''A Collection of Old Ballads'' is an anonymous book published 1723–1725 in three volumes in London by Roberts and Leach. It was the second major collection of British folksongs to be published, following ''
Wit and Mirth, or Pills to Purge Melancholy
''Wit and Mirth: Or Pills to Purge Melancholy'' is the title of a large collection of songs by Thomas d'Urfey, published between 1698 and 1720, which in its final, six-volume edition held over 1,000 songs and poems. The collection started as a sin ...
'' (published 1719–1720).
Ambrose Philips
Ambrose Philips (167418 June 1749) was an English poet and politician. He feuded with other poets of his time, resulting in Henry Carey bestowing the nickname "Namby-Pamby" upon him, which came to mean affected, weak, and maudlin speech or verse. ...
was once credited as the editor, but this has since been challenged.
[R. S. Thomson,‘The Development of the Broadside Ballad Trade and its Influence upon the Transmission of English Ballads’, (unpublished doctoral thesis, Cambridge University, 1974 pp.108-111] Volume one contained "
Chevy Chase
Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase (; born October 8, 1943) is an American comedian, actor and writer. He became a key cast member in the first season of ''Saturday Night Live'', where his recurring ''Weekend Update'' segment became a staple of the ...
", "
Queen Eleanor's Confession", "
The Suffolk Miracle
The Suffolk Miracle is Child ballad 272 and is listed as #246 in the Roud Folk Song Index. Versions of the ballad have been collected from traditional singers in England, Ireland and North America. The song is also known as "The Holland Handke ...
", and "Bonny Dundee". The preface to volume two notes that readers had responded to volume one by sending some rare songs to the editor. It has fewer genuine folksongs than the first volume, and instead has some obvious literary concoctions. It has "The Merchant's Son and Beggar Wench of Hull" (a prototype of "
New York Girls New York Girls", also known as "Can't You Dance the Polka," is a traditional sea shanty. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 486.
Lyrics
The lyrics have many variations, but almost all versions contain this chorus, sung after each verse:
...
"), "The Wind Has Blown my Plaid Away", "The Bonny Grey-Eyed Morn" and three
Robin Hood
Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is depic ...
ballads. The third volume is the poorest, with long historical songs about the kings of England, obviously not taken from the folk tradition. "
The Baffled Knight
"The Baffled Knight" or "Blow Away the Morning Dew" () is a traditional ballad existing in numerous variants. The first-known version was published in Thomas Ravenscroft's ''Deuteromelia'' (1609) with a matching tune, making this one of the few ear ...
" (
Child Ballad
The Child Ballads are 305 traditional ballads from England and Scotland, and their American variants, anthologized by Francis James Child during the second half of the 19th century. Their lyrics and Child's studies of them were published as '' ...
4) is genuine, and there is even a whaling song "The Greenland Voyage". There are a few Scottish items: "
The Broom of Cowdenknowes", "
Bessy Bell and Mary Gray", "Muirland Willie" and "
The Gaberlunzie Man". The collection also includes "The Merchant and the Beggar Maid" and "An Thou Were My Ain Thing" (later recorded by
Maddy Prior
Madelaine Edith Prior MBE (born 14 August 1947) is an English folk singer, best known as the lead vocalist of Steeleye Span. She was born in Blackpool and moved to St Albans in her teens. Her father, Allan Prior, was co-creator of the police dr ...
).
Within a year of the publication of volume one,
Allan Ramsay was inspired to publish his "Tea-Table Miscellany" (1724) in Edinburgh. "A Collection of Old Ballads" is the first printed collection to aim for songs that were genuinely old folksongs, but there are no tunes to the 159 texts. In a few cases the names of tunes are indicated.
Bibliography
* ''British Music Publishers, Printers and Engravers'' by
Frank Kidson
Frank Kidson (15 November 1855 – 7 November 1926) was an English folksong collector and music scholar.
Career
He was born in Leeds, where he lived for most of his life.Palmer (2004). He worked briefly with his brother in an antique busine ...
(1900)
* ''The Ballad and the Folk'' by David Buchan (1972)
* ''A Ballad History of England'' by Roy Palmer (1979)
* ''Victorian Songhunters'' by E David Gregory (2006)
External links
* http://partners.nytimes.com/books/first/f/filene-folk.html
* http://www.stefan-szczelkun.org.uk/taste/Chapter4-Sharp.html
* http://www.lib.virginia.edu/small/exhibits/music/ballads.html
"The Merchant and the Beggar Maid"
* http://www.kinglaoghaire.com/site/lyrics/song_277.html
* http://mysongbook.de/msb/songs/b/beggarwe.html
"An Thou Were My Ain Thing"
* http://www.gaudela.net/prior/hang_up_sorrow.html
* http://www.serendipitybooks.com/brooks.html
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1723 books
English poetry
Ballad collections