Silver Dagger

Joan Baez’s rendition of the traditional ballad “Silver Dagger” opens her 1960 debut album with stark, spine-chilling beauty. Singing a cappella at first, then with her acoustic guitar, Baez tells the tale of a young woman spurning suitors under her mother’s warning. Never a radio single, it became one of Baez’s signature folk songs – showcasing her pure soprano and helping to spark a folk revival by bringing old Appalachian ballads to new ears.