The Compiled and edited by Robert B. Waltz In Celebration of the Minnesota Sesquicentennial

The Minnesota Heritage Songbook is an attempt to document the history and culture of Minnesota as found in traditional folk songs -- the songs people sang to each other, and handed down from generations. We have sought the songs collected in this state, and songs about events relevant to Minnesota history, and gathered them in the Songbook, which was released in September, 2008.

How can I get one?	Copies of the Heritage Songbook have been distributed to school districts, parks, and historical societies around the state. You can probably find a copy there. You can also order one of the remaining copies (while supplies last). Or you can download the PDF version here. The PDF (4.7 megabytes) includes the entire contents of the book, and is a free download! Contact us to order a paper copy ($10 including shipping and handling for destinations in the United States).	How can I learn the songs?	We've included MIDI files of many of the songs on the Songs page. You can play the tunes right in your browser, or save them and play them in any program that can play MIDI files
Hey! I know a song!	Did your parents (or grandparents, or friends) sing songs -- work songs, game songs, lullabyes, stories of past events? Do you know if they were handed down from person to person? That's wonderful. It means that you are part of the folk process. We'd like to include your songs in our song database. Contact songbook editor Robert B. Waltz at waltzmn@skypoint.com so we can try to include your song. A request: Please don't contact us with songs you wrote. This is a project documenting the history of songs sung in Minnesota. The emphasis is on songs sung before the twentieth century. Modern songs are for other venues.	What other songs are found in Minnesota?	A full catalog of songs collected in Minnesota can be found in the Song List.
Additional Songs	Here are some additional songs with Minnesota ties that did not fit in the printed Heritage Songbook.	Other Resources	If you want to know more about the songs in this collection, you will find additional reference sources (and, in some cases, additional background notes) at the site of the Traditional Ballad Index Click here for a catalog of informants and sources.

The song you hear as you load this page is "The Jam on Gerry's Rocks," as sung by A. C. Hannah of Bemidji and printed by Franz Rickaby in 1926.

The printed Minnesota Heritage Songbook was made possible by the Fort Snelling State Park Association.
This project has been financed in part with funds provided by the State of Minnesota
through the Minnesota Sesquicentennial Commission's Grants Program.

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