The Drifters, by James Michener, is the story of six teenagers, in the turbulent 1960s, who end up traveling together, each in search of escape or meaning for their lifes. One of the characters is Gretchen, a sometime singer and guitar player from Boston, MA. Most of the songs Gretchen sings she learned from Francis J. Child's The English and Scottish Popular Songs (1882-1898). This album presents Carl Peterson singing those old narrative ballads that often "struck much to closely" to the experiences of those who heard Gretchen sing them.