s
Damn the Dam	Save Lake Manapouri	1973
Davy Lowston M Curtis version	stranded sealers	1810
Day the Pub Burned Down	Save the beer!	1920s
Dead Red Robin	Bain family massacre	1994
Dominion Road	half-way house	1992
Don't Be Afraid of the Sky	confronting dogma	1980s
The Dog-dosing Strip at Dunsandel	country courtship	1950s
Don't Dream It's Over	hope in dark world	1980s
Down in the Brunner Mine	65 coal-miners killed	1890s
Down on My Luck	the great depression	1930s
Down the Hall on a Sat...	rural dance hall	1940s
Down Trou	student parody	1960s
The Dugout in the True/Matruh	rough home	1940s
Dulcie and the Moa	children's fable	1920s
Dunedin City Council Loves Red Tape	folkie's nightmare	2014
The Dunstan	urbanite's dream	1990s
The Dying Bushman/Shearer	my slasher is rusty	1930s
E Ipo	Tui Teka love-song	1980s
E Papa Waiari	stick game	old
E Pari Rä	lament	1918
Epo I Tai Tai E (He Puru Taitama)	school song overseas	1940
Eel Song	wading waist-deep!	1950s
The Fairlie Flyer	branch-line train	1968
Farewell to the Gold	miner's angst	1860s
Farewell to the Gumfields	bleak house	1890s
Ferdinand	provincial rugby	1960s
Fiddlers Hill	Dalmatians dancing	1890s
Fields Of The Gum	old mates	1890s
Five for a Bob (Jack's Song)	rabbit control	1930s
Fishfinger song	sea-shanty parody	1980s
Fitzherbert Bridge	sleeping underneath it	1986
Fixin' To Drown	Esk Valley disaster	2023
French Letter	Mururoa tests	1980s
Friendly Road	Swaggers	to 1930s
Get Out Alive	I rolled my car	2015
Gin & Raspberry	gold-mining	1860s
The Girls Have Got The Tow Rope	homeward bound	1870s
Ghost Gulls Of Picton	around the ferry	1980s
God Defend New Zealand	national anthem	1870s
Goodnight Ruby	tired old soldier	1970s
The Gravedigger's Lament	Six feet down...	1970s
The Great I AM	Colin McCahon	1960s
Gumboot Song	a Kiwi icon	1960s
Gutboard Blues	freezing-worker	1960s
Hakaru Races	painted pony scam	1900s
Hard Oil	Taranaki old drilling	1970s
Hamilton	provincial blues	1970s
He Puru Taitama (Epo e Tai Tai e)	courting song	1940
Healing Sound of Water	expat's dreams	1990s
Higgins Homestead	old-fashioned homestay	1990s
Hills of Coromandel	nature's return	1960s
Hiwi the Kiwi	kids' yucky song	1990s
Hoea Rä Te Waka Nei	WW1 Canoe Poi	1917
The Hole in the Hill	Otira rail tunnel	1950s
Hine E Hine	Goodnight Kiwi	1907
Hungover Liver	drinker's parody	1970s
The Hurricane Rider	HMS Calliope	1887
I Got You	Split Enz rock song	1980s
I Only Spoke Portuguese	whaler's romance	1830s
I've Been Everywhere	all those towns!	1991
In My Little Whare	whitebaiting	1970s
In The Tararua Ranges	trampers	1940s
Invercargill	car & wife confused	1980s
Ite Missa Est	isolated religious life	1960s
Just One Little Number	travelling muso	1980s
Jackie's Song	Taranaki War	1860s
John Smith A. B.	Sea shanty	1860s
Johnny Come Dancing	bewitched by fairies	1870s
Ka Mate	All Black haka	1810
Kiwi Express rip audio from HERE	Ch'ch to Dunedin	1950s
Ko'rareka	Whaler's R&R	1830s
Kowhai & the Tui.	NZ's national flower	1950s
Lady loader-Driver	topdressing romance	1970s
The Late Great Planet Earth	global pollution	2020s
Level Two and Rising	Global warming	2020
The Life of a High Country Shepherd	sheep and snow	1920s
Loney Lonely Blues	Look what you've done	1955
The Lost Chinaman	search & rescue	1911
Looking for the Yeller	Otago gold rush	1861
Love in a Fowl House	advice for daughter	1963
Mahurangi Regatta	Old boaties	1880s
The Mail Coach Line	stage coach travel	1880s
Matua Ned	PC Stephen Foster	2000s
McKenzie (3 songs -work needed)	the sheep-stealer	1860s
Märie Te Pö	"Silent Night"	1880s
Me & Convoy 22	Beehive anti-vax protest	2022
Me He Manu Rere	"If I were a bird"	1890s
Midnight Rock	earthquake sex	2010s
Mihiwaka	colonial wife	1860s
Minnie Dean	Baby killer	1895
Mist on the Waikato	Arthur Allan Thomas	1970
Mum	sons overseas	1980s
My Old Man's an All Black	racial protest	1960s
My Man's Gone Now	on the swag	1930s
My Tractor	Don't make it rain!	1970s
New Zealand Christmas (Nativity)	crib in back-blocks	1920s
No Depression in New Zealand	Satirical anthem	1980s
O'Brien and the Whale	bullocky's tall story	1900s
Okaihau Express	steam cream train	1930s
Old Billy Kirk	wild wagon driver	1870s
Old Bruce Road	alpine lodge bliss	1870s
On The Ball	bonds of rugby	1880s
One Day A Taniwha	kids' song	2000s
One on a Tractor rip ex You Tube	Xmas carol parody	1960s
Opo the Dolphin. rip ex YT	played with children	1956
An Orange Christchurch Winter	caring for the homeless	1863
The Orpheus	ship wreck	1863
Our Homeland Aotearoa	Tui in the Kowhai	1950s
Our Mates in Australia	1951 dock strike	1950s
Out to Otago	Post-war migration	1960s
Packing My Things	failed gold miner	1860s
Pania of the Reef	Maori love song song	1950s
Pauatahanui	wetlands reserve	Centuries
The Peavey Song - thanks to Simcha Delft	Kiwi C&W send-up	1980s
Peter Gray	Bushman contractor	1870s
The Philomena D.	whaling cruise	1850s
Pillows of the Dead	Tangiwai disaster	1953
Playground Chants	skipping
Poi-E	1984 hit song	1982
Pokarekare Ana	"Oh, return to me"	1912
Postholes	virtual rail freight	1984
Pot o' Gold	Rainbow Warrior	1980s
Pretty Girl (Hogsnort Rupert)	skiffle song	1970
The Professional	sex worker	1980s
Proud to be a Kiwi make page	standing strong	1990s
Pukeko in a Ponga Tree	Maori Xmas presents	1980s
Puketapu	Hanged for murder	1950s
The Railwayman's Daughter	pandemic heroine	1918
Rainbird In the Tea-tree	cattle-drover's hopes	1930s
Remember Young Opo	the fisherman's friend	1950s
Right Wing Articulate Rebel	the ACT party song	1990s
Righting the Ronga	accident-prone boat	1900s
The Rimutaka Line	steep railway incline	1880s
River of Life	independent woman	1980s
Robber Kim	Kim 'helped' the poor	2014
Rolling Wheels	across the desert	1940s
The Rottenomic Blues	leaking homes disaster	1990s
Rugby, Racing & Beer	pub culture	1960s
Run to the Brunner, Girls, Run!	mine disaster	1896
Russian Jack	the last swagger	1950s
The Sands of the Nile	Griping about Egypt	1940
Scourer from Mataura	Freezing worker	1970s
Scrub and Blackberry	Farm nostalgia	1981
Sea shanties	songs of the sea	-
Seal Children	Greenpeace	1980s
Seddon's Jubilee Song	Premier visits Queen V	1898
Send the Boats Away	French nuc. tests	1980s
Sergeant Small	riding the rails	1930s
The Shanty by the Way	goldfield pubs	1860s
She'll Be Right Mate	real Kiwi joker	1960s
Somewhat Under the Weather	Dave Jordan parody	1990s
Soon May The Needleman Come	Covid-19 pandemic	2020s
Soon May The Wellerman Come	Shore whalers' tale	1830s
Spider In The Bath	arachnid's phobia	1980s
Stable Lad	goldfields love	1870s
State House Song	working class bliss	1950s
Sticky Bun Rag	dumpster diving	1980s
Suited calloused fragile mystic	James K Baxter	1970s
Super-Man	aerial topdressing	1950s
The T. T. Line	building Taupo log line	1900s
Tahora (Don't Worry Mate)	farm folk festival	1990s
Tarakihi, the Locust	revived by Kiri	ancient
Taranaki Spring	milking cows	1930s
Taumarunui	steam train heartbreak	1950s
Tea at Te Kuiti	NZ placenames	1960s
Te Harinui	NZ Christmas	1958
Ten Guitars	urban Maori singalong	1967
Te Kooti And he gets killed again...	colonial mockery	1870
Te Rina	Terina Pomare	1974
This Woolshed!!!	a rotten disgrace	1950s
Thompson's Bus	off to Mangamahu!	1940s
Tihori mai te Rangi	Rain rain go away!	1980
Tofa My Feleni	Samoan farewell	1889
Tophouse Lament	old pub closed	1976
Train Songs	nostalgia and wrecks
Tramping Songs	...with billy and pack	1950s
Trickle Down	neo-liberal economics	1980s
Tuapeka Gold. YouTube	astute miner	1860s
Under the Sun	all men are equal	1964
Up the Mangapapa	berko shearer	1940s
Waiata Poi	Mara Maori maiden	1904
Waipu Settlers	Crofters from Scotland	1820s
Walking On My Feet	the great depression	1930s
Walter Nash - Prime Minister	post-WW2 Labour PM	1950s
Wartime knitting songs	to stop Trench Foot	1915-45
We Don't Know How Lucky	Fred Dagg irony	1960s
Whanganui, where the H sounds fine	Wang/Whang debate	2000s
Where Is My Wild Rose	OE to find ID	1960s
Worsfold collection	Northland songs	1880s
Working for the Roads Board	road-building labour	1980s
The Wreck of the Old 2-2-7	train wreck at Taihape	1930s
The Wreck of the Rena	shipwreck at Tauranga	2011

Songs Arranged by Topic

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A Study of Our Culture

This collection of NZ folk songs was started in 1998 to assist in two projects:

- First, a ballad-writing instruction course.

- Second, a study to see how our Pakeha (white NZ) culture is reflected in the way we write, select and modify the songs we sing.

The words of the songs in the initial NZFS database were collected from the singing of those in my community when I was young (1943-1958) and later from singing I've heard at folk clubs and festivals (1979-1995).

The songs chosen here were those which;: - have been requested, sung, and/or recorded by many people,; - or generally reflect New Zealand events, customs and attitudes,; - and could be sung by an amateur with minimal accompaniment.

( A large number of the Pakeha songs appeared to be about lonely, socially inept males. Does this reflect the spirit of the songwriters, the singers, or both?)

In 2000, in response to many requests, mostly from Kiwis living overseas, I started adding more old Maori songs, and the odd new one. These have proved to be very popular, and so this website has changed its focus in recent years.

Copyright

You should obtain the permission of the songwriters or their publishers before making commercial use of the songs.

These files will assist any person in the world to do that. Anyone anywhere singing or recording these songs for commercial purposes can now, via internet search engine, find these songs' true owners, who may then be correctly acknowledged.

Then, hopefully, Bob Dylan's version of 'Farewell to the Gold' by Paul Metzers will not be called Australian Mining Song by Nic Jones.

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