I know all, or most, of the words to more than half of the songs already listed in this thread, plus many others. My family had a Magnus Chord Organ in the sixties, and we would have group singalongs. The songbooks we had were heavy on Stephen Foster and others from that era, as well as a lot of Tin Pan Alley stuff.
You had one too? We had a whole box of songbooks for ours.
We only had the one, that I recall. But it’s the book from which I learned the lyrics to Joni Mitchell’s Clouds.
I’m an admirer of folk songs, old-timey music, vaudeville songs, Irish trad folk, pop music dating back to the 19th century, blues, and jazz. I probably know more old songs by heart then anyone around here except Eve, who isn’t around here any more.
Join me in a round of “Betty Co-ed.”
Well with an instrument in your name, it fits.
I should know a lot more then I do; helping with a lot of music festivals and events over the years but I don’t have the mind to retain them or the voice to sing them.
Not just an instrument. See also my namesake.
It was still being taught in public school music classes when I was tot in the 70’s. Of course, I’m not sure how many states still have public school music classes, but Virginia still does.
I have studied Irish Sean nós music, so I’m betting there are about 15 songs I know that less than 500 other people in the world know by heart. There is one that I collected versions of, and I may have been the only person ever to have written it down. (Or there could be 100 other copies around, no way to know, really.)