3 Folk Songs From 1976 That Still Shake the Ground We Stand On

The 70s era of folk music highly juxtaposes the folk music of the former decades. It’s far more musically diverse and ultimately not as robust as its former form. Though musicians needed to keep up with the times, and if they didn’t create anything new within the confines of folk music, well, the genre could have potentially been left in the 1960s. However, as we all know, that is not the case.

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The year 1976 wasn’t a year necessarily filled with folk staple after folk staple, but there are a handful of singles that stand out in the year’s catalog. So, here are three folk songs from 1976 that still shake the ground we stand on to this day.

“The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” by Gordon Lightfoot

Gordon Lightfoot‘s 1976 nautical folk ballad doubles as a rich history lesson and a fan-favorite bar song. Ever since its release, bar-goers, historians, and fans of Lightfoot have praised the song for its detailed retelling of the infamous wreck of the American freighter that sank in Lake Superior just the year prior in 1975.

When you listen to the song, you might think the event happened in 1856. Though, as we stated, it transpired in 1975. As a result of Lightfoot’s single, the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald has become immortalized and will forever be.

“Coyote” by Joni Mitchell

Joni Mitchell‘s 1976 song, “Coyote,” is reportedly about her fleeting romance with playwright and actor Sam Shepard on Bob Dylan’s 1975 Rolling Thunder Revue Tour. Though that is not why it’s still circulating in the ears of folkies in 2025.

In totality, the base of Mitchell’s songs uses the coyote as a metaphor to convey a man who lives by a promiscuous moral code. Hedonism, infedelity, sexual exploration, and, in a sense, the denouncement of free love are what Mitchell sings about in this alleged folk diss track.

“Isis” by Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan‘s 1976 album Desire marked the continuation of his mid-70s hot streak. To many, Planet Waves, Blood On The Tracks, and Desire marked the return of a mighty, inspired Bob Dylan. That perspective shows on the single “Isis”, which resides on Desire.

At its most finite point, Dylan tells the tale of a type of byronic hero who leaves their spouse in order to seek adventure and ultimately, a greater awareness of self. However, towards the end of the journey, the hero realizes that what he left is the only thing he needed. In short, the grass is always greener, until it isn’t. And that is seemingly one of the many sentiments Dylan articulates in this introspective staple.

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