3 Folk Songs From the 1970s That Should Be Studied in Songwriting Classes

These folk songs from the 1970s should be studied in songwriting 101. They are all stunning visuals with no shortage of clever wordplay. If you’re an aspiring folkie, these songs should be in your syllabus.

[RELATED: 3 Vulnerable Joni Mitchell Songs From the 1970s That Still Stop Us in Our Tracks]

“Hello In There” — John Prine

John Prine’s “Hello In There” is one of the greatest songs ever written. The idea behind this 1970s folk track is simple, but he delivers the message in a poignant narrative. Whether you’re in your 20s or you yourself are from the older generation Prine is singing about here, you can’t help but feel moved by these lyrics.

“You know that old trees just grow stronger / And old rivers grow wilder every day / Old people just grow lonesome / Waiting for someone to say / ‘Hello in there, hello,‘” Prine sings in this tender chorus. This Americana legend had a knack for talking about subjects most songwriters ignored or shied away from. In this track, he pays attention to a group of people that so often go unnoticed. The form meets the function.

“Desperados Waiting For A Train” — Guy Clark

Guy Clark sings about the unlikely relationship between a young boy and his surrogate father in “Desperados Waiting For A Train”. “And he’d wink and give me money for the girls / And our lives was like some old western movie /  Like desperados waiting for a train,” he sings.

This song is characterful and charmingly somber. Any folk songwriter would do well to take a page out of Clark’s book, for many reasons. But this song stands tall as one of his best efforts, teeming with golden material to reference in your own work.

“If I Could Only Fly” — Blaze Foley

“The wind keeps blowing, somewhere, everyday / Tell me things get better, somewhere, up the way,” the lyrics to Blaze Foley’s “If I Could Only Fly” read. In this song, he talks about how his restlessness and vagabond spirit keep him from settling into the right relationship.

“Coming home soon and I wanna stay / Maybe we can, somehow, get away / I wish you could come with me when I go again,” the lyrics read later on in the song. It’s a vulnerable, unflattering kind of track that only real authenticity can get you. If you want to be one of the greats in the folk scene, this is the kind of candor you should strive for.

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