pancocojams: "Swing And Turn Jubilee" Play Party Song (sung by Jean Ritchie)

collageweekly, Dec 18, 2012

Here's Jean Ritchie- Jubilee. I couldn't find it anywhere on YouTube so I made my own. Enjoy!

No copyright infringement intended.

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Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest update - April 20, 2026*

This pancocojams post showcases a YouTube audio file of folk singer Jean Ritchie singing the Appalachian play party song "Swing And Turn Jubilee" (also given as "Jubilee").

This post also presents information about White American singer Jean Ritchie as well as general information about play party songs, information about the song "Swing And Turn, Jubilee" and information about the word "Jubilee" in this song.

This information is from selected comments from a Mudcat folk music discussion thread (in which Jean Ritchie provides a comment), selected comments from the discussion thread of this post's showcase YouTube sound file, as well as from Wikipedia, from two AI Overview write-ups, and from other websites.

The Addendum to this post presents information about Black people in Appalachia region of the United States.

The content of this post is presented for historical, folkloric, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Jean Ritchie for her musical legacy. Thanks to the unknown composer of this song and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to the publisher of this sound file on YouTube.

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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTES
This post may depart from this pancocojams blog's mission of showcasing the music, dances, language practices, & customs of African Americans and of other people of Black descent throughout the world.

I wrote "may" because the composer of this Appalachian play party song is unknown.

I'm aware that Jean Ritchie was a White American woman from the state of Kentucky and Kentucky is part of the Appalachian region of the United States. However, contrary to widely held beliefs in the United States, Black people historically have lived in Appalachia and Black people still live in Appalachia.

Furthermore, contrary to the beliefs of some folklorists and others who know this play party song "Swing And Turn Jubilee" Jean Ritchie publicly indicated that neither she nor her family composed this play party song. Read comment #7 Mudcat Selected Comments" in this pancocojams post. In that comment, Jean Ritchie wrote that she got "Swing And Turn Jubilee" from someone in her community and that it was well known in that community. Whether or not there were any Black people in Ritchie's community, my point is that "Swing And Turn Jubilee" could have originated with a Black person or could have been part of the racial mixing of words and tunes that created and influenced a lot of Appalachian and other play party songs.

Be that as it may, I'm showcasing this version of "Swing And Turn Jubilee" because I'm interested in the play party genre, I like this song and this version of this song. In addition, this song provides me with an opportunity to share information about the fact that there were-and still are- Black people in Appalachia. (I'm Black and I live in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania which is a part of Appalachia.

Read the Addendum in this post about Black people in Appalachia.

* Also, click __ for the pancocojams post "The Use Of The Word "Jubilee" In American Folk Songs (Including Play Party Songs)".

Among other things, that post presents a list of some American folk songs (including play party songs) that include the word "jubilee" in their title and examines their lyrics for any connection those examples have with Black American history and culture. In my editor's note in that post I offer for consideration the possibility that if the original composers of "Swing And Turn Jubilee" weren't Black, then they could have been aware of Black people's meaning of "jubilee" and used that word instead of a commonly known celebratory, joyful word such as "Hooray".

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TWO AI OVERVIEW WRITE-UPS ABOUT THE WORD "JUBILEE" IN THE PLAY PARTY SONG "SWING AND TURN JUBILEE"
from AI Overview #1 [These AI write-ups are the results of my April 19, 2026 query on this subject. I numbered these write-ups for referencing purposes only. I asked the question two times to see if there were any differences to the results.]

"In the folk song and singing game "Swing and Turn/Jubilee," Jubilee represents a joyful, high-energy dance celebration, often signaling a time of release, fun, and communal togetherness. Rooted in Appalachian tradition, the term implies a festive, chaotic "whirlwind" dance reel rather than just a formal anniversary.

Musical/Dance Meaning: "Jubilee" functions as a vibrant refrain in the singing game, encouraging dancers to swing partners with energy.

Cultural Context: In Appalachian folklore, it signifies a lively party or community gathering where "swingin' in the true love's arms" is the "easiest work".

Alternative Significance: While in some contexts, "Jubilee" in African American folk traditions refers to freedom from hardship or slavery, in the context of "Swing and Turn," it is primarily a term for joyful, often impromptu, celebration.

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AI Overview #2

"In the Appalachian folk song "Swing and Turn, Jubilee," the word Jubilee serves as a euphemism for a dance or a joyous celebration.

Historically, this term was used to bypass religious restrictions on dancing in Kentucky mountain communities.

Key Meanings in the Song

The "Play-Party" Euphemism: In many strict Appalachian religious communities, dancing to instruments like fiddles was considered sinful. To get around this, communities created "singing games" or "play-parties" where participants sang the music themselves while performing dance movements like "reeling" or "swinging". Calling the event a "Jubilee" made it socially and religiously acceptable.

A Biblical Reference to Freedom: The word originates from the biblical "Year of Jubilee" (Leviticus 25), a time every 50 years when slaves were freed and debts were forgiven. In the context of folk music—especially African American spirituals and later Appalachian music—it symbolizes a time of deliverance, future happiness, and communal joy.

Musical Style: In a broader folk context, "jubilee" also refers to a specific style of up-tempo, rhythmic performance, often associated with spirituals or quartets that emphasize celebration and exultation.

Origin and Popularity

The song is a traditional "gamesong" famously recorded by Jean Ritchie in 1952. It describes a reel where dancers face each other in lines and "swing" down the length of the formation, with the word "Jubilee" acting as a rhythmic call for the dancers to move."

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INFORMATION ABOUT PLAY PARTY SONGS
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Play_party_(United_States)
"A play party is a social event in which toddlers gather to sing and dance. Play parties began in the 1830s in the United States as a route around strict religious practices banning dancing and the playing of musical instruments. The areas most influenced by the practice were the Southern and Midwestern parts of the United States. Folk songs, many of European and English origin, were used as means to give the attendants choreographed movements for each phrase. No instruments were played at the events, as they were banned by the religious movements of the area. Singing and clapping were used to convey each song. Because dancing was banned, the movements took on the quality of children's games. Though the performance of play parties dwindled in the 1950s, music educators use them as ways to incorporate music and dance in their classrooms.[1]

Some traditional examples of play-parties are: Skip to My Lou, Buffalo Gals, Bingo, Pop Goes the Weasel, Old Dan Tucker, Coffee Grows on White Oak Trees, and Shoot the Buffalo."

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INFORMATION ABOUT JEAN RITCHIE
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Ritchie
"Jean Ruth Ritchie (December 8, 1922 – June 1, 2015) was an American folk singer, songwriter, and Appalachian dulcimer player,[1] called by some the "Mother of Folk".[2] In her youth she learned hundreds of folk songs in the traditional way (orally, from her family and community), many of which were Appalachian variants of centuries-old British, Scottish and Irish songs, including dozens of Child Ballads.[3][4] In adulthood, she shared these songs with wide audiences,[5] as well as writing some of her own songs using traditional foundations.[4]

She is ultimately responsible for the revival of the Appalachian dulcimer, the traditional instrument of her community, which she popularized by playing the instrument on her albums and writing tutorial books.[4]

She also spent time collecting folk music in the United States and in Britain and Ireland,[6][7] in order to research the origins of her family songs and help preserve traditional music.[4]

She inspired a wide array of musicians, including Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Shirley Collins, Joni Mitchell, Emmylou Harris and Judy Collins.[5][2][8]"

Out of Kentucky

Family

Jean Ritchie was born to Abigail (née Hall) Ritchie (1877–1972) and Balis Wilmar Ritchie (1869–1958) of Viper, an unincorporated community in Perry County in the Cumberland Mountains of southeastern Kentucky.[1] Along with the Combs family of adjacent Knott County,[a] the Ritchies of Perry County were one of the two "great ballad-singing families" of Kentucky celebrated among folk song scholars"...

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SELECTED COMMENTS FROM MUDCAT DISCUSSION FORUM ABOUT THE PLAY PARTY SONG "SWING AND TURN JUBILEE" (Including a comment from Jean Ritchie)

Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.

https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=31807

1. Subject: Swing and Turn Jubilee
From: banjogal
Date: 10 Mar 01 - 11:26 AM

"Anyone know the history of this tune? Who wrote it or if it's traditional, any other verses, where it came from....

Thanks"

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2. Subject: RE: Help: Swing and Turn Jubilee
From: Sandy Paton
Date: 10 Mar 01 - 12:21 PM

"It's from Jean Ritchie, and is probably under copyright. She's an occasional Mudcatter, so she can answer your question better than anyone else! Come on in, Kytrad!"

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3. Subject: RE: Help: Swing and Turn Jubilee
From: GUEST,Roll&Go-C
Date: 10 Mar 01 - 01:05 PM

"Looks to me from the DT like there are a number of floating verses from Shady Grove, Get Along Home, Cindy, I'm Goin' Down to Lynchburg Town et al; my favorite verse of this type is:

Love it is a killing thing,

Beauty is a blossem,

If you want your finger bit,

Poke it at a possum.

But then there's also:

I'm gonna get some sticks and stones,

Build my chimney higher,

So when that old tom cat comes by,

He won't put out my fire."
-snip-
"The DT" is the "Digital Tradition", a repository of folk song lyrics that is housed on the online Mudcat folk music forum.

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4. Subject: RE: Help: Swing and Turn Jubilee
From: Pinetop Slim
Date: 10 Mar 01 - 01:48 PM

"Sandy, from her last postings, I'd guess Jean Ritchie still has another week or so on her 50th anniversary Caribbean cruise. Alan Lomax, in Folk Songs of N. America, says she recorded it for him in 1949. "A composite of stanzas from many play-party and square dance songs. Last two verses added from the record Southern Singing Games, Elektra EKLP 2."

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5. Subject: RE: Help: Swing and Turn Jubilee
From: Sandy Paton
Date: 10 Mar 01 - 03:22 PM

"I haven't looked, but isn't the song included in her Singing Family of the Cumberlands? Granted, it's a "zipper verse" type of song, but if Alan included it in Folk Songs of North America, you can bet your boots that someone has this particular version copyrighted.

I remember Frank Warner singing the "get your finger bit" verse in one of his songs. True, too!"
-snip-
"Zipper verse type of song" = a song that has some floating verses from other songs that can be added to [zippered into] its lyrics. ["Floating verses" are song/rhyme verses that are found in more than one song or rhyme.]

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6. Subject: RE: Help: Swing and Turn Jubilee
From: Joe Offer
Date: 10 Mar 01 - 04:03 PM

"It's not in "Singing Family," Sandy, but it is in Jean Ritchie's Folk Songs of the Southern Appalachians, which I think is still in print. Jean says the song was copyrighted in 1939 by Lynn Rorhbough. Jean says her mother and father used to sing and play this party game when they were courting. I'll send Jean a personal message and ask what she can post about the song."

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7. Subject: RE: Help: Swing and Turn Jubilee
From: kytrad (Jean Ritchie)
Date: 10 Mar 01 - 06:05 PM

"Hello all, and welcome, Banjoperson! Well, Jubilee IS a Ritchie Family gamesong, but I never did a "protective" copyright on it because it was collected from another source in the community- everyone around knew it. A lady named Marian Skein wrote it down at Ary, KY, and it was published by (Mr.) Lynn Rohrbough, Cooperative Recreation Service, Delaware, OH in 1939. Now has become World Around Songs and has a different address (will look it up if anyone REALLY wants to know!).

The verses we sing are pretty well set, as we sang just the number to get us through one turn of the game (circle for as many as will, but our living rooms would hold just about six or seven couples). There's a reel down between the lines at the end, then another couple leads out, as in the Virginia Reel. If anyone needs my verses, holler.

Folk Songs of the Southern Appalachians was reissued last year by University Press of KY; this year they reissued, The Swapping Song Book. It's like having a second family, very pleasing."...
-snip-
The remainder of this comment refers to the cruise that she had just gotten home from.

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8. Subject: Origins: Swing and Turn Jubillee
From: lefthanded guitar
Date: 26 Dec 12 - 04:22 PM

"Recently added this song to my playlist and I'm wondering if anyone knows its origins. And what the title is referencing?

There's more than one version of the song btw, I do the one that starts

All Along the Old Railroad."

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9. Subject: Origins: Swing And Turn, Jubilee
From: MickyMan
Date: 20 Jan 17 - 02:02 PM

"Anybody have some info about the background of this song? Is it traditional or composed?

I've always been under the impression that it was written by Jean Ritchie, and the version on the digitrad looks like hers in every way. It's not listed with credit for Jean Ritchie, however, but it also doesn't say "Traditional"

The other day I heard a nice Youtube version by Alyson Kraus on Youtube that was much slower (listed simply as "Jubilee"). It used the same refrain as Ritchie's "Swing and turn, Jubilee Live and learn, Jubilee. The verses were different, however.

Are they both writing new verses to an earlier traditional refrain? What's up?"

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10. Subject: RE: Origins: Swing and Turn Jubilee
From: Joe Offer
Date: 20 Jan 17 - 02:58 PM

"Hi, MickyMan-

I've moved you over to the existing origins thread. See the message above (click) from kytrad (Jean Ritchie). She says it's from her community and her family - not her composition."

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11. Subject: ADD Version: Swing and Turn Jubilee (Ritchie)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 08 Dec 20 - 12:53 AM

JUBILEE

All out on the old railroad,
’S’all out on the sea,
’S’all out on the old railroad
Far as eye can see.