My Favorite Accordion and/or Folk Songs
The accordion is one of the most underrated instruments in the world, and traditional folk music is one of the most underrated music genres in the world. I decided to use my website’s humble page rank to popularize pieces that are either traditional folk songs, or are frequently played with the accordion. There might be a few that don’t really fit either category. I dedicate this list to Anonymous, my favorite composer, who gifted our world an infinite number of traditional folk songs.
You will notice that Finnish pieces are well-represented in this list. Finland is probably the country with the highest polka per capita, so this is perhaps not that surprising.
No particular order.
- Säkkijärven polkka
- Metsäkukkia
- Tavallinen tyttö
- Satumaa
- Kulkurin kaiho
- Soittajan kaipuu
- Sirkkojen tanssi
- Ale brider
- Papatya (Necdet Koyutürk)
- Sevdim Bir Genç Kadını
- Finska polka
- Ievan polkka
- Pytała się Pani
- Rebeka (Yiddish tango)
- Der Rebbe Elimelech (original tune of “Memleketim” by Ayten Alpman)
- Accordion music from the regions around the Alps. All these songs are nice, but especially the one at 20:45.
- In Heaven There is No Beer
- Hej, Sokoły
- Volevo un gatto nero (doesn’t fit this list)
- Yıldızların Altında
- Tarantella Napoletana
- На сопках Маньчжурии (“On the Hills of Manchuria”)
- Коробе́йники (“Korobeiniki”) (tune of Tetris)
- Журавли (“Cranes”)
- Kuiskauksia tango
- Üsküdar’a Gider İken
- Strose Mou Na Kimitho (doesn’t fit this list)
- Полюшко-поле (“Song of the Plains”) (maybe fits this list)
- Two Guitars (Russian)
- Sarı Gelin
- Yön Kuningatar tango (“Queen of the Night”)
- Kesäillan valssi
- Westphalia waltz
- Illan hämärtyessä
- Lyckobringaren
- Очи чёрные (“Dark Eyes”)
- Hatırla Sevgili
- Уральская рябинушка (“Ural Rowan Tree”)
- Hava Nagila
- Yine Bir Gülnihal
- Emma’s waltz (Finnish, e.g. sung by Leo Kauppi)
- Deniz ve Mehtap
- Her Akşam Votka, Rakı ve Şarap
- Bei Mir Bist Du Schejn
- Bubamara
- Csárdás
- Heinäpolkka
- Horgalåten
- Laps olen Karjalan
- Kazatchok
- O Tannenbaum
- Perles de Cristal
- Red River Valley
- Дорогой длинною (“The long road”) (original tune of “Those Were the Days”)
- Kankaan Kaunis Katriina
- What Shall We Do with the Drunken Sailor?
- Ema süda (Estonian) / Äidin sydän (Finnish)
- John Brown’s Body (original tune of “Battle Hymn of the Republic”)
- Bana Ellerini Ver
- Kıskanıyorum (tango)
- Waltzing Matilda (but “And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda” is better)
- Amazing Grace
- Woods of Finland
- Kulkurin valssi
- Aloha Oe
- Haaveita