# Elexa Dawson: The Riddle Song (I Gave My Love a Cherry)

Kansas-based Potawatomi singer/songwriter Elexa Dawson performing “The Riddle Song (I Gave My Love a Cherry),” from a field recording of Mrs. W.L. Martin, recorded by Herbert Halpert in March 1939 in Hillsville, Virginia. From the Herbert Halpert 1939 Southern States Recording Expedition collection (AFC 1939/005: AFS 2756 B04). The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress challenged musical artists to interpret material from its unparalleled archive of ethnographic recordings of traditional folk music. Artists were asked to put their own spin on these archival treasures, and to perform them at a special showcase during the Folk Alliance International conference in Montreal, Canada, in 2025. The showcase was recorded for this webcast.

- Kind: Talk
- Year: 2025
- Runtime: 2 min
- By: Dawson, Elexa
- Archive: [Library of Congress](https://www.loc.gov/item/video-10844/)
- Licence or status: Rights statement at the Library of Congress (as the archive states it)
- Credit: Library of Congress
- Who can watch: Tweens profiles and older (the archive gives no rating; placed by Invisible Network from its collection and subjects)

[Watch now](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/watch/archive/loc/video-10844?play=1)