Scotch, Scotch-Irish and Irish immigrants who pushed the frontier of the English colonies and the infant nation thereafter often constituted the majority of back country settlers. They brought with them their music — fiddles to play and ballads to sing — which became the foundation for “country” music. From the free-grazing practice of the Highlands and the English “Commons” system, they crafted a “free-range” approach to raising hogs, cows and sheep.