Zippy, a pretty much perfect song that, did you know that Sandy was fourteen when she wrote that?
Probably my favourite ‘folk’ song, but there’s loads that come under ‘roots’, or Americana as well, Emmylou Harris’ Prayer In Open ‘D’ can just break my heart if I’m in the right frame of mind.
The Unthanks King Of Rome, is another one; I first heard it on RadMac’s show on 6Music, and it caught me at a vulnerable moment and had me in bits. Also Kate Rusby’s My Young Man, from Little Lights, another heart-breaker about a wife’s love for her husband, health broken from working the pits.
This could start a very long list… 😀
[edit] My Young Man is about Kate’s Grandparents, so she sings from the heart:
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AjblYI9KEY&sns=em[/video]